Presleep Self-Suggestion and Dream Recall: A Single-Subject Study

Abstract

Dreaming is a universal human experience. Despite this universality, dreams are easily forgotten and home dream recall frequency varies considerably among individuals and within one individual from night to night. Investigation into the dream recall process remains a core issue in the field of dream research. Studies suggest that dream recall can be affected by presleep conditions and that presleep suggestions can influence dream content. This single-subject A/B experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that dream recall would be enhanced using presleep self-suggestion. The results showed no increase in dream recall during the self-suggestion period. More research needs to be done before this question can be answered with any degree of confidence.