When some people wake up in the morning, the first thing they do is try to make sense of what happened in their dreams. Whether it was a terrifying night terror where they were pursued by a shadowy figure, or a delightful trip back in time to when they were a child, dreams can affect how we start the day.
But for others, they wake up to their alarm and go about their day without even thinking about what happened during the night. It’s as if their brains were wiped clean when they woke up and they never had a dream at all.
A 2021 CBS News poll found that 11% of people always remember their dreams, 10% never recall a thing, and the other 79% fall somewhere in between.
Why do some people remember their dreams and others do not?
According to research, people who can remember their dreams have higher activity in their temporoparietal junction, an area of the brain involved in understanding others’ thoughts, shifting attention, and taking different perspectives.
“There’s a region in your brain called the temporoparietal junction, which processes information and emotions. This region can also put you in a state of intra-sleep wakefulness, which, in turn, allows your brain to encode and remember dreams better,” Julie Lambert, certified sleep expert, told Healthline in a medically reviewed article.
“Researchers also looked at the most common personality traits that are presented in people who can recall their dreams,” Lambert continued. “Overall, such people are prone to daydreaming, creative thinking, and introspection. At the same time, those who are more practical and focused on what is outside themselves tend to have difficulty remembering their dreams.”
How are people who recall their dreams different?
So, if you always recall your dreams, chances are that you are more creative, introspective, and prone to daydreaming. That’s because the temporoparietal junction is associated with the ability to understand other people’s mental states. It also allows us to shift our perspectives from one person or topic to another and pay attention to sudden changes in the environment.
This ability to see things from multiple perspectives, easily engage with the world outside ourselves, and shift mindsets is a hallmark of creative thinking. A person with such abilities is more likely to daydream while out on a walk.
The problem with people who always remember their dreams
While interesting, remembering our dreams has a downside. People who show high activity in the temporoparietal junction may have difficulty sleeping. When that area of the brain is active, it means it’s harder to ignore outside stimuli, which makes it harder to remain in a deep sleep.
If you wake up every morning still feeling the emotions of the vivid dreams you’ve had, that shows you are deeply connected to the part of your brain that’s creative and empathetic. Let’s hope those amazing character traits are a decent trade-off for being a little groggy in the morning.
