Why Don’t I Dream?

Have you ever had a friend or partner recount their dream in vivid detail, then wondered, “Why don’t I remember my dreams?”

Or maybe you’ve thought, “It is possible I don’t dream at all?”

Rest assured, everyone dreams. Research shows people who self-report not dreaming still have the same dream-related brain activity as those who can describe their dreams after waking. 

If you don’t remember dreaming, there’s nothing wrong with you. “It is normal to not remember your dreams,” assures Mitika Kanabar MD, a board-certified physician, digital addiction specialist, and founder of the MindSattva podcast.

In one small study, 65% of participants said they never remember their dreams. 

In this article, we’ll explore the role REM sleep plays in dreaming, which factors suppress or disrupt dreaming or dream recall, and which strategies you can use to improve your odds of remembering future dreams.

Do you really not dream, or do you just not remember?

Everybody dreams. Most of us dream for two hours each night, but the timing can vary based on sleep quality and quantity.

No matter how many minutes you dream each night, you might not remember them if your brain doesn’t encode and store your dreamland experiences as memories. 

The role of REM sleep in dream generation

Your brain can dream at any point, but dreams are most common during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Research suggests you have more vivid dreams during REM sleep.

Kanabar says you’re also most likely to remember a dream if you’re suddenly awakened mid-dream during an REM cycle. 

The brain is very active during REM sleep, and dreaming takes a lot of brain power. In our dreams, we process scenarios, thoughts, and emotions from earlier in the day or week. Dreams may help us unspool unresolved issues and make sense of what plagues us in our waking hours. 

Factors that suppress REM sleep

Anything that suppresses or disrupts REM sleep might affect your ability to dream or remember your dreams. 

One of the most common REM suppressants is alcohol. Consuming alcohol can delay REM sleep. Drinking a lot of alcohol in one session or evening—research defines this as five standard-sized drinks—can also shorten REM duration once you finally do enter that sleep phase. 

Antidepressants and cannabis (THC) can also suppress REM. While selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can trigger REM disruptions, it’s important not to adjust your dose or stop taking your antidepressant simply because of sleep difficulties or changes in your dream recall.

Tell your healthcare provider if you’re concerned about how your antidepressant may be affecting your sleep quality, including changes in dreams.

Sleep disorders that disrupt dream recall

Some sleep disorders make it harder to remember dreams. Sleep disorders disrupt or reduce deep sleep, such as REM sleep, the stage when your brain is most active and dreaming:

Insomnia

People with insomnia have trouble falling or staying asleep. This disrupted or inadequate sleep may diminish dream recall.

However, in one study, people with insomnia were able to recall their dreams as often as people without insomnia—but those with insomnia had a greater number of negative dreams.

Sleep apnea

If you have sleep apnea, you may feel less rested even after a full night of sleep. That’s because sleep apnea can cause more fragmented sleep, thus destroying REM continuity before dream recall can occur.

This could mean that you dream less often or are too tired or irritated to focus on dream recall in the morning.

Restless leg syndrome (RLS)

For people with RLS, or Willis-Ekbom Disease, falling asleep can become a daily challenge. As with sleep apnea, the resulting sleep disruption may fragment REM sleep and reduce dream recall.

Kanabar says dream recall is also trickier for people with brain injuries or dementia. Conversely, she says that people with narcolepsy have a higher-than-average ability to recall their dreams in great detail. 

Neurobiology of memory consolidation upon waking

Dreaming takes energy, but so does encoding those dreams into something you can remember. Studies show while everyone dreams during REM sleep, converting those dreams into memories—into something you can summarize in the morning—may be more likely after a night of long, light sleep.

In other words, you must have a mix of deep, REM sleep and non-REM sleep to generate and capture your dreams for later retrieval.

Morning rest is also key to turning an ephemeral dream into a retrievable memory. Research has linked quiet rest to the brain’s process of consolidating “memory traces” into something more solid — a story you can recall later in the day.

Proven techniques to improve dream recall 

If you want to remember more of your dreams, there are a few strategies you can try.

• Get a dream journal. Keep a notebook by your bed, then write down every detail you can remember from your dream right after you wake—before you have a chance to forget the emotions and sensations.
• Try meditating before bed. One study found even 20 minutes of meditation can increase theta activity, which powers memory processing during REM sleep. 
• Set your intention. Research shows simply wanting to remember your dreams can improve dream recall. So as you drift off tonight, take a moment to acknowledge and tell yourself that you want your dream to be stored as memory.
• Stay still for a few moments after waking. Scientific research on dreaming relies on post-sleep “dream reports,” which are more vivid and thorough when recorded during quiet rest before your brain gets distracted or has to attend to other cognitive tasks. 
• Improve your sleep habits. Prioritizing quality sleep all night gives your brain a chance to enter REM sleep, when most dreaming happens. 

FAQs

Does not remembering dreams mean you are not dreaming?

No, not remembering dreams doesn’t mean you’re not dreaming. Almost everyone dreams almost every night, whether they remember it the next morning or not.  

What can reduce dream recall?

Poor sleep, drinking alcohol, using cannabis, and taking SSRIs can all impede REM sleep, which is when you’re most likely to have a vivid dream. Jumping into action in the morning, rather than taking a moment of quiet rest, can also keep your brain from consolidating dream sequences into retrievable memories. 

Can improving sleep quality make dreams easier to remember?

Maybe, especially if you tend to wake up early or often. Good sleep hygiene can help you stay asleep long enough to have multiple long-lasting REM cycles — the sleep stage when you’re most likely to dream.

Curious why you had such a weird dream the other night? Find out what causes vivid dreams.