Sharing dreams with others is very common. Among 1,375 participants, the frequency of dream sharing is linked to gender in adolescents (girls share more often than boys), extraversion, how often people recall their dreams, and how often they have nightmares. The authors suggest future research should examine with whom dreams are shared and whether sharing dreams has beneficial effects.
Right-handed and mixed-handed children and adolescents report recalling dreams more often than left-handed individuals, especially among adolescents. In a sample of 3,535 participants aged 6 to 18 years, right- and mixed/inconsistent handedness were linked to higher dream-recall frequency compared to left-handedness, with the effect stronger in adolescents than in children. The reasons for left-handers' lower dream recall remain unknown and require further investigation.
The dream-lag effect describes a pattern where memories from the previous day are frequently incorporated into dreams, followed by a lower incorporation of memories from 2 to 4 days earlier, and then a higher incorporation of memories from 5 to 7 days earlier. In a study with 8 female participants who kept daily and dream diaries for 14 days, ratings of matches between dream reports and diary records showed a significant dream-lag effect for the 5-7 day period compared to baseline and the 2-4 day period. This suggests a possible memory processing function for sleep reflected in dream content. Both participants' and independent judges' ratings confirmed a significant day-residue effect.