Comparing personal insight gains due to consideration of a recent dream and consideration of a recent event using the Ullman and Schredl dream group methods.
Frontiers in Psychology January 1, 2015 Christopher L Edwards, Josie E Malinowski, Shauna L McGee et al.
Considering recent dreams in a structured group discussion can lead to personal insight, more so than discussing a recent waking event. In two small studies, participants who discussed a dream using either the Ullman or Schredl method reported high levels of experiential insight. For the Ullman method, insight ratings were significantly higher for dreams than for control events. The findings support the idea that reflecting on dream content helps identify waking-life sources and may generate personal realizations, possibly linked to REM sleep's role in emotional memory consolidation.