Synesthesia is associated with distinctive patterns in dream content.
Kyle Napierkowski, Emily Cook
Consciousness and Cognition 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103959 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,337 |
| Population | Self-identified synesthetes and matched controls from Reddit |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Computational linguistics Continuity hypothesis Dream analysis Individual differences Synesthesia Topic modelling |
| Key findings | Four dream themes—digital, interpersonal regret, diverse worlds, and violent conflict—were significantly more prevalent in synesthete dreams compared to controls. |
Abstract
Dreams offer insight into how individual differences shape conscious experience in the absence of external input or task demands. This study examines whether synesthesia is linked to distinct patterns in dream content, suggesting underlying differences in cognitive architecture. Leveraging the statistical power of large-scale, naturalistic data, we analyzed 2,337 dream reports from Reddit, comparing 1,169 reports from self-identified synesthetes with 1,168 matched controls. Semantic embedding models and logistic regression achieved modest classification performance, indicating group-level differences in language use. Topic modeling revealed four themes-digital, interpersonal regret, diverse worlds, and violent conflict-that were significantly more prevalent in synesthete dreams. These results suggest that trait-level cognitive organization, as expressed in synesthetic perception, extends across states of consciousness and shapes the thematic content of dreams. The findings support theoretical accounts of dreaming as continuous with waking cognition and demonstrate how stable neurocognitive traits manifest in unstructured, self-generated thought.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cites 15
- Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
- Sleep and Dreaming in Holocaust Survivors Dramatic Decrease in Dream Recall in Well-Adjusted Survivors The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease November 1, 1991
- The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- A Novel Approach to Dream Content Analysis Reveals Links Between Learning-Related Dream Incorporation and Cognitive Abilities Frontiers in Psychology August 6, 2018
- Dreams, emotions, and social sharing of dreams Cognition & Emotion December 14, 2007
and 10 more in the library