Failure to Recall Dream Content: Contentless vs Dreamless Reports

Three studies indicate that reports of having no dream content and reports of having no dream at all are distinct phenomena, not a single category of nonrecall. Distributions of these two types of reports differed across menstrual cycle phases, across three consecutive nights of recording, and with total sleep time. The authors suggest that researchers should separate contentless and dreamless reports in future work.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Data from three separate studies support the hypothesis that contentless and dreamless reports obtained in dream-recall experiments are functionally, as well as descriptively, different phenomena. Distributions of percentages of contentless and dreamless reports (a) for different phases of the menstrual cycle, (b) over a three-day recording period, and (c) for length of total sleep time were qualitatively different. It is suggested that, at minimum, investigators should distinguish between contentless and dreamless reports rather than viewing them as a homogeneous nonrecall phenomenon.