Daydreams incorporate recent waking life concerns but do not show delayed ('dream-lag') incorporations.
Elaine Van Rijn, Alexander M. Reid, Christopher L Edwards, Josie E Malinowski, Perrine Ruby, Jean-Baptiste Eichenlaub, Mark Blagrove
Consciousness and Cognition February 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.10.011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 31 |
| Population | Participants keeping a diary for 10 days |
| Duration | 10-day diary period followed by sleep laboratory sessions |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Day-residue Daydreaming Dream-lag Functions of dreaming Functions of sleep Memory consolidation Mind wandering Rem sleep |
| Key findings | Daydreams show a day-residue effect for major concerns but not for major daily activities or personally significant events, and no dream-lag effect. |
Abstract
This study investigates the time course of incorporation of waking life experiences into daydreams. Thirty-one participants kept a diary for 10 days, reporting major daily activities (MDAs), personally significant events (PSEs) and major concerns (MCs). They were then cued for daydream, Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and N2 dream reports in the sleep laboratory. There was a higher incorporation into daydreams of MCs from the previous two days (day-residue effect), but no day-residue effect for MDAs or PSEs, supporting a function for daydreams of processing current concerns. A day-residue effect for PSEs and the delayed incorporation of PSEs from 5 to 7 days before the dream (the dream-lag effect) have previously been found for REM dreams. Delayed incorporation was not found in this study for daydreams. Daydreams might thus differ in function from REM sleep dreams. However, the REM dream-lag effect was not replicated here, possibly due to design differences from previous studies.
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
Cited by 4
- Incorporation of recent waking-life experiences in dreams correlates with frontal theta activity in REM sleep Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience May 29, 2018
- A Novel Approach to Dream Content Analysis Reveals Links Between Learning-Related Dream Incorporation and Cognitive Abilities Frontiers in Psychology August 6, 2018
- The nature of delayed dream incorporation (‘dream‐lag effect’): Personally significant events persist, but not major daily activities or concerns Journal of Sleep Research April 22, 2018
- Visuoaffective day residue in hypnagogia involves sequential bihemispheric interactions between cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar structures. Communications Biology July 4, 2025
Cites 16
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- The wandering brain: Meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies of mind-wandering and related spontaneous thought processes Neuroimage February 25, 2015
- Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
- Incorporation of concern- and nonconcern-related verbal stimuli into dream content. Journal of Abnormal Psychology February 1, 1981
and 11 more in the library