How Long Do Dreams Last? - Sleep Foundation

• How Long Do We Dream Each Night?
• Why Do Dreams Seem to Last So Long?
• What Determines Dream Length?
• How Many Dreams Do We Have a Night?
• Does Everyone Dream?
• How Can I Remember My Dreams?

Key Takeaways

• The average person spends about two hours dreaming each night.
• Multiple dreams can occur throughout the night and across the sleep stages.
• The most vivid and more easily remembered dreams typically occur during REM sleep.
• There are several theories as to why dreams often seem longer than they really are.

For centuries, dreams have been a source of fascination. Dreams can evoke deep emotions like wonder, joy, or confusion, and at times they can spark inspiration. Although dream science has significantly advanced within the past couple of decades Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source, there is still much to uncover about why we dream. Fortunately, experts have started to unravel essential details that shed light on how dreams work.

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How Long Do We Dream Each Night?

Researchers estimate that the average person spends about two hours dreaming each night. REM sleep periods early in the night generally last about 10 minutes and gradually increase in length throughout the night to a maximum of about one hour. However, it is difficult to say whether these times correspond with the actual length of dreams, especially since not all dreams occur during REM sleep.

Dream content research relies on self-reported information Trusted Source Nature and Science of SleepView Source, which can be unreliable. Also, not all people remember their dreams after waking. This memory gap makes it challenging for researchers to accurately estimate the duration of each dream, or deduce whether the perceived length of a dream Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source matches how long the dream actually lasted.

Evidence suggests that eye movements during REM sleep Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source or certain brain wave patterns Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source might correspond to dreamed experiences. If this were true, it would make it easier to measure dream length. Another promising method is via lucid dreaming, in which the sleeper becomes aware they are in the dream and may gain control over their dream actions. Lucid dreamers are sometimes able to time-stamp their dreams by making certain eye movements Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source, but experts are not sure if the information can be generalized to non-lucid dreamers.

Older studies found that when given a choice between two answers, most people were able to accurately say how long their dreams had lasted. Subsequent studies also found that dream time seemed to be equivalent to real time. There may be exceptions, however. Researchers have found that bizarre dreams might appear to last longer than they really do, and lucid dreamers sometimes take longer to complete tasks in dreams versus real life.

Why Do Dreams Seem to Last So Long?

Study authors have proposed several theories to explain why dreams often seem longer than they really are. One theory is that brain activity might be slower in REM sleep compared with waking life because the brain is at a lower temperature. Thus, dream scenery would progress at a slower pace for the dreamer.

Another possibility is that although most muscles are paralyzed during REM sleep, the brain knows that certain actions should require more effort than others. Because there is no feedback from the muscles, the brain simulates physical effort by assigning more time to actions it considers tiring. In support of this theory, one study found that lucid dreamers took proportionally longer to do squats than to do a simple counting exercise. However, results are conflicted and more research is needed.

What Determines Dream Length?

Research suggests that REM dreams are longer Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source than NREM dreams. They are also more likely to be bizarre, emotional, and story-like. Dreams from NREM sleep may be less detailed and more similar to disjointed thoughts Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source, although there are exceptions.

Within the same night, dream reports tend to be more detailed later in the night. In one study, researchers woke participants after five or 10 minutes of REM sleep Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source, both early on and later in the night. The longest, most complex dream stories occurred after 10 minutes of REM sleep later in the night, when some people also reported having dreams divided into various episodes.

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How Many Dreams Do We Have a Night?

People have multiple dreams throughout the night. Sleep in humans consists of four sleep stages: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep stages. Dreams can happen in any sleep stage.

It is a popular misconception Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source that dreams only occur during REM sleep. Researchers originally linked this sleep stage to dreaming because of the characteristic eye movements that occur during this stage. However, more recent studies have found that participants woken from NREM sleep report dreams more than 50% Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source of the time. That said, it does appear that vivid dreams are most likely to occur during REM sleep.

During a normal night of sleep, people cycle repeatedly through all four sleep stages. A full cycle takes approximately 90 minutes Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source, so in a typical night, most people experience four to six periods of REM sleep. People generally spend more time in deep sleep at the beginning of the night and more time in REM toward the end.

Does Everyone Dream?

Just like how everyone sleeps, dreams are a nearly universal experience. Some people claim not to have dreams Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source, though it is difficult for scientists to determine if these claims result from poor dream recall or a physiological inability to dream. Brain damage to the parietal lobe can cause failure to form dreams.

Dream reports in young children appear to mature in line with their memory and sense of self. As they age, many older adults spend less time in REM sleep. They also report more difficulty remembering dreams.

The dreams of people with blindness Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source may involve a higher proportion of sounds, smells, tastes, or touch as opposed to visual elements.

How Can I Remember My Dreams?

Evidence suggests that keeping a dream log could help with dream recall Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source. Since dreams can be difficult to remember after some time has passed, it is best to write down or voice-record all remembered details right after waking up.

Current research indicates that the brain partly suppresses its ability to form new memories during sleep. Waking up more frequently during sleep might provide an opportunity for dreams to be transferred to more stable memory storage Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source.

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