Insight from the Consideration of REM dreams, Non-REM Dreams and Daydreams

Throughout history there have been reports and claims that consideration of dreams can
produce personal realizations and insight. We assessed Exploration-Insight scores associated
with discussing Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) dreams in connection
with recent waking life experiences. Thirty-one participants were cued in the sleep
laboratory for a daydream report and then awakened from REM and N2 sleep for dream
reports. Participants subsequently discussed each of their dream and daydream reports for
30-40 minutes with two experimenters, following the structured Ullman (1996) dream
group discussion procedure. Participants assessed the benefit of discussing the reports by
completing the Gains from (Day)Dream Interpretation (G(D)DI) questionnaire. We found no
difference in G(D)DI scores between discussing REM and N2 dream reports, and no
difference between dream and daydream discussions in engagement and thoroughness of
exploring the reports. However, discussing dream reports produced higher scores on the
G(D)DI Exploration-Insight subscale compared with discussing daydream reports. Significant
differences were evident in items reflecting the learning of what the report means in terms
of waking life issues. Frontal theta prior to waking from N2 was significantly associated with
Exploration-Insight score obtained after N2 dream discussion, but this relationship was not
found for REM dreams. The findings of high ratings of Exploration-Insight after discussing
dreams were evident even though participants did not select the dream, unlike what can
occur for home recorded dreams, and even though discussion was brief. We suggest that
insight might be produced by embodied and metaphorical thinking in dreams.