Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
Published on: October 2, 2019
Dream recall and nightmare frequency: a family study
Michael Schredl1, Claudia Barthold, Josepha Zimmer
1Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany. Scredl@zi-mannheim.de
The present study investigated dream recall as well as nightmare frequency in families. Whereas a positive correlation for nightmare frequencies between children and mothers was found (but not for children and their fathers), the relationship for dream recall frequency was small and nonsignificant. Assuming that mothers are still the primary caregivers in the modern family, and, thus, might encourage or discourage children to talk about their dreams, the findings of the study support Cohen's 1973 hypothesis of a socialization effect on nightmare frequency and maybe a smaller effect on dream recall frequency.
The present study investigated dream recall as well as nightmare frequency in families. Whereas a positive correlation for nightmare frequencies between children and mothers was found (but not for children and their fathers), the relationship for dream recall frequency was small and nonsignificant. Assuming that mothers are still the primary caregivers in the modern family, and, thus, might encourage or discourage children to talk about their dreams, the findings of the study support Cohen's 1973 hypothesis of a socialization effect on nightmare frequency and maybe a smaller effect on dream recall frequency.
Related Concept Videos
Cause and Effect
Traumatic Memory
Interference and Decay
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Stages of Sleep
Before sleep begins, in wakefulness, the brain exhibits primarily beta waves, which are high in frequency and low in amplitude, indicating alertness...
