Typical dreams across the life cycle

To date, most studies of dream content have involved samples of young adults. Far less research has been conducted on continuity and discontinuity in dream content as dreamers age. The present study on dreams across the life cycle (involving 1,546 participants aged 8 to 70 years), using the Typical Dreams Questionnaire (TDQ; Dumel, Nielsen, & Carr, 2012; Nielsen et al., 2003), found that 55.8% of dream reports expressed one or more typical themes, and the prevalence of these themes was quite stable across age brackets. Children and older adults reported more dreams with a TDQ theme, while young adults reported the fewest. Children demonstrated more diversity in their typical dream themes than did participants in other age groups. In children, the most frequently reported dream content related to threats and to magic. In older people, dreams featuring "A person now dead as alive" were most frequent, while dreams featuring "A person now alive as dead" were more commonly reported by children and preadolescents. Dreams involving "School, teachers, and studying" were most frequently reported by adolescents and those involving "Sexual experiences" were most commonly reported by young adults. Adults and older adults dreamt more often of "Trying again and again to do something" and "Arriving too late. " Changes in typical dream themes may relate to emotional concerns linked with different phases of the life cycle.