Jay Summer Staff Writer
Jay Summer
Staff Writer
Jay Summer is a health content writer and editor. She holds a B.S. in psychology and master's degrees in writing and public policy.
Want to read more about all our experts in the field?
Heather Wright Pathologist
Heather Wright
Pathologist
Dr. Wright, M.D., is an Anatomic and Clinical Pathologist with a focus on hematopathology. She has a decade of experience in the study of disease.
Want to read more about all our experts in the field?
Fact-Checked
Sleep Foundation
Fact-Checking: Our Process
The Sleep Foundation editorial team is dedicated to providing content that meets the highest standards for accuracy and objectivity. Our editors and medical experts rigorously evaluate every article and guide to ensure the information is factual, up-to-date, and free of bias.
The Sleep Foundation fact-checking guidelines are as follows:
- We only cite reputable sources when researching our guides and articles. These include peer-reviewed journals, government reports, academic and medical associations, and interviews with credentialed medical experts and practitioners.
- All scientific data and information must be backed up by at least one reputable source. Each guide and article includes a comprehensive bibliography with full citations and links to the original sources.
- Some guides and articles feature links to other relevant Sleep Foundation pages. These internal links are intended to improve ease of navigation across the site, and are never used as original sources for scientific data or information.
- A member of our medical expert team provides a final review of the content and sources cited for every guide, article, and product review concerning medical- and health-related topics. Inaccurate or unverifiable information will be removed prior to publication.
- Plagiarism is never tolerated. Writers and editors caught stealing content or improperly citing sources are immediately terminated, and we will work to rectify the situation with the original publisher(s)
- Although Sleep Foundation maintains affiliate partnerships with brands and e-commerce portals, these relationships never have any bearing on our product reviews or recommendations. Read our full Advertising Disclosure for more information.
Up-to-Date
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Do Blind People Have Visual Dreams?
- What Are Dreams Like for Blind People?
- Do Blind People Have Nightmares?
If you are a sighted person, you likely experience most of your dreams visually, in full color 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 . While in a dream state, you are likely to see people, places, and things that look real, just as you would see them in real life. Perhaps you’ve wondered, do blind people see in their dreams?
The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. Some blind people see full visual scenes while they dream, like sighted people do. Others see some visual images but not robust scenes. Others yet do not have a visual component to their dreams at all, although some researchers debate the degree to which this is true.
Do Blind People Have Visual Dreams?
The visual aspect of a blind person’s dreams varies significantly depending on when in their development they became blind. Some blind people have dreams that are similar to the dreams of sighted people in terms of visual content and sensory experiences, while other blind people have dreams that are quite different.
The Congenitally Blind
Researchers tend to disagree when it comes to dreams of the congenitally blind, or those who were born blind. Some experts argue that people who were born blind do not see visual content in their dreams, just as they do not see anything visual while they are awake. Others, however, beg to differ.
People with congenital blindness experience fewer 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 during the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep phase than their sighted counterparts. Since most complex dreaming happens during the REM stage Trusted Source National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)NINDS aims to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.View Source and eye movements are hypothesized to correlate to visual dream content, this could suggest that people with congenital blindness don’t experience visual content while dreaming.
However, people who became blind at a later age also experience fewer eye movements during the REM stage of sleep. These sleepers do experience visual dream content, suggesting the hypothesis stating that a lack of eye movements during REM indicates a lack of visual dream content is likely untrue. Eye movements made during REM may correlate to visual dreaming in sighted people, but they appear not to in blind people, regardless of when they went blind.
Other experts have noted that people who were born blind report that they experience visual 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 . Like sighted sleepers, blind sleepers can draw some of the visual content of their dreams after they’re awake. Additionally, their EEG activity during dreams they report as visual is similar to the EEG patterns of sighted people during visual dreams.
Although blind sleepers might experience some visual dream content, they likely experience quite a bit less compared to sighted sleepers. Their minds appear to make up for the lack of visual content by increasing other sensory experiences 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 . For example, congenitally blind individuals experience more elements of sound, touch, taste, and smell in their dreams than sighted individuals do.
People Who Went Blind Before Ages Five to Seven
People who were not born blind, but went blind in early childhood, likely experience more visual dream content than those who were born blind, but less than those who went blind later in life. Researchers hypothesize that the later a person goes blind, the more visual content they experience in their dreams.
Research studies categorize blind participants according to different age ranges. People who went blind after ages five to seven tend to have fully visual dreams. People who were not born blind, but went blind before ages five to seven, could experience varying degrees of visual elements in dreams depending on how far along their development was when they went blind.
People Who Went Blind After Ages Five to Seven
People who went blind after ages five to seven tend to have visual dreams. That said, they might not experience as much visual dream content as fully sighted individuals. Like people who went blind at a younger age, those who went blind later often have other sensory elements become more prominent in dreams to make up for the reduced visual content. For example, they tend to experience more tactile or physical sensations while they dream than sighted people do.
The visual dream experiences blind people have aren’t only of people and places they saw prior to going blind. While dreaming, they see things that have entered their life since they’ve become blind. This suggests that while we dream, our minds construct a world rather than replicating one we are familiar with, since someone with complete sight loss doesn’t truly know what something they’ve never seen visually looks like.
What Are Dreams Like for Blind People?
What happens during sleep is similar for both blind and sighted people, although many blind people experience fewer visual images while dreaming. Both groups experience dreams that involve lifelike stories in which they are an actor, having sensory experiences, and interacting with others.
Although their visual dream content is reduced, other senses are enhanced in dreams of the blind. A dreaming blind person experiences more sensations of sound, touch, taste, and smell than sighted people do. Blind people are also more likely to have certain types of dreams than sighted people. For example, blind people seem to experience more dreams about movement or travel Trusted Source American Psychological Association (APA)APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with more than 121,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students as its members.View Source and more nightmares.
Do Blind People Have Nightmares?
Like sighted people, blind people experience nightmares. Research has found that blind people have more dreams about travel that involve unfortunate circ*mstances. Some of these dreams could potentially be considered nightmares. One hypothesis is that the nightmare content may mirror the difficulties blind people face while getting around in their waking life.
Jay Summer is a health content writer and editor. She holds a B.S. in psychology and master's degrees in writing and public policy.
Medically Reviewed by
Heather Wright,PathologistMD
Dr. Wright, M.D., is an Anatomic and Clinical Pathologist with a focus on hematopathology. She has a decade of experience in the study of disease.
References
7 Sources
Nir, Y., & Tononi, G. (2010). Dreaming and the brain: from phenomenology to neurophysiology. Trends in cognitive sciences, 14(2), 88–100.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20079677/Christensen, J. A. E., Aubin, S., Nielsen, T., Ptito, M., Kupers, R., & Jennum, P. (2019). Rapid eye movements are reduced in blind individuals. Journal of Sleep Research, 28(6), e12866.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31025801/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2019, August 13). Brain basics: Understanding sleep., Retrieved May 27, 2021, from
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-basics/brain-basics-understanding-sleepBértolo, H., Paiva, T., Pessoa, L., Mestre, T., Marques, R., & Santos, R. (2003). Visual dream content, graphical representation and EEG alpha activity in congenitally blind subjects. Cognitive Brain Research, 15(3), 277–284.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12527101/Meaidi, A., Jennum, P., Ptito, M., & Kupers, R. (2014). The sensory construction of dreams and nightmare frequency in congenitally blind and late blind individuals. Sleep medicine, 15(5), 586–595.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24709309/Kerr, N. H., Foulkes, D., Schmidt, M. (1982). The structure of laboratory dream reports in blind and sighted subjects. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 170(5), 286–294.
https://journals.lww.com/jonmd/Abstract/1982/05000/The_Structure_of_Laboratory_Dream_Reports_in_Blind.6.aspxHurovitz, C. S., Dunn, S., Domhoff, G. W., & Fiss, H. (1999). The dreams of blind men and women: A replication and extension of previous findings. Dreaming, 9(2-3), 183–193.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-11074-006
Learn More About Dreams
What Do Sex Dreams Mean?
ByJay Summer February 14, 2024
Vivid Dreams Explained
ByLucy Bryan February 9, 2024
What Does It Mean When You Dream About Your Ex?
ByDanielle Pacheco February 2, 2024
How Trauma Affects Dreams
ByRob Newsom January 3, 2024
False Awakening
ByDanielle Pacheco January 3, 2024
Lucid Dream Masks: Do They Work?
BySarah Shoen December 22, 2023
Dreams About Teeth Falling Out? 7 Possible Meanings
ByJay Summer December 20, 2023
Dreams
ByEric Suni December 8, 2023
Is Lucid Dreaming Dangerous?
ByJay Summer December 8, 2023
How to Interpret Your Dreams
ByJay Summer December 8, 2023
What is a Fever Dream?
ByAustin Meadows December 8, 2023
How to Lucid Dream: Expert Tips and Tricks
ByDanielle Pacheco December 8, 2023
How Long Do Dreams Last?
ByJay Summer October 30, 2023
Recurring Dreams
ByJay Summer July 19, 2023
What Is a Dream Journal Used For?
ByJay Summer June 20, 2023
What Are Precognitive (Premonition) Dreams?
ByJay Summer January 31, 2023
How Do Dreams Affect Sleep?
ByDanielle Pacheco January 31, 2023
Load More Articles
Other Articles of Interest
How Sleep Works
Mental Health and Sleep
Best Mattresses
Back
We Are Here To Help You Sleep.
Tell us about your sleep by taking this brief quiz.
Based on your answers, we will calculate your freeSleep Foundation Score™and create a personalized sleep profile that includes sleep-improving products and education curated justfor you.