Do blind people see in dreams?
This is a really interesting question. Supposedly everyone dreams but if you can’t see, what do your dreams ‘look like’?
Timothy has done some research and come up with the following answer. He will be receiving a CD voucher for this great article.
I had a dream last night…
People who become blind after the age of 6 can see in their dreams, whereas people who are born blind cannot.
Although, people who lose their sight at 7+ have very vivid visual imagery in their dreams 20 or 30 years down the track. The content of their dreams is more often about familiar situations, rather than new ones.
Dreaming in sound…
People who are born blind however, still dream. Their dreams, containing as much content as sighted people, are experienced by auditory imagery.
This is due to their lack of Rapid Eye Movement (or REM), which occurs in sighted dreamers, as if they are watching something in their dream. People who become blind, however have REMs of the same intensity as of sighted people.
References:
Webb, Jeremy 1995 The Last Word [Internet] London Reed Business Information Limited Available from
http://www.newscientist.com/ [Accessed 22 June 2001]
Orey, H (1999) Medi Info Source [Internet] Irvine, California CME Incorporated Available from
http://www.medinfosource.com/expert/exp3092799c.html [Accessed 22 June 2001]
Writer: Timothy, Camberwell Grammar
Editor: Caryn Hamburger