People who can frequently recall their dreams tend to be more creative and exhibit increased functional connectivity in a key brain network, according to new research published in the journal Nature and Science of Sleep.

Twenty-eight participants were high dream recallers (able to recall about 6 dreams per week on average), while 27 participants were low dream recallers (recalling less than one dream per week on average).

They also completed the Wechsler Memory Scale (used to measure immediate and delayed memory performance), the Guildford Uses Task (used to measure creative ability), and a digit span task (used to measure working memory’s number storage capacity).

However, high dream recallers scored significantly higher on the Guildford Uses Task than low dream recallers, indicating that they had greater creative abilities.

Vallat and his colleagues also observed increased functional connectivity within the default mode network in high dream recallers compared to low dream recallers.

The increased connectivity was specifically found between the medial prefrontal cortex and the temporo-parietal junction, in line with clinical reports that have shown lesions to these brain regions result in a cessation of dream recall.

“In simpler words, high dream recallers have superior creative abilities, as well as a different brain functional organization, as demonstrated by this study and previous studies from our lab,” Vallat told PsyPost?

Or does an innate higher functional connectivity of the default mode network in these individuals promote their dream recall and creative abilities?”.