Do people dream in color or black and white? Scientists explain
In what colors do we see dreams (photo: magnific)
For decades, scientists have debated an intriguing question: do we see dreams in black and white or in vivid color?
The answer is shared by Livescience.
The phenomenon of monochrome visions: how our brain has changed
Recent studies show that the answer has changed dramatically over the past 80 years, with technological progress playing a major role.
Before the 1960s, most researchers believed that people dreamed exclusively in black and white. Large-scale surveys supported this view — for example, a 1942 study found that more than 70% of students rarely saw colors in their dreams.
However, when the same question was asked to modern students 60 years later, the results flipped completely. Fewer than 20% of respondents reported monochrome dreams.
Scientists identified a clear pattern: generations born before the era of color television and cinema were much more likely to experience black-and-white dreams than those who grew up surrounded by colorful screens.
This suggests that the type of media we consume during the day directly shapes how we interpret our dreams.
The memory trap
Professor Erik Schwitzgebel of the University of California notes that constant exposure to YouTube and films makes us mistakenly assume that our dreams should resemble vivid video footage. However, memory upon waking plays a much larger role than the dream itself.
Michael Schredl, head of a German sleep laboratory, explains that during dreams — just like in waking life — we do not focus on expected details.
A normal yellow banana seen in a dream is unlikely to leave a strong memory trace because the brain treats it as ordinary.
But if a neon-pink banana appears, that unusual and vivid color is far more likely to be remembered.
People also tend to remember colors that carry deep personal or emotional meaning in real life.
The cinema illusion: do colors really exist in dreams?
Professor Schwitzgebel proposes an even more radical theory. He suggests that the debate over black and white vs color may be fundamentally flawed.
Dreams may not be visual movies at all. Instead, they could be vague, undefined concepts without fixed visual properties.
After waking up, however, our brains — trained by modern media — automatically fill in colors into morning memories. In other words, what we remember in the morning is shaped by our habits, not necessarily by the experience during sleep.
