Are dreams in color or black and white?

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Scientists believe that the brain may be "re-coloring" your memories.

Dreams have always been a realm of semi-reality, a space where the human mind operates differently from its waking state. Upon waking, some remember vivid details, while others retain only fragmented images. But what determines whether or not we dream of color?

This is a topic that has been debated among researchers for decades. It's not just the human brain; television, movies, and even modern technology have left a profound mark on how we recall our dreams.

Many people think that dreams are always colored because the real world is too. But this belief has only emerged in the last few decades.

In the 1940s, the majority of those surveyed said their dreams were monochrome. A study conducted in 1942 showed that over 70% of students had never seen color in their dreams.

Decades later, the same question was repeated with a different group of students. The results were reversed.

Only about 20% said they rarely see color in their dreams. This shift doesn't reflect the evolution of the human brain, but rather reveals something more interesting: dreams are influenced by how we perceive the world while awake.

Experts believe that how we recall dreams is influenced by the television shows and movies we watch. (Photo: Vasilina Popova).

Media influences even the inner world.

Every daytime experience leaves a lasting impression on a person's sleep. Since films, television, and image technology shifted from monochrome to vibrant color, the way people remember their dreams has also changed.

Researchers have found that people born during the era of black-and-white films tend to describe their dreams with less color compared to the generation that grew up with color screens. Thus, dream imagery is not only a reflection of inner feelings but also a reflection of the daily visual environment.

However, media isn't the only factor influencing how we remember our dreams.

Michael Schredl, a sleep research expert in Germany, asserts that how much detail a person can remember is the deciding factor. Memory doesn't record everything, but only retains what makes a strong impression.

In dreams, an object with a familiar color is easily overlooked. A yellow banana goes unnoticed. But if it turns neon pink, that detail immediately makes a strong impression and becomes a prominent memory.

Colors in dreams can be faint or vivid, depending on how different they are from what was expected.

Additionally, colors with personal significance are more easily remembered. A color associated with strong emotions or important memories in real life is more likely to appear in dreams.

Dreams don't work like a movie.

Many people assume that dreams are a form of "internal drama," with images, colors, and storylines similar to movies. But according to Professor Eric Schwitzgebel, that could be an illusion.

"Not all dream experiences have a clear visual format. Some dreams are abstract, and some waking memories are pieced together from assumptions rather than actual experiences," he said.

The brain can "color" dreams based on familiar images from everyday life (Photo: Getty).

Humans tend to fill in the blanks with habits. When recalling a scene without clear colors, the brain may "colorize" it based on what it usually sees. If we are exposed to colorful images daily, our dream memories are also easily colored accordingly, even if the actual experience in the dream was completely different.

According to Schwitzgebel, many people don't really understand what it means to dream in color or black and white. These are vague sensations, lacking clear visual definition.

Dreams can be feelings, thoughts, a stream of emotions, or simply a formless stream of consciousness.

Therefore, when we ask, "Do dreams have color?", we're likely asking the wrong question from the start. The question should be: what do we actually remember, and what does the brain automatically reconstruct after waking up?

When memory is influenced by emotions and expectations.

Memory is not neutral. It is guided by emotions, context, and personal expectations. In a dream, if a color doesn't play an emotional role, it will easily be forgotten.

Conversely, an unusual detail or one linked to personal emotion will be preserved.

Furthermore, the ability to remember dreams varies from person to person. Some people wake up and write down every scene. Others only remember a fragmented image or forget it completely. It is precisely because of this ambiguity that imagination begins to intervene.

When someone recounts a dream, they are not simply recreating a memory, but also reconstructing the dream in a way that aligns with their own logic and feelings. Gaps are filled in with familiar images, sometimes with details that were not present in the original dream.

Modern media, with its vibrant colors and fast pace, reinforces the notion that dreams must be colorful. But when the mind enters sleep, it doesn't need to follow the visual rules of the real world.

Remembering colors in dreams depends not only on the biological nature of the dream but also on the living environment, memory, habits of perceiving images, and how people assign meaning to the experience.

Dreams, ultimately, are a personal journey where the mind freely transcends conventional visual conventions. Therefore, whether you dream in color or black and white may say more about you than about the dream itself.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/giac-mo-co-mau-hay-den-trang-20251110121614424.htm