IOWA CITY, Iowa, Jun 24, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- New research shows people who are creative, imaginative, and prone to fantasy are more likely to have vivid dreams at night and to remember them.

University of Iowa psychology professor David Watson said the more bizarre a dream, the more likely his subjects were to remember it. Dream recall varied widely, with a few participants remembering a dream every night and others never remembering any dreams during the three-month study.

The study, appearing in the May issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences, is the largest and most comprehensive analysis of individual differences in dream recall to date.

Watson asked 193 college students to record each morning for 14 weeks whether they remembered any dreams upon waking. His most significant finding was that individuals who are prone to absorption, imaginativeness, daydreaming and fantasizing are particularly likely to remember their dreams.

Watson says studying dreams is important to understanding what happens in the brain during sleep.

Copyright 2003 by United Press International.

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Last updated: 07/01/2003 - 08:13 PM