When I ask people to recall whether they dream in color or not, they immediately get flustered. Dreams are hard to remember in general, but trying to identify a small detail such as whether it was in color is a challenge. But why wouldn’t we dream in color? Everything in our daily life involves color. According to a study conducted by W.C. Middleton in 1943 involving 277 college students, 70.7% reported “rarely” or “never” seeing color, while 10% reported “frequently” or “very frequently” seeing color. Scientists reasoned this was correct as, by nature, dreams are grayscale. However, once color on television broadcasts became more widespread in the 1950s, the numbers changed drastically, opposing the original study. In 2001 the University of California Riverside replicated Middleton’s original research and found 17.7% reported “rarely” or “never seeing color while 56.5% reported “frequently” or “very frequently” seeing color (Jennings, 2019).
Over time researchers had to figure out the best way to test people’s recollection of color within dreams. Most of the early studies collected data through questionnaires testing the respondent’s ability to recall their dreams long after they originally had the dream. It wasn’t until after the 1960s that researchers discovered the benefits of gathering dream reports right after waking. Data shows that collecting dream reports right after waking have significantly higher instances of color (Jennings, 2019). However, disparities remain between those exposed to black and white media and those exposed to color. We all probably dream in color, but none of us pay enough attention to recall it. So next time you wake up, try and remember your dream because you might have dreamed in color.
Works Cited:
Jennings, Carl. “Do You Dream in Color?” Medium, The Startup, 3 Nov. 2021,