Can A Person Who Is Blind See In Their Dreams?
And if they can, how is their dream experience different from those with sight?
Many of you might have wondered whether or not a person who is born blind can see while dreaming? When most people think about dreams they recognize the intense visual imagery that creates the dreamscape. For many, dreaming is a lot like playing a movie in your head. It can be in either black and white or in color — either way, the visual experience plays a central role. Most dreams contain features that are both visual and kinesthetic (related to movement, such as falling). More than half of dreams contain an auditory element (related to sound).
It is rare for people to describe other sensory experiences, such as those related to smell (olfactory), taste (gustatory), and pain when describing a dream they had. It is estimated that these latter three elements (smell, taste, and pain) occur in less than 1 percent of dream reports. Interestingly, women more often experience smell and taste in their dreams while men more often report experiences of sound and pain.
That being said, blind people are more likely to report feelings of touch, taste, and smell in their dreams compared to sighted people. This likely corresponds to their waking experience which relies more on these senses. They…
