Dreams and dreaming among the elderly: An overview
- 1 February 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Aging & Mental Health
- Vol. 3 (1) , 10-20
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13607869956398
Abstract
This paper reviews past and current research into the dreams and dreaming of people over 65 years of age. Recent studies have shown, for example, that frequency of dream recall declines with age in both men and women, but that the main decrease occurs in early middle age and is thus unlikely to be connected with aging effects.The results of studies having to do with dream tone, active/passive stance and typical dream themes are less conclusive.This paper also surveys the attitudes toward dreams one encounters among the elderly, the temporal references in their dreams and the use of dreams in the psychotherapy of aged and aging persons and concludes by considering the dreams of those at the end of their life.Keywords
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