Why Do We Dream in Color or Black and White?

Imagine your brain is like a painter. Sometimes it uses all the colors, and sometimes it just uses black and white. Why? Because of how you see things when you're awake. If you mostly look at black-and-white pictures or videos, your brain might dream in black and white too.

The Brain's Painter

When you sleep, your brain is still busy painting pictures, these are your dreams. Some people use all the colors like a rainbow, while others stick to just two shades: black and white. This depends on what your eyes saw before you went to bed.

Why It Matters

If you watch lots of old TV shows or read books with only black-and-white pictures, your brain might start painting in black and white too, like a painter who only has two colors to work with.

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. A child who watches old cartoons with black-and-white characters might dream about those same characters.
  2. An artist who paints with only two colors might have dreams that look like a canvas with just black and white.
  3. A person who reads books with pictures printed in grayscale may start dreaming in black and white.

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Recent activity

Nothing here yet.