Dreaming during anaesthesia: a scoping review.
British journal of anaesthesia August 1, 2026 Pilleriin Sikka, Sherry Hu, Boris D Heifets
Dreaming during anaesthesia is common and has been documented for over a century, but remains poorly understood. This review of 157 studies from 1921 to 2024 involving 87,866 participants found that dream recall rates vary widely, from 3% to 8% in large clinical trials to 40% to 80% in experimental settings. Ketamine and propofol are most consistently associated with recall. Dreams are predominantly pleasant and feature everyday autobiographical content. Dream recall is not linked to intraoperative awareness, challenging the idea that dreams indicate inadequate anaesthetic depth. Higher home dream recall, preoperative suggestion, and immediate post-emergence assessment increase recall rates. Unpleasant dreams reduce willingness to undergo the same anaesthetic again. The positive nature and suggestibility of anaesthesia dreams suggest potential therapeutic uses.