Personality Correlates of Flying Dreams

Despite the fact that flying unaided is not possible in waking life, flying dreams have been reported fairly often. Over the centuries, a large number of scientists have speculated about the etiology of such dreams. Their occurrence in a student sample (N = 444) was related to low neuroticism, openness to experience, boundary thinness, dream recall frequency and playing an instrument. The findings of the present study indicate that psychological factors play a role in the explanation of flying dreams. This does not completely rule out any of the physiological theories. The traits associated with flying dreams positively support the continuity hypothesis at the level of emotions. Future studies should measure the current frequency of flying dreams and correlate this variable with the dreamer's current emotional state in waking life.