Not to be confused with déjà vu, this particular phenomenon is called déjà rêvé—and it’s actually not that uncommon. While the exact science behind déjà rêvé isn’t fully understood, there are some research-backed explanations for what makes it possible, as well as theories from dream experts on what it can mean. Research is limited, but according to one 2010 study on the subject, experiencing déjà rêvé is common—though notably, it does get less common with age. Often, dreams seem to get buried deep within one’s memory, only to be recalled when something in real life triggers that memory. This leads to the feeling that you’ve already had that particular experience before. In a more recent study from 2018, researchers found that déjà rêvé and dream recall could actually be induced via electrical brain stimulation (EBS), suggesting that our brains might have special memory systems specifically to store dreams. Interestingly, according to the 2010 research, there is evidence that people who have ’thin boundaries’ between mental states and are wide-open to experience are more likely to experience déjà rêvé (and déjà vu). As therapist and dream expert Leslie Ellis, Ph.D., explains to mbg, this is “possibly because their brain is capable of running on multiple tracks that overlap at times.” “Those with epilepsy1 who have had seizures in their brain’s frontal lobes are particularly prone to déjà vu,” Ellis tells mbg. “Researchers have found that when two circuits in the hippocampus (our memory-processing center) are activated at once, we get an experience of déjà vu.” Overall, their research concluded that déjà rêvé was a completely different thing from déjà vu and may indicate some sort of temporal lobe dysfunction. More research needs to be done, however, to understand these dream memories and how they may be triggered. “Dreaming is a phenomenon where time does not follow the strict linear rules of the day world,” Ellis explains to mbg. “In dreams, we often have a mix of past, present, and possible future. Dreams that predict the future are called precognitive dreams, a close cousin of the déjà rêvé phenomenon.” Ellis herself has encountered these dreams in her own clinical practice, and she says she keeps an open mind about them. “In many cultures, and tracing as far back as recorded history allows, dreams have been understood as sources of spiritual guidance from a source of far greater knowledge than we normally possess,” she notes, “including information about possible or probable future events.” One of her clients, she adds, swears they had a recurring dream of a specific road that one day appeared in real life, “prompting them to stop their car in time to avoid what they are convinced would have been a fatal crash.” Ellis has also experienced what she describes as another category of déjà rêvé: dreaming of something you’ve already dreamed about. “I often find myself in a particular dream world that is familiar from many prior dream visits,” she says. “It can feel as if we are indeed living another, parallel life as we sleep.” However, if the experience scares you and/or makes you feel as if you are losing touch with reality, she recommends speaking to a mental health professional about it. In some cases, dreams blending with our sense of reality can border on the edge of psychosis and require medical attention, she adds. “For the most part, though,” Ellis tells mbg, “these are within the realm of normal, even common, experiences—but they also remind us that life, at any moment, can be or feel extraordinary.”
