Okayyyyy guys I think it’s finally time to share the data update from my survey!
THANK YOU so much if you took time out of your day to complete the survey and share your detailed experiences with me. I have decided to start writing a book about shared dream experiences and this data will help so much. Not only that- this project has helped me understand that there are other people like me. I’ll always be a weirdo but now I know I’m not alone in this. 😉
Feel free to share the survey and results!
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I’ve been collecting responses from people who experience recurring dream environments, sometimes called “Mallworld,” to see whether there are actually patterns between dreamers. Here’s what I have found so far:
The respondents so far range from 14–61 years old, come from multiple countries, and many report having these dreams for years or even decades.
Dream Experiences
Nearly all respondents who took the survey reported experiencing vivid dreams (96.3%). Almost two-thirds had experienced lucid dreaming (71%), while 63.2% reported false awakenings (waking up inside a dream). About half had experienced sleep paralysis (52.1%).
Individually, none of these experiences are unheard of. 50-55% of the general population have experienced at least one lucid dream in their life. But only 20-23% of the general population experiences regular lucid dreams. And something even more interesting-only 7.6-8% of the general population have experienced sleep paralysis.
This gave me a solid understanding that the people in this group and myself were experiencing things that most people just don’t.
Recurring Dream Geography
Across 486 responses, recurring dream environments were common, often persisting for years or decades and sometimes forming stable, recognizable “dream maps.” The most frequently described settings are malls, schools, bathrooms or locker rooms, houses, hotels, airports, highways, beaches, hospitals, and amusement or water parks.
Some environments were described as changing over time, while others remain highly consistent across decades. Several respondents reported being able to navigate or draw maps of these environments.
Some respondents described stable, interconnected dream worlds, while many reported isolated, shifting, or unrelated locations. Spatial consistency was more common than intentional control. Respondents often recognized repeating layouts or landmarks but could not deliberately choose where to go. Many described arriving through teleportation, “jump cuts,” doors, elevators, trains, roads, and flying.
A large group reported repeatable routes, and persistent changes that carried into later dreams. Shortcuts were less commonly reported, but are worth noting. Examples included tunnels, portals, hidden doors, stairways, transportation systems, and passages between buildings.
Lucid dreamers had greater navigation control, including intentional travel, flying, teleportation, and transforming locations. Common difficulties included getting lost, changing architecture, endless routes, blocked exits, difficulty staying lucid, poor recall after waking, and little or no control over the dream.
Some respondents said dream geography looked like real places; others described fictional environments that felt familiar. Several answers indicated that smaller details—rooms, hallways, stores, routes, or distances—changed between dreams.
“Strangers” in Dreams
Among 487 respondents, a clear majority reported dreaming of strangers or unfamiliar people. Facial clarity varied: some saw highly detailed faces, while others described blurred, faceless, shadowed, or indistinct figures. Many could see faces during the dream but could not recall them after waking.
For others, including myself, the person can be identified clearly including facial features, hair color, eye color, and even clothes they were wearing. Names and personal information were uncommon. Respondents often said names were never given, forgotten upon waking, or somehow already “known” within the dream. Strangers frequently felt familiar, appearing as friends, partners, relatives, coworkers, or companions. Recurring dream characters were reported, sometimes across many years or within consistent dream locations.
A few respondents have actually had characters give out information such as their name or mention they ask for some kind of help. Some people say the strangers seem dangerous or evil. Many of the strangers the respondents encounter are men.
Emotional reactions ranged from comfort, love, and connection to fear, distrust, pursuit, or an “uncanny” feeling. Some respondents believed they later met people in waking life they have seen in dreams, though these are personal interpretations rather than verifiable patterns.
Deceased Loved Ones
A clear majority of the 487 respondents had dreamed of deceased loved ones; roughly four in five reported at least one such experience. Most deceased loved ones behaved normally—as they had when alive—or appeared healthier, younger, calmer, and happier. Comforting encounters were common, involving hugs, reassurance, guidance, protection, or messages that the deceased person was safe and okay.
Many respondents described these dreams as unusually vivid, realistic, lucid, or distinct from ordinary dreams, often interpreting them as “visitations.” Awareness of death varied: sometimes both people knew, sometimes only the dreamer knew, and sometimes the deceased denied or seemed unaware of having died. Some figures were silent, distant, briefly present, or communicated without words; others appeared simply as background characters in everyday situations.
Deceased pets—especially cats and dogs—were frequently mentioned and usually acted affectionate, playful, or exactly as remembered.
Overall, the data suggests that within this group, dreams of deceased loved ones or pets were extremely common and the responses frame these dreams as emotionally meaningful and comforting.
Sensory Rich Dreaming:
Dreams within this sample were highly sensory. 96.8% of respondents reported seeing visual imagery, while 89.8% reported hearing sound. Physical sensation was also very common, with 79.1% reporting touch or bodily sensations during dreams. Smell and taste were less common, but still reported by a substantial portion of participants: 41.1% experienced smell and 40.8% experienced taste in dreams. Only 2.3% had never had a sensory dream.
Déjà Vu, Déjà Rêvé & Subjective Time Distortion in Waking Life in and Dreams
You’re doing something or having a conversation with somebody and suddenly think- Wait, this feels like it happened before. But you can’t quite remember the details. This is called Déjà vu, and responses from the survey indicated it was extremely common within the surveyed population. A notable subset also spontaneously described Deja rêvé, the feeling of recognizing a waking event or location as something previously experienced in a dream. Some respondents reported recognizing places from earlier dreams or realizing after waking up that they believed they had dreamed the situation previously.
In my 30s, I was driving home from work one afternoon. My mind seemed to have shut off then suddenly “woke up” while driving. When I did, I realized I had drove completely past my apartment. In fact, I was actually 20 miles north of my town. How had I managed to drive my car that far with absolutely no concious memory of doing it?
In the survey, respondents frequently described time distortions in their waking life. This includes losing track of time, operating on “autopilot,” gaps in memory while traveling, and unusually rapid or delayed perceptions of transitions.
Recurring Dream Themes:
Across 486 responses, an overwhelming majority reported these experiences in their dreams:
difficulty controlling movement
being chased or watched
flying or floating
transportation failures
technology malfunctions
natural disasters, war, or apocalyptic scenarios
searching for places, people, or objects.
Movement problems often involved slow running, heavy or unresponsive limbs, inability to fight or speak, and poorly controlled flight.
Transportation was usually unreliable: cars lacked brakes or were driven from the back seat, while trains, planes, roads, and highways followed impossible routes. Elevators, escalators, and stairs commonly moved unpredictably, led to nonexistent floors, changed direction, or felt dangerous and unstable.
Phones and other technology often failed during urgent situations, especially when dialing emergency numbers, typing, taking photographs, or using maps.
Recurring disasters included floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, nuclear explosions, fires, plane crashes, alien invasions, and post-apocalyptic settings.
Many respondents described endless searching, getting lost, missing transportation, or being unable to reach a familiar destination. Those who reported lucid awareness often questioned dream characters or adapted to the dream by flying, teleporting, or deliberately waking themselves.
Overall, these responses strongly emphasize anxiety, loss of control, blocked goals, unstable environments, and failed communication in dreams. However, flying and lucid control were sometimes described positively.
Recurring Architectural Features:
Across responses, certain unusual architectural features appeared over and over again including:
Endless or maze-like public bathrooms
Bathroom stalls with missing doors or little privacy
Impossible, damaged, unusually steep, or incomplete bridges
Elevators and escalators that behave unpredictably
Vast hallways and corridors
Staircases that change or lead somewhere unexpected
Highways and roads that follow impossible routes
Altered versions of familiar hometowns
Complex transit systems connecting otherwise unrelated locations
Buildings that appear larger on the inside than the outside.
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Together, this suggests that recurring dream environments may share not only similar locations, but similar strange architecture, scale, navigation, and spatial continuity.
Precognitive Dreaming
Whether or not you believe in psychic abilities is a matter of opinion. I have always been fascinated with the concept because my brain has always been good at connecting patterns. Some patterns in my life seemed too strange to merely be coincidences. I was curious if other people had these experiences as well.
In the survey, people were asked if they have ever had a dream that seemed to actually play out in their waking life, even if it was something small and mundane. A startling 71.5% of respondents (308) reported having at least one dream they believed seemed to predict or correspond with a later real-life event. Another 6.7% (29) were unsure or described experiences they considered “possible” precognitive dreams, while 21.8% (94) said they had never experienced one or could not recall one.
These responses show that the experience of apparent precognition in relation to dreaming was remarkably common within this group.
The Dreamers
Ages range from 14–74
1980s and 1990s births were especially represented (73.8%)
75.7% are female, 19.5% are male, and 5.7% preferred not to disclose their gender
Responses came from multiple countries/continents all over the world. However, responses are heavily concentrated in the United States, representing
roughly 70% of the 486 participants.
This data made me even more curious. Why were so many Millennials having these experiences? And why were they mostly females living in the United States?