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Building awareness and understanding of aphantasia through research, education, and community support.

About

What is Aphantasia?
What is Hyperphantasia?
Take Assessment
Getting Started
Newsletter
About Us
Contact

Community

Premium Membership
Find support
Discussions
Events
Visualize

For Professionals

Overview
Free Introduction
Counselor Training
Educator Training
List Your Practice
Pricing & Bundles

Resources

Articles & Stories
Videos & Interviews
Aphantasia Course
FAQs

Research

Research Library
Participate in Studies
Recruitment Services

© 2026 Aphantasia Network. All rights reserved.

Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy

Dreams

Most people with aphantasia do still dream, though often less vivid and less frequent than typical dreamers. Some dream in images they can't recreate while awake.

Dreams

Most people with aphantasia do still dream, though often less vivid and less frequent than typical dreamers. Some dream in images they can't recreate while awake.

Aphantasia and faces in my dreams

In dreams, emotions reveal identities more than faces do. Have you felt this connection between people and their emotional signatures?

Does anyone else only experience “imagery” right before sleep?

Do you experience imagery only as you drift off to sleep, feeling it slip away when you try to focus? Let's share our experiences!

Reference

Vividness of mental imagery reflects a broad range of internally generated visual experiences

Vividness ratings robustly capture a wide range of subjective experiences, from internal mental depictions to externally projected imagery. This suggests aphantasia should be redefined to distinguish between faint imagery and a total lack of pictorial representation.

Schwarzkopf, D. S., Yu, X. A., Altan, E., Bouyer, L. N., Saurels, B. W., Pellicano, E., & Arnold, D. H. (2026). Vividness of mental imagery reflects a broad range of internally generated visual experiences. Royal Society Open Science, 13(3). doi:10.1098/rsos.251887

recently

Hyper Aware Dream Characters

recentlyDestiny

Have you ever encountered a dream character that challenges your perception of reality? Share your thoughts on their agency and messages!

Do you have lucid dreams? How does your aphantasia affect them?

Can lucid dreaming transform your experience of mental imagery? Share your insights and experiences with dreamscapes and creativity!

Alexander of Aphrodisias: The Ancient Philosopher Who Mapped Mental Imagery

Alexander of Aphrodisias: The Ancient Philosopher Who Mapped Mental Imagery

This piece explores recently published philosophical research on Alexander of Aphrodisias (c. 200 AD) and its relevance to understanding aphantasia. While ancient philosophers couldn't have known about cognitive diversity as we understand it today, their assumptions about universal mental processes help us appreciate how differently minds can work.

recentlyby Tom Ebeyer

Aphantasia and Dreams

recentlyStephen

Lucid dreams can transform perception—sharing experiences of vivid imagery in dreams despite challenges in waking visualization.

Reference

Mental imagery, predictive processing, aphantasia, and the interaction between philosophy and cognitive science: Responses to Amy Kind, Christian Scholz, and Neil Van Leeuwen

Aphantasia is not a monolithic condition, as many individuals retain involuntary imagery like dreams despite lacking voluntary control. This suggests that mental imagery relies on multiple distinct processes that can break down independently.

Nanay, B. (2025). Mental imagery, predictive processing, aphantasia, and the interaction between philosophy and cognitive science: responses to <scp>amy kind</scp>, <scp>christian scholz</scp>, and <scp>neil van leeuwen</scp>. Mind & Language, 40(3), 333–340. doi:10.1111/mila.12561

recently

On the verge of sleep

Have you experienced vivid mental images just before sleep? I'm curious if this is a common occurrence for others in our community.

Reference

Content determination in dreams supports the imagination theory

The imagination theory of dreaming explains how dreams use temporal segmentation and mental labeling to determine content. This suggests that dreams are a form of sensory imagining rather than hallucinations or beliefs.

Gregory, D. (2024). Content determination in dreams supports the imagination theory. Philosophical Studies, 181(11), 3037–3057. doi:10.1007/s11098-024-02250-3

recently

Does the aphantasic mind still store visuals when making memories?

Can the brain store visuals in memories even if they remain inaccessible to conscious awareness? Exploring the link between memory and dreams.

Is "visualizing" like images in dreams?

Can people visualize images as vividly while awake as they do in dreams? How does this relate to our understanding of mental imagery?

Hallucination versus visualization?

What defines a hallucination versus a visualization? How do mental health and perception blur the lines between reality and imagination?

How do I... there are so many questions

recentlygregory

Reflecting on past psychedelic experiences, I’m confused by my vivid dreams yet inability to visualize memories or plan for the future.

aphantasia and hyperphantasia

Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia: What We Know After a Decade of Research

Since 2015, "aphantasia" has reshaped our understanding of imagination, revealing that not everyone visualizes mentally. This discovery, along with "hyperphantasia," highlights the diverse nature of human imagination.

recentlyby Tom Ebeyer and

Headaches from dreaming

Do vivid dreams leave you waking up exhausted and with headaches? Could it be linked to how we experience mental imagery?

Why Don't We Hallucinate Our Mental Images?

Why Don't We Hallucinate Our Mental Images?

Have you ever wondered why mental images aren't as vivid as real images? What's the difference between imagining something and hallucinating it? Alexander Sulfaro joins Aphantasia Network to discuss this and more.

recently

Hypnopompia

Hypnopompia: Between Sleep and Awake Where Someone with Aphantasia May “See” Imagery

On rare occasions in the morning, between sleep and awake, when the images from my dreams float behind my eyes, that’s when I revel in what it must be like to “see” imagery.

recentlyby Liana Scott

Why?

How can vivid dreams and musical hallucinations coexist with a lack of conscious imagery? Exploring the mind's paradoxes.

It feels like a dream, since only my dreams are this vivid and scary.

recentlyElizabeth

Struggling with vivid memories and descriptions can feel isolating. How do you embrace your unique experience and redefine your self-worth?

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Why your mind works this way

Our course turns your VVIQ result into a profile of your own mind, the words to explain it to the people in your life, and the evidence to hand anyone who says you are not trying. The first two modules are free.