History Main / CannotDream

* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'', after waking up from a surreal nightmare, is mostly troubled about the fact that he had a dream.

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' has the Dreaming Plague that wiped out most of the Iron Tribe, caused by Annona.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'', Preed states that Akrennians do not dream in response to Akima using the phase "in your dreams." Of course, they are an extraterrestrial species...

* In ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'', Preed states that Akrennians do not dream. Of course, they are an extraterrestrial species...

* Krank in ''Film/TheCityOfLostChildren'' is unable to dream. He's kidnapping children and stealing their dreams, which sets off the plot.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebVideo/Local58'': "True Sleep" posits that true, restful and proper sleep is one that has no dreams at all, and the tape itself is put out as some kind of therapy/brainwashing to reach this state of real, dreamless sleep. Of course, there is an undertone of disapproving of sleep as a concept and treating dreams as the worst part of it all, almost like an omnipresent parasite that only affects unworthy, uncivilized brains.
-->'''[[AC:The lie of sleep seeks many vessels\\
The primitive mind deserves its nightmares]]'''
[[/folder]]

** Koishi Komeiji lost her ability to dream when she gave herself a PokeInTheThirdEye according to local DreamEater and DreamWeaver Doremy Sweet. Of course, given that Koishi [[EmptyShell lost the ability to read her own heart and mind]] when she did that, one may very well argue that her inability to dream is ''the least'' bizarre effect that event had on Koishi's mind.

* ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' starts off with the residents of Dream Land losing the ability to dream because King Dedede stole the Star Rod, which grants them dreams. It's later revealed that he did this to stop a Nightmare from coming through the Fountain of Dreams.

%%Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1653021117073682100
%%Please see thread to discuss a new image.

* Kanami in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' told her colleague that a Doll who moved "sees a dream". Then she had to clarify that she joked and Dolls don't. Since they got some sort of encephalography equipment on their heads, we can assume that it's the certain knowledge at least as far as catatonics in lifesupport tanks are concerned. Contractors were said to never dream either, but with them and free-willed Dolls, it may just be another myth to {{dehumaniz|ation}}e them.
* In ''Manga/KingOfBanditJing'', Campari lost his ability to dream. He subsequently gained the ability to steal dreams from other people.
* Rei in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'':

** Villain Dr. Destiny in Franchise/TheDCU lost his ability to sleep and thus dream. He later appeared in ''The Sandman'', showing that his lack of ability to dream had driven him completely insane and turned him into an emaciated cripple, while making his powers even stronger than before. A psychotic mind rapist who looks like a holocaust survivor is not a pretty sight.
* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' has the Dreaming Plague that wiped out most of the Iron Tribe, caused by Annona.
* The monster Gulgol is the personal bogeyman of ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'' foe [[DreamWeaver Nightmare]] because Gulgol never sleeps and thus never dreams, making him immune to Nightmare's powers.
* Morpheus ([[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 no relation]]), who fought the titular character of ''ComicBook/MoonKnight'' in his first series, was driven insane because scientific experiments made him unable to sleep or dream.

* Amanda in ''Film/{{Carefree}}'' (1938) claims that she doesn't dream. However, this is not intended to suggest that something is wrong with her; it's mostly an excuse for a funny scene where she horrifies a waiter by ordering bizarre combinations of food intended to induce dreaming.

* In ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', the villain Gustav Graves was said to be unable to dream. Specifically, he is unable to enter REM sleep, a RealLife condition. He has to use a machine to do it for him, or he'll start suffering from severe psychosis. Well, more severe than his current mental condition.

%%* Terri from ''Film/HellraiserIIIHellOnEarth''.

* The VillainProtagonist of ''The Young Poisoner's Handbook''. This becomes important when TheShrink in the prison wants him to talk about his dreams, so he "steals" the dreams of his cellmate.
* The immortal Eternals of ''Film/{{Zardoz}}'' cannot sleep or dream, since sleep was strongly related to death.

* In ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'', a man who went mad at The Isle Where Dreams Come True is afraid to sleep because he doesn't want to dream; at the Island of the Star there's food which makes one go to sleep without dreaming. He's thrilled.
* A character in a Celtic fairy tale (reprinted in ''Traditional Tales From Long, Long Ago'' by Philip Wilson) is unable to dream but is otherwise perfectly normal. His employer suggests a way to guarantee he'll have dreams: make his bed in the fireplace. He ends up with a thoroughly bizarre dream that ends when his wife wakes him up and he's halfway up the flue.
* In the ''Series/BabylonFive'' novel "Clarke's Law", the station plays host to a race whose members do not sleep or dream. Disaster ensues after a riot results in security officers tranquilizing several of them, as it turns out that loss of consciousness causes them to become AxCrazy.
* Discussed in ''[[Literature/TheSpaceOdysseySeries 2010: Odyssey Two]]'': SAL asks Dr. Chandra if he/she/it will dream while being powered down. Dr. Chandra replies with: "Of course. All intelligent beings dream", acknowledging that he thinks of SAL as a person. [[spoiler: He is not so sure about HAL, though.]]
* In the ''Literature/DreambloodDuology'', Gatherers lose their ability to dream when they become Gatherers. This is because their job is to shape the dreams of other people and to navigate [[DreamLand Ina-Karekh]]. As a result, they become addicted to [[AddictiveMagic dreamblood]].

* In the Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse novel ''Harvest Of Time'', it is noted that TheMaster does not dream. This is probably to do with their 'condition', as other Time Lords do dream. DreamsOfFlying are rather common for them, in fact.

* Kai, last of the Brunnen-G (dead) on ''{{Series/Lexx}}''.
* Most of the [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Enterprise-D crew]] temporarily lost their ability to dream in the episode "Night Terrors". This was slowly driving everyone on the ship [[SanitySlippage insane]].
* Alonso from ''Series/{{Earth 2}}'' spent decades in "cold sleep".
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** There was one VillainOfTheWeek who couldn't dream due to brain damage. After using a magic plant that restored his ability to dream, it also turned him into a DreamWalker, and he used the power to kill people in their sleep in order to keep using the plant.
** Angels don't dream, or need to sleep.
* Jaffas of the ''Franchise/StargateVerse'' do not dream, as they do not technically sleep, only entering a deep meditative state.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'', after waking up from a surreal nightmare, is mostly troubled about the fact that he had a dream.
* In ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', Eric volunteers for a sleep-study program, and ends up surprising everyone. When the doctor asks if he's able to remember his dreams, and he says no. It turns out when they analyzed him, he appeared to have zero brain activity when he slept.
* ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'': The Skeksis, as it turns out, do not dream. Not until [[BigBad the Emperor (skekSo)]] began his studies into [[TheCorruption the Darkening]], where upon his sleep was instead filled with horrible visions of [[MortalityPhobia the unknown terrors beyond death]].

* In ''Franchise/DragonAge'', mages who have been made Tranquil are severed from the Fade, which prevents them from using magic or being possessed by Fade demons but also robs them of their ability to dream, not to mention their ability to feel emotion.
** Dreaming in ''Franchise/DragonAge'' essentially means slipping into the Fade when you're asleep, where spirits construct dreams for you. This is somehow tied to the ability to use magic. Dwarves can't use magic, can't slip into the Fade [[spoiler: unless forced by a demon or a powerful mage]], and by extension can't dream.
** The dwarf Sandal, a prodigy in enchantment ("Enchantment? Enchantment!"), tells [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII Hawke]] about some rather odd dreams of his. The very fact that he can dream is one of several hints that Sandal isn't an ordinary dwarf. Snarky!Hawke jokingly suggests at one point that Sandal may be a dwarven mage. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane They could be right.]]

* The Nameless One of ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment''. The above quoted conversation is with a woman who talks about dreams. Her surprise indicates TNO's condition is '''very''' extra-ordinary, as she is in Sigl, where natives have a "seen it all" attitude due to the cities stats as a planar cross-roads. It's a bit of an oddity when the Kalashtar (see up) are latter introduced as part of the same "verse".
* [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Arcueid]] is revealed in ''Kagetsu Tohya'' as being unable to dream when she complains of a nightmare. Her brain is basically completely turned off when she sleeps. Occasionally, even in this state she recalls things about her past, but says this can't be considered dreaming. [[spoiler:This is one of many early hints that the player is supposed to pick up that there's a GroundhogDayLoop in effect: She's not dreaming, she's remembering something from another loop.]]
* The villain of ''VideoGame/FortyWinks'' is causing this for the world, though he's not a DreamStealer in the traditional sense--he's kidnapping the DreamWeaver species known as the Winks, and he himself suffers from this.
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject''

** DownplayedTrope when it comes to [[CompleteImmortality Fujiwara no Mokou]]: When Doremy encounters her dream-self, which is supposed to have [[InhumanEmotion exaggerated versions of her waking self's emotions and desires]], she notes that Mokou's dream-self seems unusually quiet and apathetic, leading her to wonder if Mokou has lived for so long now that she's even grown weary of the escapism her dreams provide. Given Mokou's DeathSeeker tendencies while awake, this would imply that she's even [[WhoWantsToLiveForever given up all hope of ever actually dying,]] and is just going through the motions at this point.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In a variation, characters in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' whose dream selves are dead are forced into contact with the [[EldritchAbomination Horrorterrors]] instead of actually dreaming when they fall asleep.
* ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures''
** Most sufficiently advanced incubi and succubi can't dream; instead, they experience dreaming by "surfing" the dreams of others. Also, they don't need to sleep, but if they do, they can easily sleep for days or even decades without noticing the passage of time.
** [[spoiler:Abel needing sleep and being able to dream again]] becomes a plot point. Aaryana believes that this is because [[spoiler:Abel hasn't been feeding on emotions lately. Cubi are Emotion Eaters. Abel is ''starving'' his Cubi nature so he is becoming more like a Being.]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheDreamlandChronicles'', Dan in completely unable to dream. [[spoiler: This seems to revolve around a curse that the BigBad put on King Arthur.]]
** Alex himself was dreamless for years between the time the sword he just found was confiscated and the time he got it back.
* Webcomic/{{Pibgorn}} [[http://www.gocomics.com/pibgorn/2003/06/13/ Why am I dreaming? I haven't dreamt in a thousand years!]]
* At the end of ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'', [[spoiler:Dominic is unable to dream as a side effect of his magic and second sight having been taken from him.]]
* Wonderlandians in ''Webcomic/AliceAndTheNightmare'' don't dream. Alice, the main character, is an unusual exception.

* ''WebVideo/Local58: True Sleep'' posits that true, restful and proper sleep is one that has no dreams at all, and the tape itself is put out as some kind of therapy/brainwashing to reach this state of real, dreamless sleep. Of course, there is an undertone of disapproving of sleep as a concept, and treating dreams as the worst part of it all, almost like an omnipresent parasite that only affects unworthy, uncivilized brains.
-->'''[[AC:The lie of sleep seeks many vessels]]'''
-->'''[[AC:The primitive mind deserves its nightmares]]'''

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'': Zigzagged. Spud does have vivid, detailed dreams about being a superhero, but he never remembers them when he wakes up. When he uses a dreamcatcher to enter his dream world, he's pleased by what he finds.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNeverendingStoryTheAnimatedAdventuresOfBastianBalthazarBux'', one episode states that bag guys, along with some other creatures, don't dream.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'', Preed states that Akrennians do not dream. Of course, they are a totally different species...

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'': both Zane and P.I.X.A.L. have claimed that nindroids cannot dream, though in other episodes they're shown to be perfectly capable of dreaming. In fact, Zane's prophetic dreams have been a plot point more than once.

[[folder:Film]]

* Kanami in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' told her colleague that a Doll who moved "sees a dream". Then she had to clarify that she joked and Dolls don't. Since they got some sort of encephalography equipment on their heads, we can assume that it's the certain knowledge at least as far as catatonics in lifesupport tanks are concerned. Contractors were said to never dream either, but with them and free-willed Dolls, it may be smoke and mirrors again.

* Koishi Komeiji, from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', lost her ability to dream when she gave herself a PokeInTheThirdEye according to local DreamEater and DreamWeaver Doremy Sweet. Of course, given that Koishi [[EmptyShell lost the ability to read her own heart and mind]] when she did that, one may very well argue that her inability to dream is ''the least'' bizarre effect that event had on Koishi's mind.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', people lost their ability to dream during [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Dream]]'s imprisonment. This has bad effects on various people, ranging from perpetual sleepwalking to being comatose for much of their lives.
* Villain Dr. Destiny in Franchise/TheDCU lost his ability to sleep and thus dream. He later appeared in ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', showing that his lack of ability to dream had driven him completely insane and turned him into an emaciated cripple, while making his powers even stronger than before. A psychotic mind rapist who looks like a holocaust survivor is not a pretty sight.

* The monster Gulgol is the personal bogeyman of Comicbook/DoctorStrange foe [[DreamWeaver Nightmare]] because Gulgol never sleeps and thus never dreams, making him immune to Nightmare's powers.
* Morpheus ([[ComicBook/TheSandman no relation]]), who fought Comicbook/MoonKnight in his first series, was driven insane because scientific experiments made him unable to sleep or dream.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c43b7bd9_c271_4c6b_8a41_d1f3fe49df18.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:That wasn’t a dream. That was another universe.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8481322f_e38e_4a52_889f_d690aaf8e1b0.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[I'm] your ticket to the Multiverse, [[Characters/HawkeyeKateBishop princess]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[I'm] your ticket to the Multiverse, [[Characters/HawkeyeKateBishop?from=ComicBook.KateBishop princess]].]]

* In the animated series adaptation of ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'', one episode states that bag guys, along with some other creatures, don't dream.

* In ''Film/{{Inception}}'', one side effect of using the PASIV is that you eventually lose the ability to dream normally. Heavy sedation can help with that, but it requires professional supervision.

* The immortal Eternals of ''Film/{{Zardoz}}'' cannot sleep or dream, since sleep was strongly related to death.
* The VillainProtagonist of ''The Young Poisoner's Handbook''. This becomes important when TheShrink in the prison wants him to talk about his dreams, so he "steals" the dreams of his cellmate.
* Terri from ''Film/HellraiserIIIHellOnEarth''.

* Amanda in ''Film/{{Carefree}}'' (1938) claims that she doesn't dream. However, this is not intended to suggest that something is wrong with her; it's mostly an excuse for a funny scene where she horrifies a waiter by ordering bizarre combinations of food intended to induce dreaming.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'', Kalashtar have lost the ability to dream. That's because they are inhabited by exiles from the realm of dreams, and if they return, they will be destroyed by that realm's despotic lords.
* The undead of ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' have also lost the power to dream, along with many other simple human pleasures. Technically, they don't even need to sleep, but if they do, they can no longer reach the DreamLand of the Marches without supernatural help -- they've actually severed themselves from humanity's collective imagination.