Sleep facilitates memory consolidation through offline reactivations of memory traces. Dreams often incorporate elements from waking-life events, and it was suggested that they may reflect these memory reactivations. However, if and how dreams play a role in processing and consolidating memories is unclear. In this talk, I will discuss two different approaches to study the relationships between dreams and memory processes in sleep. First, I will present findings from a study using targeted memory reactivation (TMR), i.e., the application, during sleep, of a stimulus that was previously associated with learning, to assess whether it influences task-related dream imagery. This experimental approach helps clarify the role of different sleep stages in the consolidation of procedural learning as well as the temporal relationship between dreaming and memory replays. Second, I will show how a serial awakening paradigm can inform us on which types of memory are incorporated at what time during the night. The implications of assessing the memory sources of dreams in a laboratory environment will also be discussed
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