Sleep researchers are using new technologies to interface directly with the minds of dreaming people while they are in a “lucid” state, that is, asleep and yet aware they are dreaming. A study in 2021 showed evidence of two-way, real-time communication between the dreamer and a research team. Brain imaging shows that the sensorimotor cortex in the brain interprets dreams as “real.” For example, when we dream of clenching a fist, the motor cortex becomes more active, and muscles in the forearm twitch. Controlling lucid dreams could help treat conditions from insomnia to PTSD.
How it works: Lucid-dream training often happens in the early morning during REM cycles. Researchers wake up participants and, for 20 minutes while they lie in bed with their eyes closed, a recorded voice instructs them to remain self-aware and to pay attention to their ongoing sensory experiences. A series of beeps and flashes of light accompany the instructions. When participants go back to sleep, the same beeps and flashes during REM sleep remind participants to hold on to their awareness. Fifty percent of the time participants have a lucid dream—a higher rate than without the sensory cues.
What the experts say: “I expect that the mental health applications of lucid dreaming will grow,” writes Michelle Carr, director of the Dream Engineering Lab at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine in Montreal. Future products like headbands and watches could help people escape nightmares, «or just help them induce lucid dreams or direct the content for more satisfying dreams,» she says.
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