Two-Way Communication in Lucid REM Sleep Dreaming.
Trends in cognitive sciences – June 01, 2021
Source: PubMed
Summary
Lucid dreamers can actively engage with the outside world while dreaming. In a recent study with 36 participants, experimenters successfully communicated with lucid dreamers during REM sleep, using eye movements to relay responses. This groundbreaking work demonstrates that sensory input isn't entirely blocked during sleep, allowing for real-time interactions. The findings open up exciting possibilities for understanding consciousness and communication in altered states of awareness, suggesting that extended two-way communication during dreams may be feasible.
Abstract
Dreamers were long thought absolutely isolated from the outside world. Yet psychophysiological studies over the past 40 years have firmly established that lucid dreamers can use eye movements to report on their dream content in real time while in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. We now also know that sensory input is not completely suppresssed during sleep. A recent study by Konkoly et al. illustrates how experimenters can question lucid dreamers during ongoing dreams and asks whether more extended two-way communication during lucid REM sleep dreaming is feasible.