Current biology : CB
April 12, 2021
Karen R Konkoly, Kristoffer Appel, Emma Chabani et al.
126 citations
People who are asleep and having a lucid dream—aware that they are dreaming—can perceive questions from an experimenter and answer them in real time using eye movements and facial muscle contractions. In a study of 36 individuals during REM sleep, including frequent lucid dreamers, a novice, and a patient with narcolepsy, participants performed perceptual analysis of new information, held information in working memory, computed simple answers, and gave volitional replies. Correct answers occurred on 29 occasions across 6 individuals, documented by four independent laboratories. This two-way communication channel allows real-time interrogation of dream cognition and characteristics.
Consciousness and cognition
August 1, 2020
Abigail Stocks, Michelle Carr, Remington Mallett et al.
33 citations
Higher levels of lucidity during dreaming are associated with more positive dream content and a more positive mood the following day. Twenty participants completed a week-long online dream diary after practicing lucid dream induction techniques. The study found no link between lucidity and subjective sleep quality. The findings suggest that cultivating lucid dreams may help improve waking mood, though longer-term studies are needed.
Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society
January 1, 2022
Remington Mallett, Laura Sowin, Rachel Raider et al.
22 citations
Lucid dreams can end nightmares and prevent their recurrence, but they can also induce harrowing dysphoric dreams. The realization of dreaming (lucidity) and dreams with high control were both associated with positive experiences. Negative outcomes primarily result from failed induction attempts or lucid dreams with low dream control; successfully inducing high-control lucid dreams poses low risk for negative outcomes. A process model describes the progression from lucid dream induction to waking benefit, identifying potential areas of concern. The findings provide new insights into possible negative repercussions and how to avoid them in future applications.
Consciousness and cognition
August 1, 2020
Remington Mallett
14 citations
Lucid dreamers can often control dream events, but the limits of that control are unclear. In this study, participants briefly viewed a real-world scene and then, while lucid dreaming, tried to change their dream scenery to match that scene. Even when dreamers were aware during the dream that their reinstatement was inaccurate, the dream imagery remained incorrect. This dissociation between memory access and dream imagery indicates that detailed control over dream content is limited, despite the ability to broadly change the dream environment. The findings suggest that reinstating waking contexts during lucid sleep can be a method for studying sleep, dreams, and memory.
Nature communications
August 13, 2025
William Wong, Rubén Herzog, Kátia Cristine Andrade et al.
10 citations
A new open database, the DREAM database, combines standardized sleep magneto/electroencephalography (M/EEG) recordings with dream reports from 505 participants across 20 datasets, totaling 2,643 awakenings. Each awakening includes at least 20 seconds of high-resolution sleep EEG (≥100 Hz, ≥2 electrodes) and a classification of the sleeper's reported experience. Analyses showed that reports of conscious experiences during sleep can be predicted from objective EEG features in both REM and NREM sleep. The database aims to overcome limitations of small sample sizes and methodological variability in dream research, enabling larger-scale investigations of the neurocognitive basis of dreaming.
Journal of sleep research
June 1, 2025
Jennifer M Mundt, Kristi E Pruiksma, Karen R Konkoly et al.
7 citations
A small trial tested cognitive behavioral therapy for nightmares (CBT-N), adapted for people with narcolepsy, with or without targeted lucidity reactivation (TLR) to enhance lucid dreaming. Six adults who had frequent nightmares (at least 3 per week) received seven treatment sessions. Nightmare frequency dropped from an average of 8.38 per week to 2.25 per week, a large improvement. Nightmare severity and symptoms such as sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and dream enactment also improved. The three participants who received TLR all recalled dreams related to their rescripted nightmare. Participants reported reduced shame and anxiety about sleep and nightmares. The findings offer preliminary evidence that CBT-N and TLR may help manage narcolepsy-related nightmares.
Consciousness and cognition
October 1, 2024
Karen R Konkoly, Nathan W Whitmore, Remington Mallett et al.
4 citations
A smartphone-based procedure called Targeted Lucidity Reactivation (TLR) can increase lucid dreaming without requiring laboratory equipment. In two experiments, participants reported more lucid dreams when they received sounds during REM sleep that they had heard during pre-sleep training, compared to a prior week without TLR or to blinded control procedures on alternate nights. The findings indicate that the sounds strengthen a link formed during training between the cues and a mindset of carefully analyzing one's current experience, which carries into dreams and boosts lucidity.