SLEEP
September 1, 2009
Ursula Voss, R. Holzmann, Inka Tuin et al.
443 citations
Lucid dreaming combines hallucinatory dream activity with wake-like reflective awareness and control. Electrophysiological recordings from six trained student volunteers show that lucid dreaming shares REM-like power in delta and theta frequency bands but exhibits higher-than-REM activity in the gamma band, peaking around 40 Hz, especially in frontal and frontolateral regions. Overall brain coherence during lucid dreaming resembles waking levels and is significantly higher than in REM sleep across the analyzed spectrum; waking shows high alpha coherence, while lucid dreaming shows increased delta and theta coherence, largest in frontolateral and frontal areas. These findings suggest lucid dreaming is a hybrid state of consciousness with measurable physiological differences from both waking and REM sleep.
SLEEP
August 29, 2014
Jason C. Ong, Rachel Manber, Zindel V. Segal et al.
338 citations
Mindfulness meditation reduces chronic insomnia symptoms. In a three-arm trial, 54 adults with chronic insomnia were randomly assigned to mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI), or self-monitoring (SM). Those receiving either meditation intervention showed significantly greater reductions in total wake time (43.75 vs 1.09 minutes), pre-sleep arousal (7.13 vs 0.16 points), and insomnia severity (4.56 vs 0.06 points) from baseline to post-treatment compared to SM. At 6-month follow-up, MBTI produced greater insomnia severity reductions than MBSR, with 50% remission and 78.6% response rates. Mindfulness meditation offers a viable treatment alternative for chronic insomnia.
SLEEP
June 29, 2012
271 citations
Lucid dreaming—being aware that one is dreaming—is associated with reactivation of brain areas that are normally deactivated during REM sleep. In one experienced lucid dreamer who had two episodes of verified lucid REM sleep long enough for fMRI analysis, the bilateral precuneus, cuneus, parietal lobules, and prefrontal and occipito-temporal cortices showed strong activation compared with non-lucid REM sleep. This pattern may explain the return of reflective cognitive abilities that characterize lucid dreaming.
SLEEP
February 27, 2015
Pauline Dodet, Mario Chávez, Smaranda Leu‐semenescu et al.
115 citations
People with narcolepsy are far more likely to experience lucid dreaming—being aware that they are dreaming while still asleep—than healthy individuals. In a case-control study, 77.4% of 53 narcolepsy patients reported having lucid dreams, compared to 49.1% of 53 controls, averaging 7.6 lucid dreams per month versus 0.3. During monitored naps, 7 of 12 narcoleptic frequent lucid dreamers (but none of 5 controls) successfully signaled from a lucid REM sleep state. Brain wave analysis showed lower delta, theta, and alpha power and reduced frontal coherence during lucid versus non-lucid REM sleep, along with longer REM duration. The findings suggest narcolepsy provides a useful model for studying lucid dreaming.
SLEEP
September 1, 1993
Richard P. Allen, Una D. Mccann, George A. Ricaurte
113 citations
MDMA, a recreational drug that damages serotonin neurons in animals, is linked to persistent sleep disturbances in humans. Comparing all-night sleep recordings of 23 MDMA users with 22 matched controls, MDMA users averaged 19 minutes less total sleep and 23.2 minutes less non-REM (NREM) sleep, primarily due to 37 minutes less stage 2 sleep. No significant differences appeared in stages 1, 3, or 4. While the cause—whether serotonin neurotoxicity—remains unknown, the findings suggest MDMA use can lead to lasting changes in brain structures governing sleep.
SLEEP
April 30, 2015
Michael Rak, P. Beitinger, Axel Steiger et al.
56 citations
People with narcolepsy recall dreams and nightmares significantly more often than healthy controls, and they also experience lucid dreaming—awareness of dreaming during a dream—at a much higher rate. Among 60 narcolepsy patients and 919 controls, narcolepsy patients reported roughly double the frequency of dream recall and nightmares, and their lucid dreaming frequency was about four times higher. Most narcolepsy patients who had experienced lucid dreaming said it helped relieve the distress from nightmares. Medication did not affect lucid dreaming frequency, though it did reduce dream recall and nightmare frequency.
SLEEP
May 1, 2023
Afik Faerman, Lauren Anker, Kirsten Cherian et al.
5 citations
Ibogaine, an alkaloid used in traditional African ceremonies, may improve sleep and trauma symptoms in veterans with repeated blast exposure and traumatic brain injury. Thirty Special Operations Veterans who voluntarily underwent ibogaine treatment at a clinic outside the US completed sleep and PTSD assessments at baseline, immediately after treatment, and one month later. Sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and insomnia severity (Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale) significantly improved one month post-treatment, as did PTSD symptom severity (CAPS-5). However, the improvement in PTSD symptoms did not significantly predict the sleep improvements, suggesting ibogaine may affect sleep and trauma through different mechanisms. The findings indicate ibogaine's potential for treating disturbed sleep after traumatic brain injury.
SLEEP
May 1, 2026
Denise Vidot, Bria-Necole Diggs, Amrit Baral et al.
Among daily cannabis consumers aged 18–35, about 56% reported lifetime psychedelic use, with psilocybin most common (50%), followed by LSD (29%) and DMT (3.5%). Overall, 33% had subthreshold insomnia, 3.2% moderate-severity clinical insomnia, and 1.6% severe clinical insomnia. LSD and DMT were associated with moderate-to-severe clinical insomnia: 17.7% of LSD users vs. 0.0% of non-users, and 50.0% of DMT users vs. 3.6% of non-users. Psilocybin showed no significant association. LSD users also reported more frequent sleep-related interference with daily functioning. No differences were found in cannabis use for sleep or demographics by psychedelic use.
SLEEP
May 1, 2025
April Roper, Chase A. Stratton, Janeese Brownlow
People who have used psychedelic drugs at any point show small differences in objective sleep patterns measured by Fitbit devices compared with non-users. Users averaged 406 minutes in bed and non-users 405 minutes. Psychedelic use predicted more total sleep time, less REM sleep, more light sleep, and more deep sleep, but the effect sizes were negligible. The study analyzed data from 21,076 adults in the All of Us research database, of whom 7,799 reported psychedelic use and 13,277 did not. The findings suggest that while statistically significant differences exist, their practical importance is minimal.
SLEEP
May 1, 2025
Denise C. Vidot, Amrit Baral, Bria-Necole Diggs et al.
Among 18-to-35-year-olds in the Herbal Heart Study, 39.5% reported lifetime psychedelic use and 32.8% reported psilocybin use. Overall, 54.5% were satisfied with sleep, 23.0% dissatisfied, and 22.5% neutral, with no differences in sleep satisfaction across the full sample. However, among Hispanic/Latino participants, 33.9% of psychedelic consumers reported sleep dissatisfaction versus 17.2% of non-consumers. Hispanic/Latino psychedelic consumers had 4.4 times higher odds of both sleep dissatisfaction and satisfaction compared to being neutral; psilocybin-alone consumers had 9.2 times higher odds of dissatisfaction. No associations appeared among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, or other groups, suggesting a complex link specific to Hispanic/Latino individuals.