Effect of planning dream content in a lucid dream induction study

Poster Session F - Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Raphaëlle Semin¹, Rachel Raider², Remington Mallett¹, Wilfred R. Pigeon³, Michelle Carr^1,3; ¹University of Montreal, ²National University, ³University of Rochester

Lucid dreaming, characterized by awareness and sense of control within dreams, holds promise as an intervention in both therapeutic and scientific settings. However, inducing lucid dreams remains challenging, necessitating the development of innovative cognitive induction techniques. One promising approach involves setting prospective intentions to become lucid before sleep. This is coupled with a 60-minute sleep interruption 6 hours post-sleep onset, with previous studies reporting a success rate of about 50%. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of complementing this approach with an additional prospective goal of setting an action plan to execute during the dream. We hypothesized that this modification would improve awareness and control in the dream state. In Study 1, conducted in a home setting, n=6 participants (planning group) who set action plans during the induction procedure reported heightened levels of awareness during dreams, compared to n=6 participants (control group) who did not specify action plans for lucid dreaming. In Study 2, we attempted to replicate this effect in a laboratory setting using full polysomnography in N=20 participants. Sleep architecture, such as REM sleep percentage or sleep onset latency, was assessed using validated automatic sleep staging algorithms. This second study revealed no difference between planning and control groups in levels of awareness during dreams. Neural sleep architecture, either for the night or the morning sleep period, also did not differ between groups. Future research is needed to explore the nuances of lucid dream induction and identify factors influencing their effectiveness.

Topic Area: OTHER