Researchers from Italy have published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology the results of an experiment on inducing lucid dreams, a state in which the sleeper understands that they are dreaming and can sometimes influence the plot.
The study involved 38 volunteers aged 18 to 40, most of whom had had almost no prior experience with this phenomenon. They were divided into three groups. Before each session, participants in the first group meditated for about 15 minutes and then put on virtual reality goggles. In the virtual world they observed events that violated the laws of physics and were required to get into the habit of asking themselves: "Am I dreaming?" The scientists assumed that this habit would eventually carry over into sleep.
The second group also used virtual reality, but without any special exercises for recognising oddities. The third group went without goggles. All the volunteers kept dream journals and practised checking whether they were dreaming.
After a month, in the group that combined meditation with virtual reality sessions, 11 of 13 people had at least once experienced a lucid or partially lucid dream. In the group without virtual reality, there were 8 of 13, while among those who used the goggles without special exercises, only 4 of 12. According to the scientists' calculations, the method they proposed proved four times more effective than ordinary exercises.
The authors of the study note that it is too early to draw firm conclusions: few people took part in the experiment, and the results are based on the participants' own records. It is also unclear what played the main role: virtual reality, meditation, or their combination. The researchers plan to continue their work. They hope that in the future such training may help people who suffer from recurring nightmares.
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