The topic of lucid dreams (LD) has confidently moved to the level of scientific discussion, becoming part of the 37th Annual Conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Among the reports presented is one describing a technique for increasing the frequency and depth of LD using a drug called “galantamine.” The technique was proposed by researchers Gregory Scott Sparrow, Peter Maich and Mike Marable.
The effectiveness of using galantamine to induce lucid dreams was first tested by Sparrow, Hurd, Carlson and Molina. In their study, the participants of the experiment deliberately woke up in the middle of the night, used a meditation technique to relive their dreams, and took galantamine, after which they returned to sleep.
Following this groundbreaking study, Sparrow organized a second experiment with another group of scientists, where the main focus was on the impact of this technique on the dreams of people suffering from nightmares. The results obtained, according to the authors, indicated the unique features of lucid dreams induced by galantamine.
The report presented at the conference was the result of the third experiment that Sparrow conducted together with Maich and Marable. All three, being experienced LD practitioners, repeated the method with the use of galantamine, and then each filled out a questionnaire without knowing the others’ responses. The authors promise to substantiate the effectiveness of the drug for the frequency and depth of lucid dreams with specific empirical data and a detailed description of the survey methodology, as well as examples of participants’ dreams. We look forward to the publication of the full study!
The conference was held on June 13–17, 2021 online and organized in Ashland, Oregon, USA. The abstracts of the reports were included in the supplement to the Vol. 14 of the International Journal of Dream Research.
