Is it possible to learn a language or get over an illness overnight in a dream? The world of dreams, including lucid ones (LD), is far from being fully understood. Researchers involved mastering new technologies and developing LD techniques often actively fantasize about the future of lucid dreaming. Recently, Dr. Ken Paller (USA) and Dr. Achilleas Pavlou (Cyprus) talked about their current work, hopes, dreams and possible risks in the field of LD in an interview published in The Sydney Morning Herald.
At the moment, Paller and Pavlou are trying to make LD research possible at home, using wireless monitors. Work in the laboratory can often be slow and difficult. Pavlou is developing a headset that guides volunteers through short reality-check training before sleep and then plays audio signals during the REM sleep phase at the right volume.
Paller, who was part of the team that produced the acclaimed 2021 study on communicating with lucid dreamers in real time, in turn, is developing a new signal system. Traditionally, lucid dreamers have used eye movements to communicate. At the moment, Paller is working on signals that use breathing. Detectors in the nostrils can pick up, for example, two sharp sniffs, meaning “yes.” As the researcher notes, eye signals can cause interference in experiments concerning what people see in their dreams.
The scientists plan to increase the therapeutic use of LD, including using two-way communication during sleep to remind dreamers of their ability to change the dream scenario. Another well-known benefit of LD is the ability to train. As Paller says, you may not be able to learn a language overnight, but training in a dream will improve your skills in reality.
However, researchers are also considering potential risks. Too much lucid dreaming can deprive a person of rest and interfere with the natural sleep cycle. For some, it may even blur the line between dream and reality. Ethical implications also need to be considered. “It’s like the birth of the internet,” Pavlou adds. “It can be used for good and bad.”
How do you see the future of the field of LD?
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