Inducing lucid dreams by olfactory-cued reactivation of reality testing during early-morning sleep: A proof of concept.
Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2020 Daniel Erlacher, Daniel Schmid, Silvan Schuler et al.
Combining a wake-up-back-to-bed sleep protocol with a mnemonic technique and an odor cue during sleep failed to improve lucid dream induction. Only 2 of 16 male participants (12.5%) experienced a lucid dream in a single laboratory night, a lower success rate than the 50% achieved in the same group's prior study without odor. The authors conclude that odor-cueing does not appear to be a promising technique for inducing lucid dreams and discuss other methodological changes that may explain the reduced effectiveness.