Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
February 1, 2021
Jarrod Gott, Leonore Bovy, Emma Peters et al.
33 citations
Lucid dreaming—being aware that one is dreaming while still asleep—is rare but can be trained by regularly questioning whether current experience is real or a dream. Virtual reality (VR) scenarios containing dream-like elements enhanced this training. Over four weeks, volunteers who received VR-assisted lucid dreaming training showed significantly greater increases in lucid dreaming than those who received no training. Eye-signal-verified lucid dreams during polysomnography supported these behavioral results. Potential mechanisms include synthetic dream-like experiences, incorporation of VR content into dream imagery as memory cues, and dissociative effects of VR that may amplify lucid dreaming training during wakefulness.
Consciousness and Cognition
September 1, 2020
Jarrod Gott, Michael Rak, Leonore Bovy et al.
23 citations
Lucid dreaming, where people experience waking-like self-reflection during dreams, is linked to more wake-like brain activity in the prefrontal cortex. This multi-centre study, combining four investigations, examined whether fragmented sleep increases the chance of lucid dreaming. Results showed that self-reported awakenings, polyphasic sleep schedules, and physiologically measured wake-REM sleep transitions were associated with lucid dreaming. However, neither self-assessed sleep quality nor physiologically measured numbers of awakenings showed an association. The findings suggest a nuanced relationship, where certain types of sleep fragmentation, but not all, may relate to lucid dreaming, and the authors discuss possible causal mechanisms.
Medical Hypotheses
March 27, 2023
Emma Peters, Sanne Golembiewski, Daniel Erlacher et al.
12 citations
Lucid dreaming—becoming aware of a dream while asleep—can be used to practice motor skills, potentially improving real-world performance. The brain generates an immersive, VR-like environment with realistic body sensations during lucid dreams. Experimental studies show promising performance gains after lucid dreaming motor practice, with similarities in brain activity, eye movements, muscle activity, and autonomic responses to physical practice. Surveys indicate athletes already incorporate lucid dreaming into training. Placebo effects and increased motivation after practice need further investigation. Challenges such as the rarity of lucid dreams, lack of proper training, and limited control over dream content must be addressed to strengthen this approach for broader use.
SLEEP Advances
July 8, 2026
Emma Peters, Xinlin Wang, Johanna Heitmann et al.
Targeted bodily stimulation during REM sleep can affect dream lucidity, but the effects depend on the type of stimulation. Electrical muscle stimulation did not increase lucid awareness, whereas galvanic vestibular stimulation was associated with higher lucidity ratings and questionnaire scores, even though the stimulation was rarely incorporated into dream content directly. The findings suggest that modulating the sense of bodily self during REM sleep may enhance reflective awareness without requiring sensory incorporation into dreams. Non-invasive vestibular stimulation may offer a new way to study lucid dreaming mechanisms.
Consciousness and Cognition
April 13, 2026
Xinlin Wang, Emma Peters, Johannes Strelen et al.
During lucid dreaming, the dreamer is aware they are dreaming. To identify brain network activity linked to this conscious experience, 39 sleep recordings (lucid vs. non-lucid REM sleep) from 8 lucid dreamers were analyzed using EEG microstate analysis. Microstates A and G dominated during lucid REM, while microstates B, C, and D dominated during non-lucid REM. These microstates were associated with emotional processing (A), visual processing (B), salience network activity (C), executive functions (D), and the default mode network (G). Results suggest lucidity involves increased self-visualization, metacognition, and executive processing, with decreased emotional processing and default mode network activity, indicating distinct network dynamics in lucid REM sleep.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
March 13, 2026
Emma Peters, Xinlin Wang, Kathrin Fischer et al.
Lucid dream induction using external sensory stimulation has often relied on lights or sounds, with mixed success. This study tested whether direct bodily stimulation—electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) and galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS)—could induce lucid dreams. Twenty-eight participants completed two morning naps: one with stimulation during REM sleep and one with sham control. EMS and GVS did not increase stimulus incorporation. Lucidity rates were high in both EMS conditions, suggesting baseline lucidity, cognitive training, and expectations played a role. However, GVS significantly increased externally rated lucidity and DLQ questionnaire scores compared to control, indicating that galvanic vestibular stimulation can enhance dream lucidity.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
March 12, 2026
Emma Peters, Johanna Heitmann, Nicolas Morath et al.
Lucid dreaming, where the dreamer knows they are dreaming, can be triggered in a lab by training people to associate the sleep laboratory with reflective awareness before sleep. In three studies with 101 participants, a morning nap followed verbal instructions and audio primes. Some conditions added immersive virtual reality rehearsal of the lab, haptic stimulation during REM sleep, or virtual reality with fake system errors. Across all conditions, 40-45% of dreams were rated lucid, and 11-32% were signal-verified lucid dreams. However, the extra virtual reality and haptic techniques did not increase lucidity compared to the basic lab training alone. This suggests that simply training people to recognize the lab context is a powerful method.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
February 14, 2025
Emma Peters, Kathrin Fischer, Daniel Erlacher
preprint
Lucid dreaming, where the dreamer is aware they are dreaming, could be used for motor practice, well-being, and nightmare therapy, but such applications require dream control. This investigation tested whether eight healthy participants (aged 24-50) could juggle—a complex motor skill—within a lucid dream. Four participants had lucid dreams, and two successfully juggled, demonstrating high dream control. Trait differences, including belief, motivation, and self-efficacy, appeared to influence dream control abilities. The small sample limits conclusions, but the findings suggest psychological traits play a role in dream control, laying groundwork for future research to optimize lucid dreaming applications in therapy, sports training, and cognitive science.
Brain Sciences
August 18, 2025
Emma Peters, Clarita Bonamino, Kathrin Fischer et al.
Lucid dreaming, where the dreamer knows they are dreaming, could enable motor practice, well-being, and nightmare therapy, but these applications require dream control, a skill that remains poorly understood. This study explored whether juggling, a complex motor skill, could be performed during lucid dreaming, requiring high dream control and access to procedural memory. Four healthy participants underwent overnight sleep monitoring, provided dream reports, and completed questionnaires. Dream control varied within and between participants. Both dream control and self-efficacy appeared to predict success in the dream motor task. Despite the small sample, the findings suggest individual traits like self-efficacy may shape dream control and motor performance during lucid dreaming.
Current Issues in Sport Science
February 7, 2024
Emma Peters, Xinlin Wang, Martin Dresler et al.
Three types of bodily stimulation—electrical forearm muscle stimulation (EMS), galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS), and haptic vibration (HS)—were applied during REM sleep to test how often each is incorporated into dream content. Across three nights, 23.2% of EMS dreams and 23.5% of HS dreams included arm movement, while balance-related activity appeared in roughly 6–8% of dreams for all three methods. Tactile or somatosensory sensations occurred in 13.6% of EMS dreams but in none of the GVS dreams. After accounting for sham stimulation, EMS produced the strongest dream incorporation, particularly for tactile sensations. GVS appeared ineffective, possibly due to methodological issues. The findings suggest EMS may be a promising technique for future lucid dream induction.
Somnologie
September 1, 2023
Emma Peters, Daniel Erlacher, Friedrich Müller et al.
Acoustic suggestion can help inexperienced people have lucid dreams, but adding hypnosis does not improve the effect. Lucid dreaming is when a person becomes aware they are dreaming, which can be useful for personal growth, sports, and therapy. In this experiment, 10 participants were tested under three conditions: control (acoustic stimulation without suggestion), acoustic suggestion, and hypnotic enhancement of acoustic suggestion. Based on strict verification by the dreamer, external raters, and eye movements, 3% of dream reports were lucid in the control condition, 6% in the acoustic suggestion condition, and 6% in the hypnosis condition.
Clarita Bonamino, Emma Peters
preprint
Lucid dreaming occurs when dreamers know they are dreaming and may influence dream content. Dream control is important for clinical and non-clinical applications, but not all lucid dreamers can effectively manipulate their dreams, and lucidity does not guarantee control. Research on dream manipulation mechanisms, reliability, and effectiveness is limited. This review examines which dream elements (environment, body, narrative) can be influenced, discusses strategies and individual differences, and calls for standardized assessment methods and empirical studies. The Lucid Dream Control General and Lucid Dream Control for Specific Experiences scales are proposed to evaluate dream control proficiency.