bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
August 31, 2026
Xinlin Wang, Yannick Pomorin, Emma Peters et al.
preprint
Abstract During wakefulness, we are used to perceive the environment through our senses, act on it and take these inputs to update our experiences and build the perceptions. When the inputs are not longer accurate or structured, people would sometimes have hallucinatory experiences. Whether such experiences are associated with distinct patterns of thought, and how they relate to large-scale...
August 16, 2026
Emma Peters, Daniel Erlacher, Clarita Bonamino
preprint
Lucid dream control (LDC), the ability to deliberately influence dream experiences during a lucid dream, is central to many theoretical, experimental, and lucid dream clinical applications. Despite its importance, standardized instruments for assessing LDC remain limited, typically treating it as a single, broad construct. This study aimed to develop and validate the Lucid Dream Control...
SLEEP Advances
July 8, 2026
Emma Peters, Xinlin Wang, Johanna Heitmann et al.
Abstract Study Objectives Sensory stimulation during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been proposed as a method to induce lucidity, yet most approaches rely on distal sensory modalities such as light and sound. We explored whether bodily stimulation targeting the muscle and vestibular systems differentially influences dream incorporation and lucid awareness during REM sleep. Methods 28...
Consciousness and Cognition
April 13, 2026
Xinlin Wang, Emma Peters, Johannes Strelen et al.
Abstract During lucid dreaming, the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. In past years, numerous studies have explored the characteristics of lucid dreams, which link lucid dreams to vivid visual perception, positive emotions, and wake-like metacognition and executive functions. To determine brain network activity associated with the conscious experience during lucid dreaming, we analyzed...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
March 13, 2026
Emma Peters, Xinlin Wang, Kathrin Fischer et al.
Abstract Lucid dream (LD) induction using external sensory stimulation has most commonly relied on distal cues such as lights or auditory signals, with mixed success rates. In this study, we investigated whether more direct bodily stimulation targeting the muscle and vestibular systems could influence LD induction. We compared electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) and galvanic vestibular...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
March 12, 2026
Emma Peters, Johanna Heitmann, Nicolas Morath et al.
Abstract Lucid dreaming (LD), during which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming, is frequently induced in laboratory settings by delivering sensory cues during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These cues should be incorporated into ongoing dreams and can trigger reflective awareness. This approach relies on the continuity between waking experiences and dream content. In sleep...
Open Access CRIS of the University of Bern
2026
Emma Peters, Xinlin Wang, Johanna Elisabeth Heitmann et al.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sensory stimulation during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been proposed as a method to induce lucidity, yet most approaches rely on distal sensory modalities such as light and sound. We explored whether bodily stimulation targeting the muscle and vestibular systems differentially influences dream incorporation and lucid awareness during REM sleep. METHODS: 28 participants...
Brain Sciences
August 18, 2025
Emma Peters, Clarita Bonamino, Kathrin Fischer et al.
Lucid dreaming (LD), during which the dreamer becomes aware of the dream state, offers a unique opportunity for a variety of applications, including motor practice, personal well-being, and nightmare therapy. However, these applications largely depend on the dreamer's ability to control their dreams. While LD research has traditionally focused on induction techniques to increase dream...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
February 14, 2025
Emma Peters, Kathrin Fischer, Daniel Erlacher
preprint
Lucid dreaming (LD), during which the dreamer becomes aware of the dream state, offers a unique opportunity for a variety of applications, including motor practice, personal well-being, and nightmare therapy. However, these applications largely depend on a dreamer's ability to control their dreams. While LD research has traditionally focused on induction techniques to increase dream frequency,...
Current Issues in Sport Science
February 7, 2024
Emma Peters, Xinlin Wang, Martin Dresler et al.
Introduction Lucid dreaming opens the possibility to rehearse sport skills within a dream while sleeping (Peters et al. 2023; Stumbrys et al. 2016). But so far, no induction techniques have been developed to induce reliable lucid dreams. One potential technique is to apply external stimulation while a person is sleeping in order to send a hint into the dream which might enhance lucidity in the...
Somnologie
September 1, 2023
Emma Peters, Daniel Erlacher, Friedrich Müller et al.
AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the efficacy of using hypnotic enhancement of auditory suggestion to induce lucid dreams in inexperienced individuals. Lucid dreaming, a state in which the dreamer becomes aware of their dream state, provides opportunities for personal exploration, sports, and clinical applications. However, the rarity of lucid dreams poses a challenge to scientific...
Medical Hypotheses
March 27, 2023
Emma Peters, Sanne Golembiewski, Daniel Erlacher et al.
12 citations
Improving motor performance without physical movements might seem counterintuitive, however, decades of research on mental practice have demonstrated its feasibility. The phenomenon of lucid dreaming – i.e. becoming aware of the current dream state during ongoing sleep – bears some resemblance to mental practice: behaviors such as motor tasks can be intentionally simulated with mental imagery....
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
Metacognitive reflections on one's current state of mind are largely absent during dreaming. Lucid dreaming as the exception to this rule is a rare phenomenon; however, its occurrence can be facilitated through cognitive training. A central idea of respective training strategies is to regularly question one's phenomenal experience: is the currently experienced world real, or just a dream? Here,...
Consciousness and Cognition
September 1, 2020
Jarrod Gott, Michael Rak, Leonore Bovy et al.
23 citations
Lucid dreaming-the phenomenon of experiencing waking levels of self-reflection within one's dreams-is associated with more wake-like levels of neural activation in prefrontal brain regions. In addition, alternating periods of wakefulness and sleep might increase the likelihood of experiencing a lucid dream. Here we investigate the association between sleep fragmentation and lucid dreaming, with...
Clarita Bonamino, Emma Peters
preprint
Lucid dreaming (LD) is the phenomenon during which dreamers are aware they are dreaming and may be able to influence dream content. Dream manipulation, or dream control, plays a critical role in the applications of LD across both clinical and non-clinical domains and may be a key determinant of therapeutic success. However, not all lucid dreamers are able to effectively influence their dreams,...