heiDOK (Heidelberg University)
January 1, 2010
Michael Schredl, Daniel Erlacher
The International Journal of Dream Research is now in its third year, having published 13 original papers and one invited essay across two issues in 2009. The articles addressed a broad range of topics including lucid dreaming, dream recall, dream content, nightmares, the relationship between dreams and psychopathology, and sleep quality. Submissions came from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, demonstrating the journal's international reach.
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.
Current Issues in Sport Science
October 26, 2021
Melanie Schädlich, Daniel Erlacher
Lucid dream practice (LDP), where dreamers deliberately rehearse movements while aware they are dreaming, can enhance physical performance. Interviews with sixteen lucid dreamers from various countries revealed that LDP experiences feel highly realistic, including kinesthetic perception, and that equipment or sparring partners can be created or adjusted within the dream. Thirteen interviewees (81.3%) reported positive effects; ten said LDP improved their physical performance, while others noted strengthened confidence, insights for physical practice, improved flexibility, and positive emotions. LDP allows deliberate manipulation of practice conditions, speed, and perspective. Problems during LDP and ways to handle them were also described. The findings suggest LDP holds potential for sports, rehabilitation, music, and surgery.
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.
Handbook of Sleep Research
January 1, 2019
Benjamin Baird, Daniel Erlacher, M. Czisch et al.
Lucid dreaming—becoming aware that one is dreaming while continuing to dream—is a notable exception to the typically poor self-reflective consciousness during sleep. Once met with skepticism, it now receives increasing attention for its relevance to the neuroscience of consciousness. This review provides an overview of neuroscientific literature on lucid dreaming and discusses clinical and practical applications. Recent findings highlight lucid dreaming's emerging potential as a methodology for consciousness research within sleep science.
Journal of Sports Sciences
December 1, 2017
Melanie Schädlich, Daniel Erlacher, Michael Schredl
Practicing a motor skill inside a lucid dream can improve real-world performance, but only when distractions during the dream are minimal. In a sleep-laboratory pilot study, participants threw darts in the evening and again in the morning. One group physically practiced, one practiced only in lucid dreams, and a control group did not practice. Lucid dreamers who reported few distractions improved their dart-throwing accuracy by 18%, a significant gain comparable to physical practice. Those who experienced many distractions showed no improvement. The findings suggest lucid dream practice may be useful for athletes who can maintain focus within the dream, though the results are preliminary and require qualitative investigation of the dream experience.
October 16, 2013
Tadas Stumbrys, Daniel Erlacher, M. Schredl
Eight-point scales for measuring how often people have lucid dreams and nightmares are reliable. When 93 sport students completed the scales twice, four weeks apart, the lucid dream frequency scale showed a test-retest reliability of r = 0.89 and the nightmare frequency scale a reliability of r = 0.75. Both scales are dependable tools for assessing individual differences in these dream experiences.
Consciousness and Cognition
September 1, 2012
Tadas Stumbrys, Daniel Erlacher, Melanie Schädlich et al.
Lucid dreaming, where the dreamer is aware of dreaming and can often influence the dream, is a learnable skill. A systematic review of 35 studies (11 in sleep laboratories, 24 in the field) evaluated techniques for inducing lucid dreams. Most studies (26) tested cognitive techniques, 11 used external stimulation, and one applied a drug. The overall methodological quality of the studies was low. No induction technique was verified to reliably and consistently induce lucid dreams, though some appeared promising. The review presents a taxonomy of methods and discusses methodological issues and future research directions.
Perceptual and Motor Skills
December 1, 2004
Daniel Erlacher, Michael Schredl
Time perception in lucid dreams mirrors waking life for mental tasks but slows for physical ones. Five experienced lucid dreamers counted and performed squats both while awake and during lucid dreams. Counting took about as long in dreams as in wakefulness, but squats required more time in the dream state. The findings suggest that cognitive processes maintain their waking tempo during lucid dreaming, whereas motor actions are prolonged.