Inducing lucid dreams by olfactory-cued reactivation of reality testing during early-morning sleep: A proof of concept.
Daniel Erlacher, Daniel Schmid, Silvan Schuler, Björn Rasch
Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.102975 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 16 |
| Population | Male participants |
| Interventions | Wake-up-back-to-bed sleep protocol mnemonic technique odor presentation |
| Duration | Single night in sleep lab |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Induction techniques Odor presentation Olfactory cue Reality testing Reflection technique Sleep interruption Wake-up-back-to-bed |
| Key findings | Adding an odor cue during sleep to a wake-up-back-to-bed and mnemonic technique induced lucid dreams in only 12.5% of participants, below the 50% rate of the prior study without odor. |
Abstract
The reliable induction of lucid dreams is a challenge in lucid dream research. In a previous study by our research group we were able to induce in about 50% of the participants a lucid dream in a single sleep laboratory night by combining a wake-up-back-to-bed sleep protocol and a mnemonic technique. In the present study, we extended our previous procedure by additional presentation of an odor during sleep to reactivate memory traces about reality testing. In total 16 male participants spent a single night in the sleep lab whereas the procedure induced in two participants a lucid dream (12.5%). The induction rate stays below the success rate of our previous study and therefore odor-cueing seems not a promising technique for inducing lucid dreams. Beside the odor presentation, several other methodological changes have been made, which will be discussed and hopefully help further dream engineering to improve induction techniques.