A way to operate a smart home from lucid dreams
Michael Raduga, Andrey Shashkov
PsyArXiv March 25, 2024 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/9s7qu (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | One advanced lucid dreaming practitioner |
| Intervention | lucid dreaming |
| Measures | polysomnography, pre-agreed eye movements in REM sleep |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Key findings | In three confirmed lucid dreams under polysomnographic observation, the participant was able to control a light, an electric kettle, and a radio in real time while still in REM sleep, despite sleep paralysis. The authors argue this demonstrates a practical application of lucid dreaming for performing everyday technological tasks while asleep. |
Abstract
Smart home systems facilitate humans’ domestic environments and enhance their quality of life. Voice control of devices is usually available right after one awakens in the morning. In this study, we tested a way to operate smart home technologies even before awakening with the help of electromyographical (EMG) signals from dreams. A software program was tuned to translate and digitally vocalize EMG spikes into commands for the voice control of devices. One advanced lucid dreaming practitioner was trained to use these commands to operate lights, electric kettle, and a radio. The goal was to achieve the same tasks in LD under polysomnographic observation in laboratory conditions. LDs was verified by pre-agreed eye movements in REM sleep. The participant in three confirmed LDs was able to control smart home units despite sleep paralysis. It was possible to control light, the electric kettle, and radio in real-time while still being in REM sleep. The experiment demonstrated a new practical application of LD—specifically, technological everyday life tasks could be performed while asleep. In the future, the same tasks could be performed directly (without voice commands) by transmitting EMG, electroencephalography, and electrooculography patterns from LDs. With development, these technologies may open new perspectives for LD application like online shopping, entertaining, education, and jobs.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming as a Learnable Skill: A Case Study The author | 1980 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Lucid Dreaming as a Treatment for Recurrent Nightmares People with recurrent nightmares | 2010 | Case study | n = 5 |
| Lucid dreaming: Correspondence between dreamed and actual events in one subject during rem sleep A lucid dreamer | 1984 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Lucid dreaming treatment for nightmares: A series of cases. Participants with nightmares | 2003 | Case series | n = 8 |
| Nightmares in the Context of PTSD Treated with Psychoeducation Regarding Lucid Dreaming 39-year-old male with a history of suicide attempts and psychiatric admissions | 2010 | Case study | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cites 30
- Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Sleep June 29, 2012
- Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during Rem Sleep Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1981
- The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews March 14, 2019
- Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Current Biology April 12, 2021
- Lucid Dreaming as a Learnable Skill: A Case Study Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1980
and 25 more in the library