Recall of a specific word list in lucid dreams – an explorative online study

Abstract

The study of lucid dreams is a very sophisticated method to explore the ongoing dream from a first person perspective. The present study explores the ability of lucid dreamers to recall previously learned words in their dreams. For this field study 12 lucid dreamers finished the experimental protocol in a home setting. The results indicate that lucid dreamers are able to recall about 5 out of 7 previously memorised words in their dreams. The recall rate showed a high variation from none to all words. Taking into account that four of the participants couldn’t finish the task within the dream the recall rate in the lucid dream seems to be rather high. To control for confounding factors it is suggested to conduct in the future sleep laboratory studies. It also will be promising to study the impact of a lucid dream rehearsal in order to find out if this might be a new method for active learning during the night.