Virtual reality training of lucid dreaming

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 ques-
tion one’s phenomenal experience: is the currently experienced world real,
or just a dream? Here, we tested if such lucid dreaming training can be
enhanced with dream-like virtual reality (VR): over the course of four
weeks, volunteers underwent lucid dreaming training in VR scenarios com-
prising dream-like elements, classical lucid dreaming training or no training.
We found that VR-assisted training led to significantly stronger increases in
lucid dreaming compared to the no-training condition. Eye signal-verified
lucid dreams during polysomnography supported behavioural results. We
discuss the potential mechanisms underlying these findings, in particular
the role of synthetic dream-like experiences, incorporation of VR content
in dream imagery serving as memory cues, and extended dissociative effects
of VR session on subsequent experiences that might amplify lucid dreaming
training during wakefulness.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Offline perception: voluntary and
spontaneous perceptual experiences without matching external stimulation’.