12/11/2016 HowCanYouControlYourDreams?

ScientificAmerican

M I N D

How Can You Control Your Dreams?

The ability to manipulate our dream worlds goes beyond the science ction plot of the movie
Inception. A dream expert from Harvard University explains how it works

By Jordan Lite on July 29, 2010

Credit: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Somedreamsfeelsorevelatoryifonlyreturningtosleepwouldtakeusbackthere.It
turnsout,however,thatourabilitytoshapeourdreamsisbetterthanmerechance.
IntheblockbustermovieInception,DomCobb(LeonardoDiCaprio)andhis
compatriotsusedrugsandpsychologicalprofilestotriggerspecificdreamsinpeople.
Althoughtheheavysedationandlevelofdetailincitedarefarfetched,dreamcontrol
isn'tentirelyaHollywoodfantasy.

Techniquestocontrol,oratleastinfluence,ourdreamshavebeenshowntoworkin
sleepexperiments.Wecanstrategizetodreamaboutaparticularsubject,solvea

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problemorendarecurringnightmare.Withpracticewecanalsoincreaseour
chancesofhavingaluciddream,thesortof"dreamwithinadream"thatInception's
charactersregularlyslipinto.

Theabilitytoinfluenceotherpeople'ssleepworldsisstillcrude.Butemerging
technologiesraisetheprospectthat,attheveryleast,we'llgetanideaofwhatothers
aredreamingaboutinrealtime.

WeaskedDeirdreBarrett,authorofthebookTheCommitteeofSleep:HowArtists,
ScientistsandAthletesUseDreamsforCreativeProblemSolvingandHowYou
Can,Too(Crown,2001)andassistantclinicalprofessorofpsychologyatHarvard
MedicalSchool,aboutwhatdreamcontrolstrategiesdoanddon'tworkandwhy.

[Aneditedtranscriptoftheinterviewfollows.]

We'reallfamiliarwithdreams,butwhat'sthescientificdefinition?
Theliteraldefinitionisanarrativeexperiencethatoccursduringsleep.Afewpeople
willdefineitasaREM(rapideyemovement)sleepexperiencebut,actually,the
researchdoesn'tsupportthat.Somethingsthatseemtolooklikedreamsoccasionally
occurinotherstagesofsleep.

WhydomostdreamsseemtooccurinREM,andwhat'shappening
duringthatsleepphasethatseemstoproducedreams?
REMisgenerallytheonlytimeduringsleepthatmostofthecortexisprettymuchas
activeasitiswhenwe'reawake.Duringthisphase,therearerhythmicburstsof
activityinthebrainstem.There'soneschoolofthoughtthatthisrhythmicfiringis
thesolecauseofdreamingandalltheuppercorticalactivityisasimpleresponseto
that.Itjustdoesn'tlookthatway.Itlookslikethelowerbrainstemactivitywakesthe
cortexupandthenthecortexdoesalotoforganized,meaningfulthinkingonceit's
activated.

Thethingthatisveryfrustratinglynotneatandcleanisthateveryonceinawhile
whenyouwakesomebodyoutofanonREMperiod,theyreportsomethingthatlooks
prettymuchliketheelaboratenarrativeofadream.Thisisespeciallycommonin
peoplewhohavebigtraumasandshiftworkerswhohavetheirsleepdisrupted,soit

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maybethatithappensmainlywhensomethingisn'toperatingcompletelyproperly
withtheregularsleepcycle.

Duringdreams,arecertainregionsmoreactivethanothersordoesthat
dependonwhatyou'redreamingabout?
It'ssortofhalfwayinbetweentheextremeversionofeitherofthose.

Onaverage,thereareseveralareasthataremoreactivethantheywouldbeduring
thewakingstate.Thosearepartsofthevisualcortex,partsofthemotorcortexand
certainmotionsensingareasdeeperinthebrain.That'sprobablyrelatedtowhy
dreamsaresoveryvisualcomparedtoothersensorymodesortypesofcontentand
alsowhytheyhavealotofmotionandactioninthemrelativetoourwaking
experience.Thepartsofthebrainstemthatfirethoseburstsofactivityarealso
active.

ThereareotherareasthatarelessactiveonaverageduringREMsleep.Thosearethe
prefrontalareas,whichhavetodowiththefinepointsoflogicalreasoningandalso
whereyoumightsaycensorshipresides.That'snotonlyforcensorshipofthingsthat
aresociallyinappropriate,whatFreudwouldhavemeantbycensorshipofsexualand
aggressiveimpulses,butalsotheimpulsesthatsay,"that'snotthelogicalwaytodo
things."Thatseemstobewhyeventhoughwecontinuetothinkaboutallkindsof
problemsandissuesinoursleep,andsometimescomeupwithreallycreative,
interestingsolutionstheirlogicislesslinearthanourwakingthoughtis.

Giventhatthere'shigherlevelthinkinggoingoninourdreams,towhat
extentcanwecontrolthem?
Thatwecancontrolourowndreamsisquitetrueandreallymuchmoresothan
peopleseemtoknoworrealize.Thedetailsofhowtodoitareverydifferent
dependingonwhetheryou'retryingtoinduceluciddreams,whetheryou'retryingto
dreamaboutparticularcontentorwhetheryou'retryingtodreamasolutiontoa
particularpersonalorobjectiveproblem.Anotherreallycommonapplicationhas
beeninfluencingnightmares,especiallyrecurringposttraumaticnightmareseither
tostopthemorturnthemintosomesortofmasterydream.

Sohowcanyouproblemsolveinadream?
Althoughanykindofproblemcanmakeabreakthroughinadream,thetwo

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categoriesthatreallycropupalotarethingswherethesolutionbenefitsfrombeing
representedvisually,becausethedreamsaresovividintheirvisualspatialimagery,
andwhenyou'restuckbecausetheconventionalwisdomisjustplainwrong.

YoumayhaveheardtheexampleofAugustKekulandthebenzenering,which
representsboththesethemes.Hewasthinkingthatinallnonchemicalmolecules,the
atomswerelinedupinsomekindofstraightlinewith90degreesidechainscoming
offit.Onceheknewtheatomsinbenzene,hewastryingtocomeupwith
arrangementsofthemthatwerestraightlineswithsidechainsanditjustwasn't
working.Thenhedreamtoftheatomsformingasasnake,eventuallyreaching
aroundwiththesnake'stailinitsmouth.Itseemsexactlyrelatedtothefactthatthe
prefrontallobesthatcontrolcensorshipare,onaverage,muchlessactiveduring
dreams.

Ifyouwanttoproblemsolveinadream,youshouldfirstofallthinkoftheproblem
beforebed,andifitlendsitselftoanimage,holditinyourmindandletitbethelast
thinginyourmindbeforefallingasleep.Forextracreditassemblesomethingonyour
bedsidetablethatmakesanimageoftheproblem.Ifit'sapersonalproblem,itmight
bethepersonyouhavetheconflictwith.Ifyou'reanartist,itmightbeablank
canvas.Ifyou'reascientist,thedeviceyou'reworkingonthat'shalfassembledora
mathematicalproofyou'vebeenwritingthroughversionsof.

Equallyimportant,don'tjumpoutofbedwhenyouwakeupalmosthalfofdream
contentislostifyougetdistracted.Liethere,don'tdoanythingelse.Ifyoudon't
recalladreamimmediately,seeifyoufeelaparticularemotionthewholedream
wouldcomefloodingback.[InaweeklongstudyIdidwithstudentsthatfollowedthis
protocol]50percentdreamedoftheproblemandafourthsolvedthemsothat'sa
prettygoodguideline,thathalfofpeoplewouldhavesomeeffectfromdoingthisfora
week.

Whataboutifyouwantto,say,dreamofacertainpersonorabouta
particularexperiencehowcanyoudothat?
Ifyou'rejusttryingtodreamaboutanissueoryouwanttodreamofapersonwho's
deceasedoryouhaven'tseeninalongtime,you'duseverysimilarbedtime
incubationsuggestionsasyouwouldforproblemsolving:aconciseverbalstatement
ofwhatyouwanttodreamaboutoravisualimageofittolookat.Veryoftenit'sa

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personsomeonewantstodreamof,andjustasimplephotoisanidealtrigger.Ifyou
usedtohaveflyingdreamsandyouhaven'thadoneinalongtimeandyoumiss
them,findaphotoofahumanflying.

Imagerehearsaltherapyhasgottenattentionasastrategytoovercome
nightmares.Howdoesthistechniquework,andisiteffective?
Differentpeoplemeandifferentthingsbythat.Thedetailsaredifferentbutthe
techniquesareverysimilartheyallgrowoutoftheobservationthatwhenpeopleare
havingbad,repetitiveposttraumaticnightmares,acertainproportionseemtomove
ontohavingsomekindofmasterydreamspontaneously.Thesamewaythe
nightmareshadbeenretraumatizingthem,themasterydreamseemedtocarryover
intohelpingthemfeelmuchsaferandmorehealedintheirdaytimestate.

[Therapistsorresearchers]havethepersonworkoutanalternatescenariotheywant
thedreamtotake,wheretheymightaskthemtoclosetheireyesandimagineand
generallytalkthemthroughakindofvividenactmentofit.Usuallytheperson
incorporatessomedegreeoftherehearsedscenarioatbedtimeorlistenstoatape
wherethetherapistorresearcherisrecountingthealternatescenario.

BarryKrakowdoesthisinagroupformatandgetsstatisticallysignificant,positive
outcomes.Hegetsaremarkablyhighnumberofpeoplewhodon'treportthemastery
nightmareandyettheirnightmaresstopand/ortheirdaytimeanxietygetsmuch
better.Wecan'tknowwhethertheyhadamasterydreamanddon'trecallitorif
somethingelseaboutthatpositive,soothingimageryasyou'refallingasleepevenif
itdoesnotcarryoverintothedreamcarriesoverintodecreasingthenumberofthe
nightmaresorthedaytimeanxiety,heightenedstartleresponseandflashbacks.Inthe
oneononeclinicalstudiesthereseemstobeamuchhigherrateofactuallyhaving
theratherdramaticmasterydream.

Inthecaseofthesuccessfultechniques,whatmaybehappeninginthe
brainthatallowsthesedreamcontrolstrategiestowork?
Onlyifyou'rebuyingthisideathatdreamsshouldallberandomorarebeing
generatedinthelowerbrainstemisthereanythingweneedtoexplainaboutwhy
you'drememberasuggestionyou'dmadetoyourselffordreamcontentorthat
intenselystudyingaproblembeforeyoufellasleepwouldn'tbelikelytoturnupin
yourdream.Ourabilitytorequestthatofourselvesatsomepointinthefutureisvery

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analogoustowhatwemightdoawake.Whenithappensinadream,it'shappeningin
astatethatbyitsnatureismorevivid,muchmoreintuitiveandanemotionalkindof
thinking,andmuchlesslinearinitslogicandmuchlessverbalinorientation.That
we'regoingtorespondtothisrequestfromthisverydifferentbiochemicalstateis
whatmakesitsuchthatsometimeswe'llkindofrespondbutitwillbeinthisvaguely
nonsensicalkindofwayothertimesitwillbethatwehavethisamazing
breakthroughbecausewe'rethinkingaboutthisproblemwe'vehadthisfalsebias
abouthowtosolvewhenwe'reawake.

Canwedreamthatwe'redreaming?
Yes.Thatisthemostcommondefinitionofaluciddreamadreamwhereyouknow
you'redreamingasthedreamisoccurring.Afewwritersonlucidityhavechosento
makesomedegreeofdreamcontrolpartofthedefinition,butmostchoosetoseethat
asaseparate,additionalelement.Luciddreamsareinfrequentlessthan1percentof
dreamsinmoststudiesbuttheycertainlydocropupinanylargecollectionoflotsof
people'sdreams.

Howcanyouupyourchancesofhavingaluciddream?
Byremindingyourselfyouwanttojustasyou'refallingasleep,eitherasaverbal
statementoridea:"TonightwhenIdream,IwanttorealizeI'mdreaming."That'sthe
singlemostimportantthing,otherthansimplygettingenoughsleep.Foranysortof
dreamrecallorinfluencingofdreams,orforlucidity,simplygettingenoughsleepis
oneofthemostboringpiecesofadvice,butoneofthemostimportant.Whenyou
depriveyourselfofsleep,youaregettingalowerproportionofREM.WegointoREM
every90minutesthroughthenight,buteachREMperiodgetsmuchlongerand
occupiesalargerchunkofthat90minutecycleeachtime.Soifyou'reonlysleeping
thefirstpartofanormaleighthoursofsleep,you'regettingverylittleoftheREM
sleepyoucould.

Beyondthat,ifyoucheckonwhetheryou'reactuallyawakeinasystematicway
duringtheday,you'lleventuallyfindyourselfdoingthisinadream,andthatcan
makeitlikelierthatyouwillhaveluciddreams.

Youcandothisbyidentifyingsomethingthatisconsistentlyorusuallydifferentfrom
yoursleepingandwakingexperience.Lotsofpeoplefindtheycan'treadtextina
dream,thatiftheyseetextit'salmostalwaysgarbledorhieroglyphicsordoesn't

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makesenseorit'sfuzzy.Peoplewhocanreadinadreamwillstillreportthatthetext
isnotstableiftheylookawayandthenback,itsayssomethingdifferentorthere'sno
longeranywritingthere.Sotryingtoreadsomethinginadreamisagoodtestforlots
ofpeople.Othersfindthatthingslikelightswitchesandotherknobsthatare
supposedtoturnthingsonandoffworknormallyintheirrealworldanddon'tdo
whattheyexpectthemtoinadream.

Ifyouworkoutonespecificcheckandthenaskyourself,doeseverythinglooklogical,
you'llfindyourselfdoingthatinadream.Someofthesetechniquesaresuccessfulin
asmanyas10percentofpeopleinthecourseofaweekforafewstudies.

Whatarelesseffectivewaysofcontrollingadream?
Peoplewhodecidethattheywanttoaltertheirnightmaresorsolveaproblem
throughluciddreaminghavecarvedoutaninfinitelymoredifficultpathnotthatit's
impossiblebutthere'salotmorehardworkandalotlesschanceofsuccessthatway.

Whenluciditywasgettingpressinthe1970s,peoplewerethinkingit'sagreatwayto
endnightmaresandhaveproblemsolvingdreams.Butitturnsoutthatluciditytakes
alotmoreeffortandhappensmoreunreliablythanotherformsofdreamcontrol.The
studywhereIhadstudentsselectreallifeproblemswithintheirabilitytosolvewith
strongmotivation,inoneweekhalfdreamedabouttheproblemandonefourth
dreamedananswertotheirproblem,andthat'smuchhigherthanyou'dgetfor
luciditytechniques.Intransformingnightmarestudies,thatrateishigherand
happensquickerthanitdoesforlucidity.Soapproachingthesegoalsbyalmost
demandingthatthedreamdowhatreallyyoucandomuchbetterawakeisnotthe
smartestapproach.

Whataboutcontrollingsomeoneelse'sdreamisthispossible?
Occasionallytherearesomewaysthatonemightinfluencesomeoneelse'sdream
contentaheadoftimeviawakingsuggestionsorduringsleepviasensorystimulithat
areimpingingonthedreams.

Theauditoryseemtothingsworkbest,suchaswateroravoicesayingsomething.
Verystrongstimuliwakeusup.Youwantittogetinsomenarrowthresholdwhereit
getsdetectedbythebrainandprocessedbutitdoesn'twakeyouup,andthenthere's
ashotatitgettingincorporatedintothedream.

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Inhisresearchonluciddreams,psychophysiologistSteveLaBergetestedadream
lightthatsleepsubjectsworeontheirfacesthatdetectedREMandflashedalow
level,redlightduringthatphase.Hefoundthatitoftengotincorporatedintopeople's
dreamstheysawapulsingredglow.Ifyoucombinethatwiththesuggestionthat
whenyouseetheflashingredlightyouknowyou'redreaming,youcanpromote
lucidity.

Magneticinputisbeingdoneinthewakingstatetoimprovedepressionandtohalt
psychomotorseizures.Ifyoucaninfluencemoodawake,itwouldseemyoucould
influencethemoodofadream.Wewillgetmorepreciseaboutwhatweknowabout
differentbrainareasandtargetingmagneticsignalstowardthem.

Lastly,wecanimagethebrainwellenoughawakeorasleeptoknowthingslike:
there'sanunusualamountofmotoractivityorthispersonisprobablydoing
mathematicalcalculationsrightnoworthispersonisprocessingincominglanguage
orspeakingorwritingorisverylikelysadorverylikelyhappy.Andwewillprobably
getbetteratthat.Wecanalreadydomorethingswithanimals:Ifyou'vetrainedrats
inamaze,duringREMsleeptheylooklikethey'redreamingthemazetheyshowthe
samepatternoffiringleftrightturns.That'sdonebysinkingneedleelectrodesinto
theirbrains,whichweobviouslydon'tdotohumans.Butwemaygetgoodenoughat
imagingnonintrusivelyfromtheoutsidetoseealotmoreaboutthecontent.That's
notdirectlycontrollingadream,butit'soneofthethingsthatyoumightwantto
knowifyouweretryingtocontroldreamcontent.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Jordan Lite

Scientic American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientic publications
(many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientic American maintains a strict policy of editorial
independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

2 016 S CI E N TI F I CA ME RI CA N , A DI V I S I ON OF N A TU RE A ME RI CA , I N C.

A LLRI GHTS RE S E RV E D.

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