Although we are usually not explicitly aware that we are dreaming while we are dreaming, at times a remarkable exception occurs, and we become conscious enough to realize that fact. "Lucid" dreamers (the term derives from van Eeden, 19 13) report being able to remember the circumstances of waking life freely, to think clearly, and to act deliberately upon reflection, all while experiencing a dream world that seems vividly real (Green, 1968; LaBerge, 1985; Gackenbach & LaBerge, 1988). This contrasts with the usual characterization of dreams as states that typically evince no reflective awareness or true volition (Rechtschaffen, 1978). Lucid dreaming is normally a rare experience. Though most people report having had a lucid dream at least once in their lives, only about 20% of the population reports having lucid dreams once a month or more (Snyder & Gackenbach, 1988). Although most people have experienced lucid dreams, some theoreticians have considered them impossible and even absurd (e.g., Malcolm, 1959). In the absence of empirical evidence, most sleep researchers have been inclined to accept Hartmann's (1975) "impression" that lucid dreams are "not typical parts of dreaming thought, but rather brief arousals" (p. 74; see also Berger, 1977). Schwartz and Lefebvre (1973) noted that frequent transitory arousals are common during REM sleep and proposed that these "microawakenings" are the physiological basis for lucid dream reports. Although no one has found any evidence for this mechanism, their proposal has been the predominant opinion (cf. Foulkes, 1974) until the last few years.

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Lucid dreaming is a remarkable state of consciousness in which one is aware of the fact that one is dreaming while continuing to dream. Based on the strong relationship between physiological activation during rapid eye-movement sleep and lucid dreaming, our pilot research investigated whether enhancing cortical activation via acetylcholinesterease inhibition (AChEI) would increase the frequency of lucid dreams and found AChEI to be a promising method for lucid dream induction. In the current study we sought to quantify the size and reliability of the effect of AChEI on lucid dreaming, dream recall and dream content as well as to test the effectiveness of an integrated lucid dream induction protocol which combined cholinergic stimulation with other methods for lucid dream induction. Participants (N = 121) with high dream recall and an interest in lucid dreaming were randomly assigned counterbalanced orders of 3 doses of galantamine (0, 4 and 8 mg). On 3 consecutive nights, they awoke approximately 4.5 hours after lights out, recalled a dream, ingested the capsules and stayed out of bed for at least 30 minutes. Participants then returned to bed and practiced the Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams technique while returning to sleep. The percentage of participants who reported a lucid dream was significantly increased for both 4 mg (27%, odds ratio = 2.29) and 8 mg doses (42%, odds ratio = 4.46) compared to the active placebo procedure (14%). Galantamine also significantly increased dream recall, sensory vividness and complexity (p<0.05). Dream recall, cognitive clarity, control, positive emotion, vividness and self-reflection were increased during lucid compared to non-lucid dreams (p<0.0001). These results show that galantamine increases the frequency of lucid dreams in a dose-related manner. Furthermore, the integrated method of taking galantamine in the last third of the night with at least 30 minutes of sleep interruption and with an appropriately focused mental set is one of the most effective methods for inducing lucid dreams available today.

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Lucid dreaming is a learnable, but difficult skill. Consequently, we have sought methods for helping dreamers to realize that they are dreaming by means of external cues applied during REM sleep, which if incorporated into dreams, can remind dreamers that they are dreaming. Here we report on an experiment testing the validity and effectiveness of a portable computerized biofeedback device (DreamLight®) designed to deliver light cues during REM sleep. The 14 subjects used DreamLights on 4 to 24 nights. They were unaware that the DreamLights were specially programmed to deliver cues only on alternate nights. Eleven subjects reported 32 lucid dreams, 22 from nights with light cues, 10 from nights without cues. All lucid dreams scored (by judges blind to DreamLight condition) as being "cued" by the DreamLight's stimuli occurred on nights when the DreamLight was actually delivering cues. Subjects reported seeing in their dreams what they believed to be DreamLight cues significantly more often on light cue nights (73 total) compared to nights without light cues (9). The conclusion is that cueing with sensory stimuli by the DreamLight appears to increase a subject's probability of having lucid dreams, and that most of the resulting lucid dreams are due to the specific effect of light cues rather than general "placebo" factors.

The main goal of the present study was to explore electrophysiological differences between lucid and nonlucid dreams in REM sleep. Seven men and four women experienced in lucid dreaming underwent polysomnographic recordings in the sleep laboratory on two consecutive nights. EEG signals were subjected to spectral analysis to obtain five different frequency bands between 1 and 20 Hz. Lucidity was determined by both subjective dream reports and eye-movement signals made by the subjects in response to light stimuli indicating a REM period. The main discrimination factor between lucid and nonlucid dreaming was found in the beta-1 frequency band (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), which in lucid dreaming was increased in both parietal regions. The ratio of frontal to parietal beta-1 activity was 1 to 1.16 in nonlucid and 1 to 1.77 in lucid dreaming. A tendency towards the greatest increase was observed in the left parietal lobe (P3), an area of the brain considered to be related to semantic understanding and self-awareness.