Vestibular dreams: The effect of rocking on dream mentation.

Abstract

The study investigates the proposed link between vestibular activation and dream lucidity. In the experiment, subjects spent two consecutive nights sleeping in a hammock in the sleep lab. For each night, during the second, third, and fourth REM sleep periods, the hammock was either stationary (control condition), or rocked at a constant frequency (experimental condition) stimulating the subject's vestibular system. In all conditions the subject was awakened after ten minutes of REM sleep and asked to provide a mentation report. Each report was later analyzed on a number of scales (total word count, vestibular imagery, self-reflectiveness, categorization on a mentation continuum, and bizarreness). Physiological measures such as REM density and EEG power were also analyzed. A rocking by time interaction was found: rocking increased lucid mentation during early morning REM periods, but had little effect on the already high degree of lucid mentation during late morning REM periods. Physiological measures showed little differentiation between conditions, with the exception of a significantly high incidence of nystagmoid-like compensatory phasic eye-movements in the rocking condition. These results suggest that vestibular activation during REM sleep can influence dream mentation, specifically, dream self-reflectiveness and vestibular imagery.

Induction of lucid dreams: A systematic review of evidence

“…Alternatively, galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) can be used for direct stimulation of vestibular system (Noreika et al, 2010), which is also linked to lucid dreaming (cf. Leslie & Ogilvie, 1996). In addition to donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmin, huperzine and DMAE have been suggested as drugs that can enhance lucidity in dreams (LaBerge, 2004;Sergio, 1988).…”

“…One study (Leslie & Ogilvie, 1996) employed vestibular stimulation -participants were rocked during REM sleep at a constant frequency while sleeping in a hammock. Although findings are not conclusive, there are some indications that vestibular stimulation can increase dream reflectiveness in early vs. late morning REM periods.…”

Why are dreams interesting for philosophers? The example of minimal phenomenal selfhood, plus an agenda for future research1

“…Windt, 2014, chapter 8). Real-body stimulation (e.g., sprays of water on the skin, Dement and Wolpert, 1958; electric stimulation, Koulack, 1969; blood-pressure-cuff stimulation on the leg, Nielsen, 1993; Sauvageau et al, 1993, 1998; Nielsen et al, 1995; vestibular stimulation, Hoff, 1929; Hoff and Plötzl, 1937; Leslie and Ogilvie, 1996) is frequently incorporated in dreams, and indeed it has been suggested that many typical dream themes—such as dreams of flying, falling, or being unable to move or flee from a pursuer—can be explained in terms of illusory own-body perception (Schönhammer, 2004, 2005), and the same may be true for sleep-paralysis nightmares during sleep onset (Cheyne et al, 1999; Cheyne, 2003, 2005). An early predecessor of this view of dreams as weakly functionally embodied states (Windt, 2014) is the Leibreiztheorie , promoted by 19th century researchers and extensively discussed and rejected by Freud (1899/2003, pp.…”

The Moving History of Vestibular Stimulation as a Therapeutic Intervention

“…Interestingly, the frequency of lucid dreams seems to be related to the vestibular activity in sleep (Gackenbach et al, 1986). In a similar vein, Leslie and Ogilvie (1996) showed that vestibular stimulation lead to changes in dream mentation, including increased bizarreness and vestibular imagery. They hypothesized that activity of vestibular nuclei may contribute to lucid dreaming.…”

“…Vestibular stimulation seems to influence not only sleep characteristics but also properties of dreams (Leslie and Ogilvie, 1996). Indications about a connection arise from patients with vestibular disorders reporting strong vestibular imagery while dreaming (Doneshka and Kehaiyov, 1978).…”