Partial memory reinstatement while (lucid) dreaming to change the dream environment.

Lucid dreamers can often control dream events, but the limits of that control are unclear. In this study, participants briefly viewed a real-world scene and then, while lucid dreaming, tried to change their dream scenery to match that scene. Even when dreamers were aware during the dream that their reinstatement was inaccurate, the dream imagery remained incorrect. This dissociation between memory access and dream imagery indicates that detailed control over dream content is limited, despite the ability to broadly change the dream environment. The findings suggest that reinstating waking contexts during lucid sleep can be a method for studying sleep, dreams, and memory.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Lucid dreams often coincide with having control over dream events in real-time, although the limitations of dream control are not completely understood. The current study probed the ability of lucid dreamers to reinstate waking scene memories while dreaming. After brief exposure to an experimental scene, participants were asked to reinstate the scene while lucid dreaming (i.e., change dream scenery to match real-world scene). Qualitative analysis revealed that successful dream scene reinstatements were overwhelmingly inaccurate with respect to the original experimental scene. Importantly, reinstatement inaccuracies held even when the dreamer was aware of them during the dream, suggesting a dissociation between memory access while dreaming and dream imagery. The ability to change the environment of a dream speaks to the high amount of lucid dream control, yet the inaccuracies speak to a lack of detailed control. Reinstating context during lucid sleep offers an experimental method to investigate sleep, dreams, and memory.