Induction of Lucid Dreaming by Luminous Stimulation

Abstract

Lucid dreaming, is a learnable, but difficult, skill (LaBerge, 1980). 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. We have tested a variety of stimuli, including tape recordings of the phrase "This is a dream", (LaBerge, Owens, Nagel & Dement, 1981), musical tones (Kueny, 1985), conditioned tactile stimuli (Rich, 1985), olfactory stimuli (LaBerge, Brylowski, & Levitan, 1985) and light. Here we report on laboratory experiments using light as a stimulus for inducing lucid dreams. The light stimuli were flashing extra bright red light emitting diodes mounted in a pair of goggles, applied for varying lengths of time either by a technician or a computer while the subject was in REM sleep.