Sleeping Dreamers Have Signaled They Know They Are Dreaming
They use a memorized sequence of eye flicks, like Morse code, that researchers can detect during REM sleep.
The Tim Ferriss Show · #886: The Random Show — AI Super Assistants, Boner Pills, Dream Engineering, Wizards, Supplements, Books, and MoreSomeone fast asleep can send a message to the outside world without waking up: I know I am dreaming.
Before falling asleep, the dreamer memorizes a specific eye movement pattern. Podcast host Tim Ferriss gave one example as "right, right, left, left, right, left, something like that." It works a bit like Morse code, only with eye flicks instead of dots and dashes.
Once the dreamer becomes lucid, or aware of dreaming, during REM sleep, he or she performs that pattern with the sleeping eyes. Researchers can detect the prearranged signal and verify that it was sent from inside a provably dreaming state.
Questions people ask
Why use eye movements to communicate from a dream?
During REM sleep, most voluntary muscles are temporarily paralyzed, but the muscles that move the eyes remain active. That lets a lucid dreamer make deliberate eye movements that show up clearly on sleep recordings. Researchers agree on the signal in advance, so they can recognize it when it appears.
Can scientists read what someone is dreaming about?
No. Researchers cannot decode the plot or images of a dream from these signals. They can only recognize a simple, prearranged pattern that means something like, I am lucid right now. The signal only says the dreamer is lucid, nothing more.
Can anyone learn to become lucid and do this?
Some people can, with practice and training, though it is not reliable for everyone. Common methods include keeping a dream journal, doing daytime reality checks, and waking briefly before returning to sleep. Laboratory signaling usually uses experienced lucid dreamers.