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It's common knowledge that dreams reflect our subconscious thoughts and feelings. But is it possible to actually manipulate our subconscious, so we can think, feel and dream however we want?
That's the premise behind Dream:ON, a new iPhone app being used as a mass-participation study to test whether people really can influence their dreams.
"Getting a good night's sleep and having pleasant dreams boosts people's productivity, and is essential for their psychological and physical well being," said Professor Richard Wiseman, the psychologist behind Dream:ON. "Despite this, we know very little about how to influence dreams. This experiment aims to change that."
Here's how it works: After downloading the app free from the iTunes store, participants choose a specially designed soundscape and wake-up time and leave their phones on their beds. Presumably, the accelerometer on the app will measure the sleeper's motions and track when he enters a REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage -- when the most vivid and memorable dreams occur -- and starts dreaming.
Once the sleeper is in REM mode, the app will play the soothing sounds he's chosen beforehand. The theory behind the soundscapes is that they'll influence the sleeper's dreams, and under the right conditions, they can help lead to lucid dreaming -- the kind of dream in which you know you're dreaming.
With the app, participants have the option of posting a brief description of their dreams to a central database. They can even tag any friends who appear in their dreams on Facebook -- that is, if they're comfortable announcing who they're dreaming about.
Results so far from the study, documented on the Dream:ON Twitter account, are mixed.
Disappointed with first try of @DreamONapp. No dreams, just broken sleep from the noises played sporadically. Normally sleep & dream well...— Libby Langley (@LibbyLangley) April 12, 2012
@DreamONapp I had the best lucid dream I can remember thanks to your app.Look forward to trying it again tonight.— Ashwin Desikan (@adesikan) April 11, 2012
Still, for Wiseman and his colleagues, that's the point of conducting the study. They hope to have at least 10,000 participants, and after a few months, they'll examine the data to see if it really is possible to influence your dreams.