The idea of controlling dreams is gradually moving out of the realm of fantasy and into serious science. Researchers at Northwestern University in the United States have shown that dream content can be gently guided and used to solve intellectual tasks.
The experiment involved 20 people capable of lucid dreaming — that is, dreaming while aware that they are asleep and sometimes able to influence what happens. Before going to sleep, they solved logic problems, each accompanied by a unique sound signal. They were given limited time, and participants left several problems unsolved.
During the rapid eye movement (REM) phase, the researchers played these signals to activate memories linked to the tasks. As a result, 75% of participants reported dreams related to the assignments. At the same time, 42% of the tasks tied to sounds were solved immediately after waking or later. For tasks without such cues, this figure was only 17%.
The effect was observed even in those who did not realize they were dreaming. Some participants asked a character in the dream for help with the solution, while others described unrelated scenes in which elements of the tasks unexpectedly surfaced. In the future, the scientists plan to refine this mechanism and study whether dreams can be used for learning and dealing with emotions.
The story of the periodic table comes to mind: according to legend, Dmitri Mendeleev saw it in a dream. Although the scientist later clarified that he had worked on it for a long time and systematically, and that the dream merely helped him "see" an almost complete structure. New research only confirms that such insights can not only be awaited, but perhaps one day directed.
