Electrical Brain Zap Helps Induce State of Lucid Dreaming

A recent study conducted by researchers from Harvard University in Boston, Mass., shows that electrical stimulation can potentially induce lucid dreaming--a state in which people are aware of and in control of their dreams.

"I never thought this would work," said study researcher Dr. John Allan Hobson, a psychiatrist and longtime sleep researcher at Harvard University, via Live Science. "But it looks like it does."

Findings showed that when 27 dreamers were zapped with a current of 40 Hertz, around 77 percent reported having lucid dreams. Researchers waited until the subjects had been in a REM sleep cycle for 3 minutes. Soon after, they stimulated their brains with mild doses of electricity and immediately woke up the patients to ask them about their dreams.

"They were really excited," said study researcher Ursula Voss, of J.W. Goethe-University Frankfurt in Germany, who designed the experiments. "The dream reports were short, but long enough for them to report, 'Wow, all of the sudden I knew this was a dream, while I was dreaming.'"

Yet some have cautioned against the idea of this induced state.

"Your brain is not just lazing about while you sleep," said Robert Stickgold, director of the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Harvard Medical School, via Health Day. "It's doing a lot of critical work, most of it having to do with processing memories from the day."

Many researchers hope that this could provide a new treatment option in the future for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other health issues.