Start-up claims to have 'successfully' achieved first 'chat' between two dreaming humans: 'Could unlock new dimensions'
“It will improve the quality of their life so much that people won’t imagine their life without technologies like this. We just need to improve them, and it’s just a matter of time.”
Researchers for a California start-up claim they achieved the first-ever communication between two humans while dreaming, in what they dubbed a “historic milestone” that “could unlock new dimensions.”
REMspace, a San Francisco Bay Area-based neurotech company focused on lucid dreaming and sleep enhancement, shared that they have now twice had “two individuals successfully induced lucid dreams and exchanged a simple message.”
The company claimed the participants were sleeping at their homes on Sept. 24 when their specially developed “apparatus” remotely tracked their polysomnographic data through WiFi — recording their brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and breathing during sleep.
After the company’s server detected that one of the candidates had entered a lucid dream state, it generated a random word and repeated it to him via earbuds.
The company has not shared the word, which was allegedly only known to the participant and repeated in his dream state, but his response was then recorded and stored on their server.
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About REMspace
At REMspace Inc., we believe that REM sleep will be the next groundbreaking advancement following AI, poised to revolutionize civilization. This conviction drives us to develop innovative technologies and services, aiming to be pioneers on this journey.
People once believed that hyper-realistic dreams experienced during REM sleep were forever disconnected from reality. However, emerging technologies will change this outdated notion. Why? Unlike virtual reality, REM sleep allows individuals to immerse themselves in a fully developed reality where they can see, hear, touch, smell, taste, experience pleasure and pain, and even alter their body and gender. Unlike physical reality, REM sleep is free from limitations and rules.
These extraordinary features make REM sleep incredibly appealing to the general public and simultaneously offer significant business opportunities. It makes the conquest of REM sleep inevitable. It is only a matter of time. All we need to do is learn how to maintain consciousness during REM sleep and integrate it with modern technologies.
REMspace is a neurotechnology company that's making waves in the field of lucid dreaming. They've recently raised $1 million in seed funding to further develop their innovative technologies .
Their mission is to make lucid dreaming accessible to everyone, and they believe it can have a profound impact on our lives. According to Michael Raduga, CEO at REMspace, "Lucid dreams are a gateway to new experiences; they can help fight depression, eliminate fears, improve the practitioner's mood and quality of life, and promote sleep quality" .
One of their breakthrough achievements is enabling two-way communication between people in lucid dreams. Yes, you read that right! They've successfully demonstrated that people can exchange information while dreaming. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with each other, even in our subconscious state.
REMspace offers various products and services, including:
Smart Sleeping Mask: Helps with lucid dreaming, falling asleep, gentle awakening, meditating, improving dream recall frequency, and preventing snoring.
Dietary Supplements: Supports lucid dreaming and improved sleep quality ¹.
Dream Journaling: A social media platform for sharing and tracking dreams.
The company is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the realm of lucid dreaming. With their cutting-edge technology and innovative approach, REMspace is poised to change the way we experience and interact with our dreams.
What is Lucid Dreaming?
It is often said that everyone dreams but not everyone remembers dreaming. People who claim they don’t dream often respond skeptically to the question, “Does lucid dreaming exist?” Meanwhile, those who do recall their dreams may find themselves wondering, “Is there a way to lucid dream?” After aLL, it’s one thing to passively watch your dreams and take part in them indirectly, and quite another to realize you’re dreaming and actively influence the events unfolding in the dream. For those who struggle to remember their dreams, the ability to consciously control a dream might seem unrealistic. However, theoretically, everyone has the potential not only to dream and become aware of the process but also to affect it directly.
Is there a way to lucid dream?
In reality, many people have spontaneously experienced lucidity in a dream at least once in their lifetime (Survey: “How Many People Have Experienced Lucid Dreams and Sleep Paralysis?”). For regular practitioners, the question of whether lucid dreaming exists has been settled. They know that lucid dreaming is possible, and they use their controlled dreams to solve problems, achieve goals, explore their abilities, and, of course, have fun.
The History of Lucid Dream Studies
Lucid dreaming as a practice has been known since ancient times. Dreams were often regarded as a form of communication with the gods or a means of understanding one’s true self. Ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle wrote about a possible connection between dreams and reality. Papyrus records and hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt suggest that Egyptians considered dreams important and used them for healing purposes. In some cultures, lucid dreaming was seen as a way to prepare for the afterlife, and ancient Indian yogis used lucid dreams to develop spiritual capabilities.
Examples of such practices include dream yoga (Milam) in Tibetan Buddhism, Swapna yoga or Nidra yoga in India, and dream incubation in ancient Greece.
These practices show that people have long considered dreams to be more than just a form of rest, although they were mainly approached from an esoteric and spiritual perspective.
In the mid-19th century, French Marquis d’Hervey de Saint-Denys wrote Dreams and How to Direct Them (“Les rêves et les moyens de les diriger”), in which he describes his methods for working with dreams. His work can be considered the beginning of the scientific approach to studying dreams.
In the early 20th century, Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik van Eeden continued the scientific exploration of controlled dreams. Van Eeden kept detailed dream journals to explore his experiences and actions in dreams, noting that in some dreams, he realized he was dreaming and could influence the events. He called these special controlled dreams “lucid dreams.”
In his article “A Study of Dreams,” published in The Journal of Society for Psychical Research, van Eeden coined the term “lucid dreaming,” which he used to refer to the state of being aware in a dream and the ability to control the events, actions, and plots within the dream.
In the second half of the 20th century, English researcher Celia Green studied the “paranormal phenomenon” of lucid dreams from a scientific perspective. Green gathered data on others’ lucid dreaming experiences, and her book Lucid Dreams (1968) laid the groundwork for future scientific studies on the subject.
Does lucid dreaming exist
In the 1970s, British psychologist Keith Hearne conducted the first study using polysomnography to determine whether lucid dreams exist. He objectively confirmed their existence.
American psychophysiologist Stephen LaBerge continued Hearne’s work. In 1980, LaBerge completed his dissertation, Lucid Dreaming: An Exploratory Study of Consciousness during Sleep. He used polysomnography and other methods to confirm the presence of consciousness during sleep and demonstrated that lucidity occurs specifically during the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep phase.
In 1990, LaBerge and American writer and researcher Howard Rheingold co-authored Exploring the world of Lucid Dreaming, which described practical methods for achieving lucidity during dreams.
These studies helped make lucid dreaming more accessible to The General public and sparked greater interest in the topic.
In the 21st century, Russian researcher Michael Raduga furthered the study of lucid dreams. Specifically, Raduga founded REMspace Inc., published several books, and developed free video lessons offering methods for achieving lucidity in dreams.
Currently, Michael Raduga is continuing his research on lucid dreaming and developing techniques that enable anyone to begin practicing lucid dreaming.
What Is Lucid Dreaming?
From a scientific perspective, a lucid dream is a unique state of consciousness that occurs during sleep, when a person maintains self-awareness. During a lucid dream, not only can a person understand that they are dreaming, but they can also (to varying degrees) influence both the dream’s events and their own behaviors and emotional states.
How Is Lucid Dreaming Different from Regular Dreams?
Physiologically, lucid dreams occur during the REM phase of sleep, which is the phase when the brain’s activity resembles that of wakefulness and most vivid dreams occur. Polysomnographic measurements conducted by various researchers have confirmed this fact.
Neurophysiological data suggest that lucid dreaming involves increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for decision-making, planning, self-awareness, and controlling actions. There is also heightened activity in the hippocampus and other regions related to memory, orientation, and information processing. The increased levels of acetylcholine and other neurotransmitters associated with brain activity in the REM phase contribute to a more conscious state during sleep.
Psychologically, practicing lucid dreaming enhances one’s ability to maintain self-control and regulate their emotional responses. Lucid dreaming can help people manage emotional issues, alleviate stress, and improve self-understanding. It also provides a safe space to “rehearse” real-life situations and reactions. You can read more about these possibilities of lucid dreams in Michael Raduga’s book REM Psychology: Solving Psychological Problems in Lucid Dreams.
Conclusion
Scientific explanations of lucid dreams seek to uncover the biological and neural processes behind such dreams while also acknowledging their psychological and spiritual aspects. Research continues to make lucid dreaming more accessible to people and open up new possibilities for studying and applying lucid dreams in practical ways.