Although it may seem difficult to believe, a company claims to have achieved communication between two people who were asleep.
”At REMspace Inc., we are convinced that REM sleep represents the next big revolution.” It is read on the website of the “neurotechnology” company that leads innovations in the field of sleep. What proposes a futuristic vision of integration between the world of dreams and physical reality.
Although it may seem difficult to believe, this company claims to have achieved communication between two people who were asleep. A team of researchers developed a device that allowed two people to exchange a simple message while in a lucid dream state. An anomalous incident in which a person knows they are dreaming, even though they are completely asleep, is known as a lucid dream. Achieved during REM sleep, lucid dreaming is a phenomenon that could have various potential applications, from solving psychological problems to learning new skills, while a person sleeps connected to a special device (as shown in the blockbuster movie The Matrix).
The experiment was carried out only on September 24 of this year. The participants were monitored remotely using a specialized device that recorded their brain waves and other polysomnographic data (measurement of brain activity and vital functions during sleep). Upon detecting that the first participant had entered a lucid dream, the server generated a random word and sent it through headphones. He repeated the word in his dream, and his response was stored on the server. Eight minutes later, the second participant, also in a lucid dream state, received the stored message and confirmed it upon waking up, supposedly marking the first message exchange in dreams.
Researchers maintain that REM sleep allows people to immerse themselves in a fully developed reality, in which they can see, hear, touch, smell, taste and experience pleasure, pain, happiness, distress. And unlike physical reality, REM sleep is free of limitations and rules, offering an experience without restrictions and full of possibilities. REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, has been studied for decades due to its relationship with memory consolidation and its role in emotion processing. However, REMspace’s approach goes much further: instead of limiting itself to understanding the phenomenon, they seek to apply and exploit it technologically to generate conscious experiences in real time through high-tech devices. By 2025, the company will launch LucidMe PRO, the first device that combines the functions of LucidMe (a sleep monitoring app) with an advanced polysomnograph. This equipment will allow users to monitor three important sleep indicators in real time: the EEG (electroencephalogram), which captures the electrical activity of the brain; the EOG (electrooculogram), which records eye movements, and the EMG (electromyogram), which measures muscle activity. This data will allow a detailed analysis of all sleep phases, which improves the understanding and quality of rest.
In the field of psychology, lucid dreaming could become a therapeutic tool, allowing people to confront their fears and resolve internal conflicts in a safe and controlled environment. In the professional field, it could be used to develop skills or simulate experiences, which would allow learning through practice in a dream state. Technology enthusiasts at REMspace also highlight that this possibility of dream training could be extended to athletes and musicians, who could hone their skills while they sleep, without the limitation of physical fatigue.
To what extent will it be safe to modify and manipulate the content of our dreams? What psychological effects could a technology that allows a disconnection from reality, even temporary, have? Scientists and experts in neurology or neurotechnology are still in an early stage of research regarding the long-term effects of dream manipulation.
Meanwhile, on the REMspace website anyone can download a “Short Guide to Techniques for Lucid Dreaming.” Although bodies remain immobile, due to the natural muscular paralysis of sleep, the mind is supposedly able to perceive and, in some cases, control aspects of the dream such as characters and settings. Will it be possible?
