Category: Lucid Dream


Rapid Eye Movements During Dream

The REM-detection algorithm is now ready to be burnt to the standalone version of the sleep lab and can be seen climbing the planes in the minute above.

I could hear Bob’s voice, but had the most annoying itch on my chin that caused major instabilities in NPR. I tried to hang on for dear life, but the itch was so overpowering that I could not hold still for long. When the eye movements subsided a few minutes later, the twitch grew so strong that it almost triggered the next track.

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) (95 MB).

OpenEEG recording of a lucid dream
I had a rare natural lucid dream triggered by events inspired by the main theme of Bob DeNatale’s new film about lucid dreaming, The Art of Dreaming. I maintained lucidity for a good minute of human flight. The minute featured above shows a spike in the data that is otherwise flat, recorded at 0614, when I believe the dream occured. I was asleep from 0015 to 0640. 

The algorithm didn’t trigger an audio track, as it was looking for multiple events like this in a row. I will update it to optionally trigger on only a single event, because of the vividness of the dream. The spike looks similar to when I open my eyes while awake.

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV).

Triggering lucidity
I became aware of the previous song stopping abruptly. Not from the song that started in the minute above. A flurry of eye movements can be seen in the middle of the snapshot with traces of another one of those 30 second waves in the first half. 

According to a team of neuroscientists at UW there are:

Neurons in the mammalian brainstem that focus exclusively on new, novel sounds, helping humans ignore ongoing, predictable sounds. The neurons are located under the cortex in a part of the brain called the inferior colliculus. These neurons provide a unique model that can be used in the future to explore some of the neural mechanisms underlying memory, prediction and selective attention.

So instead of just introducing new signals to attain lucidity, it may be worth further investigation to trigger lucidity by removing persistent signals…

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV).

REM Sleep After Ninety Minutes
The first audio track played exactly 90 minutes into the session and the movements lasted for the duration of the song. I was expecting the vocals to kick and was disappointed when they didn’t. I will have to cut them in as soon as possible. The second audio track played 65 minutes after that; six blinks can be seen in the minute above before it woke me up. 

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV).

Audio Tracks During REM Sleep
Four tracks played within six minutes: two of the tracks can be seen in the featured minute and I distinctly remember when the second one played. The rush from knowing that the world around me was a dream can clearly be seen in the seconds that followed. I tried to control my eye movements for the first time, but the effect I was hoping for did not make it across. 

Another track played in the morning and woke me up during REM sleep, feeling very refreshed.

Preparation: chewed a few calea leaves.

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV).

Wake Initiated Lucid Dream
I went to bed very late and started dreaming exactly ten minutes after I lay down. The track played a minute into the dream which continued for another 3 minutes. 13 blinks can be seen in the minute above before the track played. 

Preparation: chewed a few Calea leaves four hours earlier.

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV) or watch the video.

Rapid Eye Movement Chart Lucid Dream

Six blinks can be seen again before the audio track played and induced a few seconds of lucidity. Another track played an hour and twenty minutes later when the next REM phase was detected and I was able to remain airborne for almost a minute.

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV) or watch the video.

REM Lucid Dream
I became lucid naturally, the old-fashioned way. So when the track played the euphoria and confidence doubled. But I flew too high too fast and the dream started fading very quickly. 

Three blinks can be seen before the anthem, then some strained eye movements followed by another four blinks.

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV) or watch the video.

REM Sleep Interrupted
The track woke me up and ended the dream that it detected rather abruptly as can be seen after the eight blinks above. I did, however, manage to remain completely still and awake for the next 10 minutes until the hallucinations started again. 

Although I was focusing on the end of the dream and thinking through all the things that I would have done differently with more awareness, I simply started seeing the room I was in through closed eyes. There were things that I knew could not be there and I was able to get up ever so slowly and set out on an epic adventure.

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV) or watch the video.

Rapid Eye Movement Graph
There were three brief occurances of REM onset that all ended abruptly. The track played a minute into the fourth and induced lucidity in the dream that ended naturally after 10 minutes. 

Download entry as Lucid Scribe Data (LSD) or Comma Separated Values (CSV) or watch the video.