Dreams have arguably been a source of creative insight for millennia. The specific assertion that dreams during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep promote creative problem-solving, however, has only anecdotal support, lacking strong empirical support from rigorous studies. Experimental manipulations of dream content have been confounded by waking components, such that any boost in creative problem-solving could be attributable to waking cognition rather than sleep cognition. Likewise, correlational evidence cannot unequivocally establish that dreams cause insights. Evidence that memory reactivation during sleep promotes creative problem-solving is also insufficient for implicating dreaming per se. Better methods for directly manipulating REM-sleep dreaming are needed. Here, we studied individuals who frequently have lucid dreams—realizing they are dreaming while still asleep. Participants slept after failing to solve several puzzles that had unique soundtracks, and they were instructed to continue working on a puzzle if they heard its soundtrack in a dream. Half of the soundtracks were played during REM sleep to reactivate memories of corresponding puzzles, with the goal of biasing dreams to connect with those specific puzzles versus the remaining puzzles. Those sound cues reliably increased dreaming about the associated puzzles. Furthermore, a post-hoc analysis showed that, for participants with an increase in cue-related dreaming, cues boosted later puzzle-solving. We thus expanded on a well-known phenomenon, that sounds can be incorporated into dreams and can change dream content, by substantiating experimental procedures to align dreams with the search for creative answers to specific challenges. Results highlight that REM dreams can contribute to next-day problem solving.

Background/Objectives: Lucid dreaming—dreaming with the awareness that one is dreaming—has been explored from many perspectives, including those of cognitive neuroscience and various ancient cultural traditions. Lucid dreaming appears within the Tibetan-Buddhist literature together with dream yoga, a set of contemplative practices aimed at cultivating lucidity during dreams along with other qualities such as visual imagination, somatic awareness, and cognitive flexibility. These practices include deity visualization, which is the practice of bringing to mind a detailed image of a being whose qualities the practitioner wishes to cultivate. We examined whether it is possible to induce a lucid dream of Chenrezig, the ultimate embodiment of compassion in a Tibetan-Buddhist context. Methods: Five participants slept in the sleep laboratory for 7 overnight sessions with polysomnographic recording and auditory reminders to visualize Chenrezig during REM sleep. Results: Lucid dreams were reported by two participants. A frequent lucid dreamer with no prior Tibetan-Buddhist training experienced a lucid dream that included a visualization of Chenrezig following auditory cueing during REM sleep. A monastic participant with no prior history of lucid dreaming reported their first-ever lucid dream on the night following their laboratory session. Conclusions: This exploratory study illustrates, via collaborative research including monastic scholars trained in neuroscience, that dream content can be intentionally shaped using an approach that integrates contemplative visualization practices with modern techniques of dream engineering.

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may negatively impact idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), but data on their concurrent contributions are lacking. We aimed to test the contributions of GERD and sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) to IPF outcomes. Methods: We performed a cross‐sectional, exploratory study on subjects with IPF. Clinically established GERD diagnosis, questionnaires (Nocturnal GERD Symptom Severity and Impact Questionnaire [N‐GSSIQ], the NIH Patient‐Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System [PROMIS] sleep impairment and fatigue scales, and Short Form‐36 [SF‐36]), full pulmonary function tests (PFT), six‐minute walk test (6MWT), and nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) were obtained. Results: Among n = 24 subjects, 17 (71%) had clinically diagnosed GERD. N‐GSSIQ scores indicated a nocturnal burden, which was adversely related to sleep impairment ( p = 0.010) and daytime fatigue ( p = 0.001), tiredness ( p = 0.026) and SF‐36 social functioning ( p = 0.005), energy/fatigue ( p = 0.015), pain ( p = 0.030), and health change in the prior year ( p = 0.035). From PSG, GERD correlated with worse sleep architecture (GERD diagnosis, all p < 0.05) and periodic leg movements index (PLMI) (N‐GSSIQ, p = 0.02). GERD was not associated with pulmonary or exercise physiology. Overall, apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) was (median [25% quartile, 75% quartile]) 18.2 (8.1, 27.8)/h, and 19 (79%) subjects had OSA (AHI ≥ 5/h), with most (15/19 [79%]) having moderate or severe disease. SDB measures adversely related to gas exchange and distance walked (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: A nocturnal burden of GERD was detected and related to sleep disruption, including PLMs, and to daytime complaints. SDB/OSA, of a severity known to have significant health consequences, was common; it was adversely related to pulmonary diffusion and exercise capacity. These findings call for comprehensive, early evaluation of GERD and OSA for improved IPF outcomes.