For decades, scientists have been trying to tap into the subconscious mind as a means of transcending reality. Some have experimented with mind-altering drugs such as weed and psychedelics, while others have turned to methods such as transcendental meditation, hypnosis and hypnagogia. Anyone who’s taken their brains out of acid will tell you that gently floating in a flotation tank is a very different experience, but the kind of altered states they’re meant to evoke are pretty much the same. – The idea is that changing you can help the mind unlock the subconscious, and in doing so, help us reframe our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
In January, I started lucid dreaming as a way to unlock the subconscious after reading about it. Development of a new tool which allows users to control their dreams using AI. The idea that we might soon be able to hack our dreams felt like something out of a sci-fi novel, though given the rapid development of AI in recent months it’s not a completely implausible possibility. Prophetic AI’s Halo has yet to successfully deliver a product, and other companies have tried to create clarity through apps and devices that track REM sleep, though these too have no guarantees. Do not come together. Then, last month, I received an email about a hotel in London unveiling the world’s first AI lucid dreaming experience, so of course I had to try it.
gave Compton Fitzroy LondonThe ‘Room to Dream’ experience promises to help guests activate dreaming through the use of a VR headset and a combination of other meditation and relaxation techniques, including a calming tea that contains mugwort tonic ( An herb known to increase your chances of lucid dreaming) and sprinkling lavender spray on pillows before bed. “Charlie Morley, the dreaming expert behind the experiment, says that a lot of lucid dreaming depends on the set and setting, so VR combined with tea and a dream journal help prepare the mind for lucid dreaming. . “The technology is designed to clarify the mind by consciously guiding you into a hypnagogic state. Most dreaming techniques depend on the ability to consciously enter the hypnagogic, so the VR experience helps teach that. helps
With the VR headset on, I take a moment to relax in bed as a Siri-like voice guides me into meditation. “Welcome to the dream factory,” it says. Numerous abstract, blurred AI shapes begin to float across the screen like clouds, intended to create a sense of weightlessness in the user. I take deep breaths as instructed and sink deeper into the cushions, letting my mind drift into a peaceful semi-sleepy state. “You are now entering a hypnagogic state,” it continues.
The experience lasts only five minutes, which is relatively short when you consider the infinity of the dream world, and integrates elements of guided meditation into a peaceful blend of visual and audio stimuli into a peaceful virtual reality experience. In doing so, Roshan takes a hybrid approach to dreaming. Full disclosure, I didn’t have any happy dreams that night, although the ones I do have are particularly vivid. What strikes me most about the experience, however, is how well wellness professionals are tapping into the sleep market – sleep tourism is fast becoming a reality. One of the biggest trends in the tourism industrywith companies offering everything from sleep treatments to weighted blankets and dream techniques to increase your chances of a good night’s rest.
Given that our lives are digitally mediated, it’s no surprise that companies are turning to emerging technologies like AI and VR to help create seamless dream states, though The reason we can’t sleep stems in part from our screen time. It’s also no coincidence that interest in lucid dreaming, or sleep in general, is on the rise at a time when the digital world is accelerating and people are looking to track their health using tech. has grown – think digital wearables like Aura Color allows. Users can track their sleep through an app, or even trends like the TikTok viral Sleepy Girl Mocktail. “Sleep is getting cold,” Morley says. “Gone are the days of sleeping when you’re dead, people want to love their lives as much as possible and to do that they need to sleep properly.”