>> Joe: A lucid dream is a dream where the dreamer knows he is dreaming. So much so,

that the dreamer may in fact be able to become the architect of the dreamscape and control

the narrative of the dream. Think of it as a marriage between the sleeping and waking

minds, a kind of a middle ground where both states of consciousness interact.

>> Trish: Now, most people have heard of lucid dreaming, but the experience is somewhat of

a rare one, and scientists have been trying to figure out ways in which to trigger these

self-aware night visions.

>> Joe: Turns out that trigger is a 40 hertz, electrical zap to the noggin. Gamma activity

increases in the frontal cortex when we dream, and these scientists took note and zapped

willing participants with varying electrical doses once they entered dreamland.

>> Trish: Over four science filled nights of fun and experimentation, scientists tinkered

with 27 willing participants who were previously not lucid dreamers. Once they fell asleep,

their brain wave patterns were monitored, and once the gamma waves reflected the dream

state, the scientists stimulated the frontal cortex with 30 second bursts of electricity,

anywhere between 2 and 100Hz.

>> Joe: The volunteers were then jostled awake and asked to describe their dream experiences,

and what the researchers found is that 77 percent of them controlled their dreams after

getting hit with the 40hz spark.

>> Trisha: Which is amazing. But what’s interesting is that the other levels of electricity

didn’t elicit a dreaming response, except for 25HZ, which a much smaller number of people

responded to…because… no one knows.

>> Joe: The brain be an amazing enigma box of confusion and electrical impulses. My favorite

quote from the study is from Dr. John Allan Hobson who said, "I never thought this would

work. But it looks like it does."

>> Trisha: Moving forward, this research will not only open the doors to controlling our

dreams, but it will also assist scientist in further understanding the human brain and

different states of consciousness.

>> Joe: Awesome. Guys, gals, have you ever experienced a lucid dream? Please describe

it to us in the comments below.

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