About a year ago, I began working with app developers Yuza to create an iPhone app that would attempt to influence people's thoughts and imagery while they are dreaming. Today we're unveiling our creation and are now looking for thousands of volunteers to help discover whether it really is possible to create the perfect dream.
Taking part is simple. Start by downloading the free Dream:ON app. Then, before you go to sleep, open the app and indicate when you want to wake up, and select one of our pre-programmed dreams, such a walk in the woods or lying on a beach. (The app comes with three free dreams. You can buy others if you want, but that's not necessary to take part in the study.) Finally, place your iPhone on your bed and go to sleep.
Dream:ON will monitor your movements 20 minutes before you want to wake up. If the app detects a sudden lack of movement – indicative of you dreaming – it will quietly play a carefully crafted soundscape of your desired dream (birds tweeting, waves lapping against the shore). At the end of your dream, the app wakes you up with a gentle alarm and asks you to submit a short description of your dream. These are stored in our database and will be used to examine whether the soundscapes do influence people's dreams.
Research from sleep laboratories suggests that it should indeed be possible to give people their desired dreams and help them wake up feeling happy and refreshed. But is that really the case? To find out, we need your help.
Richard Wiseman is professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire
