Researchers have demonstrated that a specially designed virtual reality (VR) experience can influence dream content and emotions, even during lucid dreams.

The team at Northwestern University (NU) in Illinois, USA, conducted an experiment involving four regular lucid dreamers. The participants engaged with Ripple – a “numadelic” VR programme designed to evoke awe, interconnectedness and ego-attenuation – three hours before sleep.

In Ripple, users appear as glowing spheres of light that move in synchrony before merging to create a sense of oneness. Previous research suggests such VR experiences can induce mystical states comparable to the effects of psychedelic substances.

After using the VR headsets, the researchers monitored the participants’ sleep and vital signs. During rapid eye movement sleep – the phase in which the most vivid dreams occur – NU researchers played audio cues from the VR session to prompt dream recall. Three subjects reported lucid dreams directly involving the programme, and all four were able to describe dream elements.

Follow-up interviews revealed that the induced dream content mirrored the emotional and psychological effects of the waking VR experience, sometimes persisting into daily life. One participant reported profound feelings of ego-dissolution, while others experienced heightened sensory perception for days afterwards.

The NU team believes this approach could “expand VR’s benefits via VR-based dreaming” and enhance self-transcendent experiences, which reduce self-other boundaries and promote compassion.

By combining immersive technology with dream curation techniques, the study offers a glimpse into therapeutic applications that blend waking and dreaming states.

Lead researcher, Blaise Elliott, hopes future studies will explore how the new method can improve psychological well-being, identity development and our sense of connection to others.