The science of dreaming is complicated -- while we have come a long way from the times where they were treated as prophetic, the most honest answer would probably be that we are yet to know the ins and outs of dreaming fully. For example, should Leonardo DiCaprio entering people's dreams to steal secrets from their subconscious be considered sci-fi? Or could that be a reality?
Well, science doesn't know yet, but these researchers have taken a baby step closer to better understand that possibility. A new study published in the journal Current Biology has shown it’s possible to have complex two-way communication with people while they’re lucid dreaming.
In a series of experiments in which researchers described as "like trying to communicate with an astronaut on another world," dreamers were reportedly able to follow instructions, answer simple math problems through facial and eye movements, and answer yes-or-no questions while dreaming.
The study has groundbreaking implications since it "challenges the foundational definitions of sleep," according to cognitive neuroscientist Benjamin Baird of the University of Wisconsin, who was not part of the study. Sleep has been traditionally defined as a state where the brain is disconnected and unaware of the waking world, he explained to Science.
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