Lucid Diary, Part 2 - VR

I recently came across a fascinating 2021 study exploring the use of VR to induce lucid dreams, and the premise immediately caught my attention. The core mechanism of classical lucid dream training relies on performing regular reality checks during the day, particularly when things feel bizarre or dream-like. However, everyday waking life is rarely bizarre enough to trigger a genuine reality check.

To solve this, the researchers had participants train in a custom, dream-like VR environment called the Spinoza Café. As participants interacted with the virtual world, bizarre glitches would occur in the background. The study found that this VR exposure occasionally induced a mild, temporary state of dissociation after the sessions. This lingering VR hangover actually instilled a sense of reality skepticism, making the participants' subsequent waking reality checks feel much more authentic and effective.

My Experiment

Since I have a Meta Quest 3, I am going to run my own experiment based on these findings.

Here is my protocol for the next few weeks:

• I will regularly play the most surreal, physics-bending VR games I can find to recreate that bizarre, dream-like aesthetic.
• Immediately after taking off the headset, while my brain is still readjusting to the physical world and experiencing that slight disconnect, I will perform strict, intentional reality checks.

By conditioning my brain to critically question reality while in a highly immersive, artificial state, I hope to hack my subconscious and trigger that same critical awareness when I am immersed in the artificial reality of a dream.

I am excited to see how this translates to my sleep.