Achieving hypothermia in lucid dreams and transferring it into wakefulness

Objective. Lucid dreams (LDs) are dreams in which people are aware of the unreality of the events taking place and can influence the plot. People can experience lucid dreaming either intentionally or unintentionally and can experience different emotions and perceptions that can lead to psychophysiological consequences upon waking. In this study, we investigated the possibility of achieving hypothermia during LDs and its traces after waking.Method. Through an online experiment, we instructed 92 volunteers to achieve hypothermia while in an LD and then check whether the effect achieved in an LD remained after awakening. If the hypothermia remained, participants reported how long it lasted.Results. Of the volunteers, 88% experienced hypothermia while dreaming – of these participants, 36% were able to transfer hypothermia into wakefulness, though for only a short period.Discussion. We suggest that transferring hypothermia from an LD to wakefulness is mostly possible due to hypnopompic hallucination. The outcomes of our research contribute to the psychophysiological correlations between LDs and wakefulness, their theoretical applications in health treatment, and the nature of lucid dreaming and hypnopompic hallucinations.