CAN WE COMMUNICATE IN DREAMS?

Today's machine learning methods have been shown to visualise our dreams. But what if we wished to go further and actually share our dreams? At present, while we can interpret brain signals and roughly figure out imagined scenes and high-level thoughts, we have no way to transfer these into another brain. Perhaps that's a good thing: many of us might be a little uneasy at the idea of computers pushing ideas directly into our brains during sleep.

- PROF PETER BENTLEY

Our only current option is to use our senses. Words spoken into our ears while sleeping might be a way of transferring information from one sleeper to another. But how does a sleeping person talk or listen? It's more difficult than it sounds.

Those who do speak during sleep (called somniloquists) tend to do so because of stress. The strange mumblings and burbles aren't under conscious control. And listening to sounds is also not something we're good at while asleep: noises heard during sleep most commonly result in disturbed sleep and stress for the dreamer.