Feasibility of a Mental-Health Intervention Based on Contemplative Sleep Practices

Completed · Early Phase 1

Conditions studied: Anxiety

In brief

This is a feasibility study to test whether it is possible to deliver a program inspired by Tibetan Dream Yoga in a modern, accessible way. Dream Yoga is a set of contemplative practices that combine mental exercises during the day with techniques for becoming aware of dreaming within a dream (lucid dreaming) and engage in certain dream activities. The purpose of these practices is to help people explore and loosen rigid patterns of thought and behavior. In this study, the investigators are developing and testing a program that includes guided imagination, meditation, and lucid-dreaming practices, supported by virtual-reality experiences and home-based sleep-monitoring technology. Participants are randomly assigned to either the Dream-Yoga-inspired program or a comparison program focused on general health and sleep education. Because this is a feasibility trial, our main goals are to see whether people are willing and able to take part, whether they find the program acceptable, and whether the investigators can deliver it as planned. The investigators will also explore early signals of change in sleep, dreaming, and thinking. The long-term goal of this research is to determine if such interventions could be beneficial for supporting psychological well-being, improving sleep, and enhancing creativity and flexibility of thought.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07217340

Run by

Northwestern University

People needed

25

Starts

2025-10-01

Expected to finish

2025-12-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-02-12

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Healthy, English-speaking adults (at least 18 years old) with
• High dream recall (at least 1/month).

You may not qualify if…

• a history of an established meditative practice
• psychological or psychiatric disorders (other than mild anxiety)
• sleep disorders, nightshift work in the past month, extreme chronotype or irregular sleeping pattern
• use of recreational drugs in the past month
• history of asthma, seizures or heart problems
• unwillingness to wear headband during sleep.
• Not having an address in the domestic United States, so residents of other countries would be excluded.

Where it is running

• Cresap Laboratory — Evanston, Illinois, United States
• Contemplative Sciences Center — Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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