I am sitting in a lavish four-poster bed adorned with drapes and sipping on herbal tea. The scent of lavender hangs in the air. I am wearing pyjamas – and a VR headset. I breathe deeply, in and out. In front of my eyes, flowers morph from yellow to red before their petals dissolve into clouds. The clouds slowly turn into pillows, which drift through the air before shapeshifting into gently rippling bed sheets. A soothing voice speaks: “You are now entering the hypnogogic state.”
I am not being hypnotised. I am trying Kimpton Fitzroy’s “Room to Dream” experience, a world-first initiative designed to help guests lucid dream from the comfort of one of its glorious bedrooms. For the uninformed, a lucid dream is one in which you are aware that you are asleep and can control your actions. It might not sound that alluring, but it’s an area increasingly of interest for scientists, having been shown to help reduce symptoms of anxiety and PTSD, increase creativity, enhance learning and myriad other perks.
“Anything that can be treated with hypnotherapy can be worked through with lucid dreaming,” says Charlie Morley, a lucid dreaming teacher, researcher, and the architect behind the experience. He has used lucid dreaming to help people move forward from post-traumatic stress disorder, tackle confidence issues, move past phobias and even boost their athletic ability.
And it’s not just researchers that are interested in its benefits. On TikTok, the #luciddreams hashtag has over 1.4 billion views. Over on Reddit’s r/luciddreaming sub, you’ll find 494k subscribers busily sharing tips and experiences. Lucid dreaming is going mainstream.
The ‘Room to Dream’ kitRebecca Hope
Lucid dreaming as wellness
In this era of sleep tourism, it’s no surprise that hotels are starting to take notice. An ever-increasing number of programmes are being developed at top hotels to help guests enjoy a good night’s kip, and thus reap the benefits of the improved sense of wellness so closely linked with quality sleep.
Book into the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort and you can rest on a lounger with headphones and a mask in a glowing purple room, before enjoying a spell in a meditation pod. Six Senses Ibiza runs a comprehensive three- to seven-night regime comprising a consultation with the property’s resident sleep doctor, 45-minute general wellness screening, yoga nidra, massages, fitness classes, sleep amenities and sleep tracking. In London, The Cadogan has partnered with a Harley Street hypnotherapist on a Sleep Concierge service to help you nod off blissfully, which includes a sleep-inducing meditation, pillow menu, use of a weighted blanket and a house-designed bedtime tea.
