Being able to control your dreams iis a fun idea, and maybe. there’s a way, but it’s not easy.
Although it is unclear why this occurred, pairing the sound stimuli with the learning task while they were awake may have activated memories of that puzzle when they heard the same noise during sleep. Known as targeted memory reactivation, this seems to trick the hippocampus – a brain region that is important for memory – by evoking what looks like a spontaneous reactivation of a memory. This may then influence what the hippocampus replays during sleep, enhancing learning.
Although dreams can occur at any time during the four stages of sleep, Konkoly thinks the targeting of REM may have enhanced the participants’ problem-solving prowess. “REM dreams are hyper-associative and bizarre. They mix new and old memories together, and even mix memories with fantastical imagination,” she says. “You have this brain that’s active [during this stage], but maybe with less inhibition, so you can reach farther into the corners of your mind.”