Scientists have made a breakthrough when it comes to triggering lucid dreams. Building on their previous work, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Lucidity Institute in Hawaii wanted to investigate how acetylcholinesterase inhibitors might promote lucid dreaming. A common drug used to treat memory decline in Alzheimer’s disease – galantamine – is a fast-acting AChEI with only mild side effects, so researchers recruited 121 participants to see what effect the drug had on their ability to have and recall lucid dreams. The findings were surprising.