Psychedelics Could Transform How We Sleep—Or If We Even Need It at All ...

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Psychedelics Could Transform How We Sleep—Or If We Even Need It at All, New Theory Claims

You’re weightless. Colors bloom and morph, painting fractal patterns as the arrow of time torrents forward. The shapes unfurl into luminous ribbons before burning up into ash with the scent of campfire smoke, reminiscent of so many childhood summers. Lapsed memories flicker back and the universe contracts and sings in the background. The dream is real and you feel refreshed—except you’re wide awake, just having a great trip.

Scientists have long noted eerie parallels between psychedelic trips and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage during which you dream. Some even suggest psychedelics could induce a “waking REM” state, unlocking the same brain processes you tap into when you drift through Morpheus’ realm. Further supporting this idea, studies have shown that your brain activity during REM sleep looks almost indiscernible from your brain activity while awake.

In 2017, Dr. Rainer Kraehenmann, a clinical psychiatrist in Switzerland, conducted one of the key studies exploring the idea of waking REM states. His research found the potent hallucinogens LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin (the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms) generate dream-like mental imagery, emotional processing, and a loosened sense of self—drawing comparisons to lucid dreaming, a state of awareness while inside a dream.

You’re weightless. Colors bloom and morph, painting fractal patterns as the arrow of time torrents forward. The shapes unfurl into luminous ribbons before burning up into ash with the scent of campfire smoke, reminiscent of so many childhood summers. Lapsed memories flicker back and the universe contracts and sings in the background. The dream is real and you feel refreshed—except you’re wide awake, just having a great trip.

Scientists have long noted eerie parallels between psychedelic trips and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage during which you dream. Some even suggest psychedelics could induce a “waking REM” state, unlocking the same brain processes you tap into when you drift through Morpheus’ realm. Further supporting this idea, studies have shown that your brain activity during REM sleep looks almost indiscernible from your brain activity while awake.

In 2017, Dr. Rainer Kraehenmann, a clinical psychiatrist in Switzerland, conducted one of the key studies exploring the idea of waking REM states. His research found the potent hallucinogens LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin (the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms) generate dream-like mental imagery, emotional processing, and a loosened sense of self—drawing comparisons to lucid dreaming, a state of awareness while inside a dream.

Hallucinogens like DMT, psilocin, and LSD might rewrite the rules of sleep, blurring the line between dreams and reality.

By Stav DimitropoulosPublished: Apr 09, 2025 5:16 PM EDT
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You’re weightless. Colors bloom and morph, painting fractal patterns as the arrow of time torrents forward. The shapes unfurl into luminous ribbons before burning up into ash with the scent of campfire smoke, reminiscent of so many childhood summers. Lapsed memories flicker back and the universe contracts and sings in the background. The dream is real and you feel refreshed—except you’re wide awake, just having a great trip.

Scientists have long noted eerie parallels between psychedelic trips and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage during which you dream. Some even suggest psychedelics could induce a “waking REM” state, unlocking the same brain processes you tap into when you drift through Morpheus’ realm. Further supporting this idea, studies have shown that your brain activity during REM sleep looks almost indiscernible from your brain activity while awake.

In 2017, Dr. Rainer Kraehenmann, a clinical psychiatrist in Switzerland, conducted one of the key studies exploring the idea of waking REM states. His research found the potent hallucinogens LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin (the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms) generate dream-like mental imagery, emotional processing, and a loosened sense of self—drawing comparisons to lucid dreaming, a state of awareness while inside a dream.

This study laid the groundwork for the possibility that mind-bending substances and dreaming might share common neural pathways. Later, other researchers suggested that psychoactive compounds like DMT (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine) produce brain wave patterns strikingly similar to those seen in REM sleep, deconstructing and reconstructing our experience of reality in ways that mirror the dream state.

But what is really happening? If a trippy escape feels like a dream, does that mean it serves the same role in the brain? Could psychedelics hack the REM kingdom while we’re awake? And if so, does the brain need less sleep after a psychedelic experience?

It’s a bit more complicated—or conflicting—than that.

An April 2024 study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry added a surprising twist. Researchers found participants who microdosed LSD (10 micrograms every three days) slept about 24 minutes longer the night after dosing. They also gained 8 extra minutes of REM sleep, but without a significant increase in the proportion of REM sleep compared to total sleep (REM sleep already makes up about one-quarter of your shut-eye each night). So, at least according to this study, LSD microdosing doesn’t seem to rob us of REM sleep; in fact, these tiny doses of psychedelics may even pay us some extra REM the next night.

But some reality-bending substances do steal our sleep from us.

A 2022 study published in Translational Psychiatry found that psilocin (an active compound in magic mushrooms) actually reduces sleep, delaying REM and making it harder for the brain to stay in a prolonged REM cycle. In this study, researchers administered psilocin (2 mg/kg) to 18 male laboratory mice and tracked their sleep-wake cycles using brainwave and muscle activity recordings. They observed that psilocin disrupted normal sleep patterns, delaying REM onset and reducing time spent in an intense REM phase, suggesting the substance might push the brain into wakeful, dream-like states instead.

“ [...] Some psychoactive substances might blur the line between wakefulness and dreamland, essentially flicking on the REM cinema lights—no sleep required whatsoever.”
This aligns with researchers who believe psychedelics might induce a fully restorative hibernation-like state while awake, potentially reducing the brain’s need for peak REM sleep at night. If true, this could explain why people often describe experiences with consciousness-shifting drugs as emotionally intense, hallucinatory, and sometimes therapeutic—similar to the emotional processing function of dreaming.

A May 2024 study published in Scientific Reports added another twist. Researchers administered 5-MeO-DMT—a close relative of DMT, the active ingredient in ayahuasca—to 17 adult male rats. Depending on the group, the rats received doses ranging from 1 to 10 mg/kg via body injection or smaller amounts (50 to 150 micrograms) directly into their brains. Remarkably, ayahuasca’s core compound triggered brain activity resembling sleep patterns—even while the rats remained awake. The study suggests that some psychoactive substances might blur the line between wakefulness and dreamland, essentially flicking on the REM cinema lights—no sleep required whatsoever.

So far, we know this much: LSD microdosing increases total sleep time (but not necessarily REM sleep). Psilocin reduces REM sleep and delays deep sleep. DMT may induce a waking REM-like state, potentially reducing the brain’s need for REM sleep at night. The contradictions are clear, and the underlying mechanisms murky.

“Honestly, the sample sizes in these studies are small, so we have to take the findings with a grain of salt,” says Shari B. Kaplan, a licensed social worker, an expert in plant-assisted therapy, and founder of Cannectd Wellness, an integrated mental health facility in Florida. That said, she has some theories.

“Psychedelics and sleep both affect serotonin [the feel-good hormone], which in turn influences melatonin, the hormone responsible for sleep cycles,” Kaplan explains. Serotonin and melatonin share close ties; they both come from the pineal gland, the brain’s tiny timekeeper. “When serotonin is activated more during the day (which happens with psychedelics), melatonin production seems to be more plentiful at night. That could be why some people sleep better after microdosing,” Kaplan continues.

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While LSD may promote rest, Kaplan says, DMT works differently, acting not just on serotonin but also on dopamine and oxytocin, the brain’s built-in thrill-seeker and love potions, respectively. “This could explain why people on DMT often describe the experience as ‘dreaming while awake’—the brain might be mimicking parts of REM sleep but without following the body’s natural sleep schedule,” she says.

Be that as it may, if psychedelics are shifting sleep architecture, the implications are enormous. They could become a tool for emotional recalibration much like REM sleep, which regulates emotions and consolidates memories. In theory, psychedelics might help treat post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety by bolstering the brain’s mood regulation pathways, essentially “hacking” the same systems that sleep does.

But there’s also a tradeoff. Kaplan warns that if psychedelics “replace” sleep too much, we could be jeopardizing essential brain detoxification and repair functions.

“Sleep isn’t just about dreaming—it’s when our body clears toxins from the brain. During deep sleep, the glymphatic system [a network of fluid-filled channels] flushes out waste, including beta-amyloid, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s. If we shortcut that process by chemically inducing a dream-like state while awake, we might be missing out on something essential.”

Also, for every good trip, a bad trip lurks in a mirror universe.

“REM sleep follows a biological rhythm—it happens in cycles, and it’s regulated by homeostasis [the body’s internal balance system]. Psychedelics force open the floodgates in a way that natural dreaming doesn’t,” Kaplan says. “That’s why people can have profound insights (or terrifying experiences) on psychedelics: because the normal guardrails that control our dreaming mind aren’t necessarily there.”

For now, the twilight zone is untouchable. But as consciousness-altering drugs like LSD, DMT, and psilocin continue to be studied, we may begin to witness just how far they can stretch the boundaries between daytime awareness and hypnagogia—and whether hacking the REM matrix is a shortcut worth taking.