Oniri Lucid Dreaming App: AI Power Uncovers The Meaning Of Your Dreams
All of our dreams are different. Some of us fall, some surf, some scream and run, some fly and fall in love. We experience dreams in different ways too—if we can even remember them at all. Now, a new AI-based app called Oniri is helping dreamers of all types not only record their dreams but interpret them in a way that helps deepen their understanding of their own inner workings.
The Oniri lucid dreaming app helps you track your dreams, analyze them and even teaches you how to … [+]
Switzerland-based Jean-Baptiste Beau is the founder and CEO of Oniri, which boasts over 1 million dreams recorded since its launch in 2015. His technology offers a range of tools such as dream journaling, sleep tips, the ability to record your dreams verbally, dream visualization via AI images, lucid dreaming techniques and more. The goal? Not to replace your therapist, but to give you insights into your subconscious. “When I discovered lucid dreaming 10 years ago, I was shocked that it was not a mainstream practice, given everything you can do with it. So I decided to create an app to help people do more with their dreams, and learn lucid dreaming,” says Baptiste-Beau. Lucid dreaming is when you realize you are dreaming, even though you are still asleep, and can manipulate your dream’s events. For some, journaling and other tools like Oniri can help you get better at recognizing it.
Through the use of a dream journal and AI, dreams are recorded by sleepers and then analyzed by AI and “psychological knowledge” to help them better understand their dreams and moods. The app also offers tools, like audio cues, to help users better accomplish lucid dreaming.
“There are many different reasons why people want to have lucid dreams,” he claims. “For some, it’s a way to have fun in their dreams, while others use it to help process some life events: a loss or a breakup for instance. I don’t think lucid dreaming is a necessary practice for mental health—otherwise, more of us would be doing it naturally,” Baptiste-Beau says. “But I think it’s a great tool at our disposal to feel better about ourselves and have better control over our lives. In the process of lucid dreaming, you actually learn a lot about yourself, so I think it’s worth trying. The first step is simply to practice remembering your dreams better with a dream journal.”
When Forbes tested Oniri, mattress and sleep editor McKenzie Dillon shared an AI interpretation of a dream she had about losing her belongings. Part of the AI-based analysis looked like this:
“Your dream appears to reflect a scenario where significant elements of your life — symbolized by the belonging washed away by the wave —are under threat or experiencing changes that might feel uncontrollable.” It continues on to explain more about the meaning behind the dream’s setting, sharing with Dillon what specific items and events in dreams might mean.
Dillon wrote, “It’s helped me find themes in my dreams and identify life events that may have triggered certain dreams.” Baptiste-Beau adds, “It’s amazing to see how the app can help users figure out and work on so many different aspects of their life, and the impact it can have. Those user stories are what keeps me motivated every day.”
The future for the app is looking, well, dreamy, with ideas of integrating artists and researchers in addition to scientists and psychologists, Baptiste-Beau shares. “I like to think of Oniri as a dream hub, connecting people at home from all around the world. We are going to keep developing the app to help people work with their dreams, and connect with others around this subject.”
If you’re ready to try dream journaling, check out our guide on how to keep a dream journal to learn where to start. You can track your dreams verbally in an app or voice notes, or write down your dreams in a journal right away before they’re forgotten.