With its new 'dream crafting' methodology, LEGO wants to help kids direct their dreams

LEGO is about to blur the lines between fantasy and reality as new episodes of LEGO DREAMZzz start streaming. The animated kids' show features high-school friends who get together in a dream world when they go to sleep, experiencing epic adventures and using 'dream craft' skills to fight off the Nightmare King and the Never Witch. Now, LEGO aims to bring those fictional skills into the real world.

A global study commissioned by LEGO found that while 57% of children aged 6-12 are aware they can influence their dreams, only one-third actively practice the skill. To bridge that gap, LEGO enlisted dream psychologist Ian Wallace. With over 400,000 dreams analyzed in his 30-year career, Wallace recommends three methods for helping children guide and control their dreams: Dream Play (re-imagining dream scenarios upon waking), Imaginal Play (playing with remembered dream images while awake), and Active Play (reconstructing and reenacting dream imagery).

Of kids who already practice dream directing, 41% report changing scary dreams and 38% guide dreams they're not enjoying. But dream crafting isn't just about making sleep more fun. Wallace believes it provides daytime benefits, too: enhanced problem-solving abilities, stronger self-identity, improved emotional resilience and advanced cognitive skills. LEGO, meanwhile, offers DREAMZzz-themed building sets designed to encourage creative play inspired by dream scenarios. 

🧠✨ As all eyes* are on artificial intelligence's potential to supercharge creativity, now might be the perfect time to remind people of their human powers of imagination, and help them explore and cultivate those innate capabilities. After all, that's the stuff that gen AI is made of 😉 

* Including ours — have you given TrendBaby a spin?