Not until the last few decades have researchers utilized objective scientific methods to actually study what happens during a lucid dream. Research during the s and s led to the discovery that lucid dreams were associated with REM sleep and the creation of the electrooculogram EOG that could be used to detect a pre-determined set of eye movements in order to signal awareness.
The development of technology such as the electroencephalogram EEG and other tools that allow researchers to look more closely at what is happening inside the brain during sleep has led to increased research on changes in brain activity during lucid dreaming. During most non-lucid dreams , people are not aware of the fact that they are dreaming.
A common characteristic of these dreams is that even when truly strange things happen within the dream, it seems real. It is only after people wake that they realize that it was only a dream. When having a lucid dream, however, there is a recognition that what is happening is not real and that it is taking place within a dream. This often allows the dreamer to exert some degree of control over what is happening. How do you know if you have had a lucid dream?
Some signs that you might have had this experience in the past:. How many people have lucid dreams? How frequently do they experience them?
Research suggests that the spontaneous experience of lucid dreaming tends to be fairly infrequent, but many people report having them at least once. Experiencing lucid dreams on a frequent basis, however, appears to be fairly uncommon. Lucid dreaming tends to be rare. Even people who are known to frequently have lucid dreams only report having one or two such dreams each month.
Because lucid dreaming is such a vivid experience, it appeals to those who want to explore their inner dream world with greater awareness. This combination of fantastic sensory and emotional experiences, they suggest, is what makes lucid dreaming so highly desirable.
Aside from the novelty of the experience, could lucid dreaming have any practical applications? While this is an area where further research is needed, it may have some possible uses. Some potential benefits are listed below. Because lucid dreaming allows the dreamer to invent or create anything within the dream, it could be an exciting way to explore creatively and safely within the confines of a dream.
Because the dreamer has some degree of control over the characters, scenery, and events of the dream, it could be a way to experience and explore things that a person might not be able to do in everyday life. People who tend to lucid dream more also tend to rank higher on measures of creativity, but people also report feeling more creative and inspired by the experience itself.
Some researchers believe that lucid dreaming might have some therapeutic effects, particularly for addressing nightmares.
Bad dreams can interrupt sleep and can play a role in reducing the quantity and quality of sleep. Lucid dreaming could allow people to take control of their dreams and either prevent nightmares from happening or redirect the events of the dream toward something more pleasant or relaxing.
Some suggest that lucid dreams might be useful for reducing symptoms of anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD. Such findings suggest that lucid dreaming may have a number of different uses. Further research is needed to explore whether people can learn to lucid dream and the possible effects that the dream state may actually have. This was due to critical thinking - which usually doesn't happen in dreams. We'll look at why lucid dreaming and critical thinking might go hand in hand.
Lucid dreaming is still a contested area of study among scientists. Much of the time, it's been relegated to the "junk science" end of psychology and sleep studies. At most, scientists seem to be willing to admit that sometimes people become aware that they are dreaming while they are still in the dream. One study showed it happens in somewhere between one and two percent of the population.
Considering what happens during dreams, a lot more people should be catching on that they're not awake. This is one of the great mysteries of sleep science.
No matter how much practice we get at observing how the real world works, and no matter how many times we see weird things happening in a dream, we never seem to realize, at the moment when our father turns into a giraffe, that this is most likely to happen in a dream world, and that we are therefore dreaming. But if you do become aware you're in a dream, that's when it becomes a lucid dream. Some people, like Laura, spontaneously lucid dream without trying, while others may go their entire life never having one.
Dr Aspy says this is due to natural variations in the human brain that we don't fully understand. For instance, disrupted sleep, through shift work or sleep disorders, can affect the brain's activity during the night, making lucid dreams more common.
Because experiences in the dream can feel real to the brain and body, lucid dreaming is used by some people as a source of creativity and growth. People have used lucid dreaming for artistic inspiration, and athletes have harnessed them to practise their skills during the night. Laura is a dancer, and she uses her lucid dreams to come up with choreography or learn a new step. She also has musician friends who have used lucid dreaming to write songs and music.
Additionally, some research suggests there are mental health benefits, with the dream world providing a safe space to self-reflect, try new things, face fears and solve problems. People can even use the ability to control the dream to stop a nightmare in its tracks. Daniel from Sydney had a few lucid dreams as a child, but only began to get them more regularly as a teenager after he started meditating.
He's tried many different techniques to improve his lucid dreaming — meditation, varying combinations of mantras and visualisations, waking in the middle of the night, and supplements such as galantamine — with varying levels of success. For anyone wanting to start lucid dreaming, Dr Aspy primarily recommends improving your ability to remember your dreams.
Daniel agrees. His most important tip is to have a dream diary and record your dreams every morning when you wake up. A study by Dr Aspy found the act of writing down dreams improves dream recall far more than simply thinking back over them.
Another study of his found taking vitamin B6 before bed can be very effective for increasing dream recall. The theory here is an increased synthesis of serotonin results in a greater REM sleep period in the last few hours of sleep.
You could try to talk to the attacker. And then you can also try to escape, so things like flying away, or even doing techniques to deliberately wake up from the nightmare. Lucid dreaming also has the potential to help people with phobias , such as a fear of flying or a fear of spiders.
Aspy said. This is possible, he added, because dream environments can provide a realistic enough experience without it actually feeling unsafe. During lucid dreaming, an individual knows that they are not in the real world, so they may safely explore their fears without actually feeling threatened.
At the same time, lucid dreaming is also attractive as an unusual means of entertainment — much like the immersive experience of virtual reality. The lucid dreamer who spoke to MNT said that she thinks of the experience as something akin to storytelling, which makes her feel happier upon waking up:.
I tend to wake up quite content. You get immersed in a narrative that involves you in some way. There are many techniques that people who want to try lucid dreaming or perfect their lucid dreaming experiences employ. A study that Dr. Aspy and colleagues conducted tested the efficacy of three common techniques.
This technique relies on intention. In real life, the wall will remain solid and impenetrable, but in a dream, the hand will easily pass through it. In real life, if we read the text on a poster, it will stay the same when we reread it.
In a dream, however, the text will constantly shift. Conducting these experiments repeatedly throughout the day may make it easier to remember to conduct them during dreams, thus allowing the dreamer to gain awareness of the dream.
Once awake, the person should aim to remain awake for a while before going back to sleep.
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