17 Facts About Lucid Dreaming That You Would Have Never 'Dreamt' Of

The feeling of a conscious dream is known as lucid dreaming.

The stage of the sleep cycle when you dream is known as rapid eye movement sleep, or REM sleep. When in a lucid dream, you stay asleep but you become conscious or aware of the fact that you are dreaming.

You may even have control to an extent over the circumstances of the dream. You may experience intense emotions, vivid imagery, and an acute awareness of being in a dream.

A little over half of the population has experienced at least one lucid dream in their life according to statistics. Likewise, over 11 percent of people even experience lucid dreams a couple of times every month.

Lucid dreaming is sometimes used in therapy and can provide relief to patients suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or recurring nightmares. Several researchers debate that lucid dreaming also aids in physical rehabilitation.

The movie 'Inception' starring Leonardo DiCaprio went into the topic of lucid in quite a lot of detail, with the plot revolving around a group of people who can control and shape the content in their dreams, as well as influence the dreams of others, although that part of the movie is completely fictional.

One of the literary references to lucid dreaming can be found in a famous poem by Edgar Allen Poe called 'A Dream Within A Dream' where he wrote, 'All that we see or seem/ Is but a dream within a dream'.

Some of the different types of dreams that have been identified are lucid dreams, normal dreams, non-lucid dreams, and several others.

Did you know that once you have had the necessary REM sleep, you are not going to experience REM sleep again until you fall asleep the following night? During REM sleep, the voluntary muscles of your body are paralyzed but the eyes experience rapid movements as you respond to the images you see in your dreams.

Read on to know more about the dream world you experience after you fall asleep during the REM sleep stage and what happens when you wake up from the dream state. Afterward, also check creepy facts about dreams, or daydreaming facts.

The History Of Lucid Dreaming

If you are interested in understanding the history of lucid dreaming even better, then here are some fascinating facts pertaining to the history of fluid dreaming.

• Historical references to lucid dreams can be found in the ancient Hindu practice of Yoga Nidra, also known as yoga sleep or dream yoga, wherein the object of the dream yoga is to probe one's consciousness in order to bring it to a constant state of awareness, like in meditation.
• This practice is also found in the Buddhist tradition of dream yoga, where the state of lucid dreams allowed the monks to recognize the world free from all illusions, for what it was.
• Some of the earliest recorded references to lucid dreaming can be found in Greek writings, especially those of Aristotle.
• In one of his books 'On Dreams', Aristotle writes about this state of self-awareness while being inside a dream. Aristotle writes, 'Often when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream.'
• In 1913, a Dutch author and psychiatrist named Frederik van Eeden, who was the founder of the Lucidity Institute, coined the term 'lucid dream' in one of his articles called 'A Study Of Dreams'.
• Since then, many researchers have been contributing to the studies in the field of lucid dreams, one of the most notable names of the 21st century being that of Dr. Stephen LaBerge. He is a psychophysiologist from Stanford University who is also the head of the Lucidity Institute which was founded by Frederik van Eeden. He has led several lucid dream studies on the subject of lucid dreaming which have included studies conducted on human subjects.

Lucid Dreams Research

Here are some interesting aspects related to the lucid dreams research being conducted across the world:

• In the late 60s, British philosophical author, Celia Elizabeth Green, researched the prominent aspects of lucid dreams. She reviewed existing literature on the subject and incorporated fresh data from her own subjects.
• By the end of the research, Green concluded that the experience of lucid dreams was quite different from ordinary dreams. She was able to associate lucid dreams with rapid eye movement sleep.
• Research during the following two decades was instrumental to the invention of electrooculogram, also referred to as EOG. It is a machine that detects a certain set of eye movements to make researchers aware of the subject's brain activities.
• Research regarding lucid dreaming came to a head in 1975. The year is considered to be pivotal to the field of lucid dreaming, as Dr. Keith Hearne explored the idea of exploiting REM in a way that would enable the dreamer to communicate directly from dreams to the conscious world.
• The professional lucid dreamer, Alan Worsley, assisted Stephen LaBerge in a laboratory setting, going on to successfully prove this phenomenon. Hearne’s EOG experiment earned formal recognition in the reputed journal for The Society For Psychical Research.
• Further, the research branched out by asking subjects to respond with more conspicuous physical movements while in a dream. Such movements also included eye movements as before. In 1980, more such methods were developed by Stephen LaBerge during his doctoral dissertation at Stanford University.
• In 1985, LaBerge was successful in demonstrating that the perception of time in a lucid dream does not change significantly as compared to conscious reality.
• In yet another study, LaBerge compared the experience of four subjects who either sang while lucid dreaming or counted while lucid dreaming. The researcher LaBerge determined that during singing, the right hemisphere of the brain was more active, whereas the left hemisphere was more active during counting.
• Another pivotal invention was the EEG or Electroencephalogram. This, along with other research tools, has allowed researchers to observe brain activity during sleep more closely, leading to increased research on the subject of lucid dreams and brain activity.
• It is LaBerge’s work that has enabled researchers to discover the benefits of lucid dreaming in psychotherapy, as it may aid in treating conditions like PTSD, anxiety, and recurring nightmares.
• Stephen LaBerge further studied whether a dreamer could manipulate the circumstances of a dream consciously while lucid dreaming. He found a correlation between the ability to control and awareness. However, it was concluded that neither is necessary for the other. LaBerge observed that in some dreams, the lucid dreamer chose to observe even when they were able to control the lucid dream.
• Other studies have exhibited that specific areas of the prefrontal cortex of the brain experience increased activity while lucid dreaming as opposed to standard REM sleep. The prefrontal cortex is the region of the brain associated with sophisticated cognitive tasks, for instance, memory recall and decision making.

The Benefits Of Lucid Dreams

Lucid dream therapy refers to the practice of learning how to lucid dream and how to control the dreams, so the dreamer can control their nightmares, also preventing them from occurring and recurring.

• Lucid dreaming is one of the tools used in imagery rehearsal therapy, which involves recognizing that a nightmare is just a dream. The therapist helps you replace the circumstances of the nightmare with a more positive memory. This is used along with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
• Along with preventing recurring nightmares, lucid dreaming is also associated with relief from PTSD, depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and substance abuse.
• Lucid dreamers assert that lucid dreaming allows them to simulate situations that trigger their anxiety.
• Lucid dreaming may also potentially enhance physical rehabilitation by performing motor skills mentally and may enhance one's ability to perform the same in real life.
• Research suggests that physically disabled people could use lucid dreaming to practice motor skills while able-bodied people may potentially use lucid dreaming to enhance motor skills.

The Dangers Of Lucid Dreams

Normally, the dangerous effects of lucid dreaming arise due to induction techniques. As per dream research conducted using portable devices, regular lucid dreamers might experience the following negative aspects:

• Two of the techniques, namely Wake Back To Bed (WBTB) and Mnemonic Induced Lucid Dream (MILD) technique involve practices like waking up abruptly during sleep. Such techniques prevent the dreamer from getting enough rest, especially those who suffer from sleep disorders or do not have healthy sleeping schedules.
• Disturbances in healthy sleep may lead to the feeling that the circumstances in your environment are a dream. This feeling is called derealization.
• Techniques used to induce lucid dreaming involve sleep interruptions which may worsen the symptoms of depression.
• A dreamer may experience sleep paralysis, and while the experience is short-lived, it can be quite traumatic. Lack of regular sleep further increases the risk of sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis may also sometimes be confused with lucid dreaming.
• Research has found that some regular lucid dreamers may experience heightened symptoms of psychopathology.
• Research also suggested that techniques used to induce lucid dreams may have potential chronic risks which may include heightened risk of sleep problems, depression, and dissociation.
• First-time or novice lucid dreamers may experience stress, anxiety, or confusion because of the unfamiliarity of the psychological experience. They may not understand what is happening to them, thus inducing a variety of distressing emotions. They may also experience feelings of isolation.
• Patients with mental health illnesses could experience exacerbated symptoms and an inability to differentiate between the dream and waking state. However, such negative effects of lucid dreaming have not been researched extensively.

How To Have Lucid Dreams

There are some scientific techniques in order to induce lucid dreams consciously. Some of them are as follows:

• Reality testing/reality checking is a type of mental exercise. It enhances metacognition, by making your mind used to experiencing your own awareness. Increased metacognition during waking life could lead to a similar level of metacognition during dreaming.
• Some of the most common reality tests used by lucid dreamers include looking at mirrors, trying to hold their breath, observing their own hands or watches, and feeling or touching solid objects.
• Wake Back To Bed, also known as WBTB, is a technique that involves staying conscious while entering REM sleep. The subject should set an alarm to ring five hours after bedtime. After going to sleep, as usual, the subject wakes up with the alarm and stays awake for 30 minutes. They may perform activities that involve cognitive skills or physical activity, like reading or walking. This activity increases the probability of having a lucid dream.
• Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams, also known as MILD, was one of the earliest used techniques by researchers to induce lucid dreams. It is based on prospective memory. The subject sets an intention to remember that they are dreaming. They may also practice this technique after waking up during lucid dreaming. This technique is highly recommended as it preserves the dream fresh in the subject’s mind.
• Writing down dreams in a dream diary enforces the practice of recalling or remembering the occurrences of the lucid dream. It helps recognize the signs of dreaming and increases awareness of the lucid dreamer.
• A wake-initiated lucid dream happens when the lucid dreamer enters the dream directly from waking life. Also known as the WILD technique, it keeps your mind conscious while sleep is induced in the body. The simple technique involves laying in bed in a relaxed state until the subject experiences hypnagogic hallucinations; a hallucination that appears just prior to entering the sleep state. Practicing other techniques mentioned above enhances the subject’s chances of succeeding at the WILD technique.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for facts about lucid dreaming then why not take a look at psychological facts about dreams, or facts about dreams?