According to avid lucid dreamers, the benefits of lucid dreaming range from increased inspiration, to having more fun in life, to achieving deep inner-self understanding.
Although scientists have been studying lucid dreaming for decades, there has been little proof of its biologic and/or psychologic benefits. To date, the benefits of lucid dreaming have been validated mainly by those claiming the effects.
However, a surge of research over the past decade implicates lucid dreaming as a multitherapeutic vehicle for improving life quality and health.
What are some of the benefits of inducing lucid dream states for mood, creativity, health and well-being? Also, what are the best techniques to become lucid when dreaming?



- Increases acetylcholine activity for vivid dreams
- Promotes REM sleep stage
- Improves memory of dreams
What is lucid dreaming?
Lucid dreaming occurs when a dreamer is aware that he or she is in the midst of a dream. On one small level, the brain is able to recognize the separation between the dreamer and the dream-state representation of the dreamer.
Lucid dreams are often reported to be very vivid, intense and emotionally stirring. People attempt to gain control over the contents of their dreams so that they can do things they normally cannot do in their waking life.
For instance, some of the most reported reasons for wanting to control dreams is to talk with certain individuals, to engage in sex, and to fly.
Inducing Lucid Dreams
Research has studied the effects of drugs, external stimuli and cognitive techniques for inducing lucid dreaming. In one lucid dreaming review, data from 35 studies were analyzed.
It was found that many of the studies were of low methodological quality. No single method of inducing lucid dreaming proved to be consistently effective.
Generally, to promote lucidity in dream states, supplements are used that first promote deep, restful sleep and the secondly enhance dreaming activity and dream recall.
A popular supplement routine is to take natural sleep aids like Valerian Root, 5-HTP and Melatonin before falling asleep at night. Then, after about 6 hours of sleeping, a Wake-Back-To-Bed method is used.
During this break, a second supplement containing choline, Alpha GPC, Huperzine A or Galantamine is used to increased acetylcholine levels in the brain.
Acetylcholine is linked both to experiencing more vivid dreams and to being able to remember the events of dreams.
This combination is rated by users as effective for achieving a lucid dream state, though some say it is not reliable for everyone.
Benefits of Lucid Dreaming
One of the most commonly reported benefits of lucid dreaming is having fun and wish fulfillment. As mentioned above, many lucid dreamers report that they simply have a good time when they are able to control their dreams.
However, there are several other benefits of lucid dreaming reported.The three primary clinical implications of lucid dreaming are that it may:
- Encourage physical rehabilitation via rehearsed motor imaging during dream states;
- Help to understand the pathologies and altered states of consciousness;
- Be used as a therapy for ending recurring nightmares;
Many believe that, if harnessed effectively, lucid dreaming can be helpful for a myriad of physical, cognitive and psychological conditions.
Many people report experiences of lucid dreaming. However, few understand how to master the skills necessary to induce lucid dreaming at will.
What are some of the other reported benefits of lucid dreaming and how can it help?
Lucid Dreaming for Creativity & Inspiration:
Vivid dreams have been credited with stimulating some of the world’s great achievements. Greek scholars believed in inner-dream communications with their muses.
Edgar Allen Poe’s poetry was regularly influenced by dreams. The double-helix DNA formation resulted from James Watt’s dream of a spiral staircase.
Self-taught mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan claimed that some of his most powerful formulas came to him in dreams.
Lucid Dreaming for Alleviating Anxiety:
Stress and anxiety affect all humans to some degree. Certain situations may fill us with dread, even though they should not. By practicing responses to these undesirable scenarios before they occur, lucid dreamers report decreased worry and stress.
Many lucid dreamers use their induction and control techniques to help them overcome feelings of anxiousness.
They claim that by dream-rehearsing real-life situations which stress them out – like public speaking, for instance – they become better able to handle the actual situations when they occur.
Dreams and Self-Knowledge:
In Sigmund Freud’s, “The Interpretation of Dreams” (1899), he proposed that dreams are vehicles for fulfilling wishes in order to solve life’s conflicts. He believed that the subconscious mind is a powerful force which influences life’s outcomes.
Lucid dreamers practice techniques to gain control over the content of their dreams so that they can direct the future formations of the subconscious and conscious minds. By training their brains during consciousness, they develop skills that help them to influence their dream-states.
By encouraging communications between different states of consciousness, lucid dreamers report feelings of deep self-knowledge and understanding that they had never had previously.
Heightening Spirituality:
Vivid dreams have long been inexorable elements associated with divinity and transcendence. African shaman, Tibetan monks, Native Americans and many other groups throughout history have relied upon the solutions presented by dreaming.
By getting in touch with oneself through regular lucid dreaming, an individual may be able to better define her understanding of traditional religious dogma.
Many believe that understanding spirituality is an internal process – and lucid dreaming can be one method for developing clarity in this area.
Conclusions
The personal benefits of lucid dreaming can help to increase enjoyment, understanding and health. Research continues to explore the clinical implications of lucid dreaming as well. Lucid dreaming is certainly real, and research shows that induction skills can be learned and practiced.
Those who claim to be masters of lucid dreaming report intensely-rich experiences. Transcendent and connective states of mind are believed to be beneficial in various ways.
Lucid dreaming may help with finding creative solutions to complex challenges, deepening understanding of spiritual mysteries, ending recurring nightmares, and just having a good times exploring the unlimited dream world.
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Article last updated on: July 5th, 2018 by Nootriment