What Is Lucid Dreaming and is it Good for You?

Lucid dreaming is a state of sleep where the dreamer is conscious and aware that they are in a dream. Often, a lucid dreamer is able to influence the content of dreams.

Research shows that lucid dreaming skills can be learned and these states may be induced at will. Sleep techniques, meditation, supplements and auditory cues like binaural beats have all be used to enhance the likelihood of achieving a lucid dream.

Some lucid dreamers can choose to dream about certain topics. Lucid dreaming can be used to gain new insights in specific problems, end recurring nightmares, overcome fears or to visualize achieving one’s goals.

There has been a lot of recent research into the therapeutic uses of lucid dreaming as well as ways to induce lucidity. For many beginner lucid dreamers, the main reason to want to experience this state is for wish fulfilment purposes.

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What is lucid dreaming good for?

Many people claim to enjoy lucid dreaming, stating that their dreams can be very vivid, pleasing and intense.

Some lucid dreamers consider their dreams to be the most gratifying parts of their lives. Many also believe that this type of evocative dreaming helps them to improve their waking lives as well.

Lucid dreaming is employed by some to help overcome recurring nightmares. This may be common in those with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In such dreams, the dreamer is normally victimized by some force. By developing lucid dreaming skills, a dreamer may be able to redirect nightmares, placing herself in a position of power and control over threatening forces.

When people are having scary or dreadful dreams, and they do not know they are dreaming, the dreams can seem very real to them. They may have lingering feelings of loss, emptiness and anxiety upon waking.

With lucid dreaming, the dreamer is conscious on one level, at least enough so to know she is dreaming. This is said to help eliminate feelings of fear, danger and dread associated with not knowing you are having a “bad” dream.

Lucid dream states have been researched for various benefits, including:

• Enhancing self-development and personal realization;
• Accommodating creative problem solving;
• Improving physical and mental health;
• Promoting self-confidence;

Many people still look at lucid dreaming as a new-age topic that has no scientific backing. However, research has been addressing the potential benefits of lucid dreaming for decades.

Lucid dreams are definitely a reality. The question that remains is whether people can willfully and effectively manipulate the content of the dreams.

Scientific Evidence for Lucid Dreaming

Some people believe that lucid dreams occur only during REM (rapid eye movement) phases of sleep. Science challenges this, recording other phenomenon that seem like dreams, but occur during non-REM sleep.

In one lucid dreaming research review, the results of thirty-five separate studies were compiled and analyzed. These included twenty-four field studies and eleven studies performed in sleep laboratories.

One of these studies employed application of drugs to induce states of conscious dreaming. Eleven utilized external stimulation techniques, and the other twenty-six used cognitive techniques to attempt to induce lucid dreaming.

Results from this data review concluded that most of the studies analyzed had low methodologic quality. Also, no single induction technique worked consistently and reliably.

User Reviews of Lucid Dreaming

In a 2014 online study on lucid dreaming effects, 684 people completed online surveys. 571 (83.5%) of the respondents claimed to be lucid dreamers.

The survey was conducted in order to gain data about lucid dream origination and duration. Some questions asked about the dreamer’s successful participation in lucid dreams, specific actions they plan for their dreams and certain other phenomenological variables.

According to the respondents of this survey:

• Common lucid dream plans include talking with pre-selected dream characters, flying or engaging in sex.
• Many times, lucid dreamers cannot remember to initiate their dream plans.
• Lucid dreaming most often originates during adolescence.
• The average duration of a lucid dream is 14 minutes.

The above survey provided novel ideas and foundations for further research on lucid dreaming.

Lucid Dreaming and Narcolepsy

In a human trial from 2015, the therapeutic values of lucid dreaming on narcolepsy were explored. Nightmares commonly occur in those with narcolepsy.

Although data in this area is quite limited currently, this study helped to compare the frequencies of lucid dreams, nightmares and recalled dreams in those with narcolepsy relative to healthy control subjects.

60 subjects with narcolepsy (35 female, 25 male) between the ages of 23 and 82 years were questioned via telephone interviews. 919 control subjects (497 females) between 14 and 93 years of age were also interviewed.

Results concluded that people with narcolepsy report significantly higher instances of lucid dreaming than do healthy controls. Many narcolepsy patients report significantly less distress from nightmares due to certain positive impacts of dream lucidity.

Lucid Dreaming Guide for Beginners

One of the best techniques for inducing lucid dreaming involves self-training to watch for out-of-place people and/or things in your dreams. Recognizing these can let a dreamer know that she is actively dreaming, and provide a cue for intentional participation in dreams.

To become more efficient at this type of active scanning during sleep periods, it is helpful to work on the same skills during waking periods.

If you stop to examine your own awareness several times throughout each day, then you begin to accustom your brain to these thought patterns. Many lucid dreamers contend that this increased attentiveness is the best benefit of learning to dream consciously.

If you desire to lucid dream about possible solutions to a problem, then concentrate on that problem before going to sleep. Try to make it the last thing you think of before falling asleep.

Try to train your brain to realize when you are sleeping. Upon waking, lay still and search your mind for memories of any relevant dreams you may have had during sleep.

Some lucid dreamers find it beneficial to keep a notepad and pen beside their beds. When they wake, they write down any details of their dreaming before they are forgotten.

When details from dreams are absent, emotions and feelings can be recorded instead. Sometimes, recording these feelings can help to spark memories of dreams that may have stimulated them.

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