Lucid Dreamings

Sofia Zhou

Published: 19/02/2024

What is lucid dreaming?

The term “lucid dreaming” refers to the total consciousness in having a dream when you are sleeping. When you are lucid dreaming you are aware that you are in a dream and that the events happening around you are not real, but the feeling is extremely close to reality. A person can easily take control of the dream and manipulate the events taking place at their leisure (although it can have some limits). Through lucid dreaming, it is possible to create your own “movie” while asleep. This is strictly related to metacognition (understanding and reflecting on your own thoughts) as they have in common similar neurosystems, in fact, it is proven that people with higher metacognition have more chances of having a lucid dream. According to scientific research, at least half of the entire population has experienced lucid dreaming once or more in their lifetime! Meaning that you probably had a lucid dream already. However, it is a phenomenon that does not take place with a high frequency, in fact, it usually happens only a couple of times a year.

Why and how does it happen?

Lucid dreams are very common when you enter REM sleep, which is usually 90 minutes after falling asleep. During REM sleep , which stands for rapid eye movement, your eyes move more rapidly and in many directions under the eyelid, and it is the time period in which most dreams take place. The brain activity during REM sleep is very similar to when you are awake! This stage lasts only 10 minutes, nevertheless, each time frame gets progressively longer up to 1 hour. On the other hand some scientists believe that lucid dreams do not happen REM sleep. Others believe that lucid dreaming is a transition state in which you are not completely awake but not fully asleep at the same time.

There is not a clear answer yet as for why lucid dreams happen in the first place, however scientists have come up with some hypotheses. Scientists have discovered that the brain structure is slightly different between people who have lucid dreams and people who don’t. The prefrontal cortex (front part of the brain) is bigger in people who do have lucid dreams. This area of the brain is the place for tasks which require complex decision making and reminiscing memories, therefore individuals who are more self-reflective or overthinkers have a higher chance of lucid dreaming.

Pros & Cons of Lucid Dreaming

Lucid dreaming can have both positive and negative impacts on the organism.

It can have benefits which include less anxiety. This is because when you are lucid dreaming you experience a feeling of being in control and empowerment, you are the one who decides the course and the ending of the story, something which might not be so easy in real life. Additionally, it can help people who have frequent nightmares.

Did you know that when you practise something in lucid dream you actually have improved that skill in real life? It’s because the same area of the brain functions both when you are awake and during a lucid dream. It is also proven by research that lucid dreaming can be helpful to improve problem solving skills involving creativity. In fact, it can also help people to be more creative.

On the other hand, lucid dreaming can have some dangerous aspects. For example, it can reduce sleep quality because vivid dreams might wake you up, as a consequence it can be difficult to fall asleep again. Also you might be too focused on the lucid dream and not sleep well.

Although the risks are very low and if you have any kind of mental disorders, lucid dreams can lead to hallucination, delirium and confusion because you might not be able to distinguish your lucid dreams from reality. Moreover, lucid dreams can sometimes have long-term sleep problems, potentially depression and as well dissociation. Some people use different techniques to induce lucid dreaming, such as the MILD technique (which consists of waking up at night, staying awake for 30 to 120 minutes and then falling asleep again) which is specifically designed to interrupt your sleep.

How to experience a lucid dream?

If you never experienced lucid dreaming, it is not assured that you will in future. However if you ant to increase your chances you might try these few tips:

Record your dreams in a dream diary, by doing so you can become more aware of your lucid dream when it happens.
Increase the amount of good sleep every night. To do so, you can follow a consistent sleep schedule and avoid electronic devices right before going to bed, eat less heavy meals and drink less caffeine.
As mentioned previously, you can try the MILD technique (mnemonic induction of lucid dreams). You simply wake up after 5 hours of sleep, then you repeat to yourself “The next time I’m dreaming, I will remember that I’m dreaming”. Additionally you can also imagine yourself in a lucid state.
Use some external simulations including devices such as masks or headbands with sound and/or light. You can record and play messages in your devices (similar to MILD) while you are asleep to induce a lucid state.
Try reality testing. Meaning that when you are unsure whether you're in a dream or in real life, just try to press your fingers against a wall. If you are experiencing a dream, the finger might pass through the wall. To remember this, you might want to do reality testing even when you are awake so that it will come naturally in your dream.

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