Like most dreams, lucid dreaming will typically occur during rapid eye movement REM sleep. For some people it occurs spontaneously, but others train themselves to start dreaming lucidly or to become better at it.
Some people may simply wake up immediately upon realizing that they had been dreaming. Other people, however, may be able to influence their own actions within the dream, or parts of the dream itself. The lucid dreamer who spoke to MNT told us that she was able to manipulate the dream narrative in order to create a pleasant experience for herself.
Lucid dreaming is certainly an attractive and fascinating prospect; being able to explore our own inner worlds with full awareness that we are in a dream is intriguing and has an almost magical flavor to it. Denholm Aspy , at the University of Adelaide in Australia, is a researcher who specializes in lucid dreaming. He explained to MNT that this experience can actually be therapeutic. Its main application, Dr. 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.
Sleep researchers across the world are now dedicated to recording some of the most ephemeral moments of human weirdness, which are often lost to memory after the drama and haze of dream and sleep. Talking bears are being documented. Falling school friends, noted.
Researchers are working not only as neuroscientists but also as archivists of the unconstrained mind. Skip to content Site Navigation The Atlantic. Anis Rehman. How Are Lucid Dreams Studied? How To Lucid Dream. How Do Lucid Dreams Work? Some of the most common techniques include the following: Reality testing: This technique requires participants to perform tests throughout the day that differentiate sleep and waking. For example, a participant may ask themselves whether or not they are dreaming during the day; since self-awareness is not possible during non-lucid dreams, being able to answer this question proves they are in fact awake.
Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams MILD : This technique involves training oneself to recognize the difference between dreams and reality during sleep.
Wake back to bed WBTB : Some people can induce lucid dreams using this technique, which involves waking up in the middle of the night and then returning to sleep after a certain amount of time has passed. When these two methods are used together, the most effective length of time between waking up and returning to sleep appears to be 30 to minutes.
External stimulation: This technique involves flashing lights and other stimuli that are activated while the subject is in REM sleep.
The rationale behind this method is that the sleeper will incorporate this stimuli into their dreams, triggering lucidity in the process. Sign up below for your free gift. Your privacy is important to us. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Anis Rehman Endocrinologist MD. Soffer-Dudek, N. Are Lucid Dreams Good for Us? Are We Asking the Right Question?
Frontiers in Neuroscience. Neider, M. Consciousness and Cognition, 20 2 , — Voss, U. Sleep, 32 9 , — Aspy, D. Frontiers in Psychology. Erlacher, D. Vallat, R. Rak, M. Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy. Sleep, 38 5 , — Notably, in one study in Egypt , we found that people who have experienced the phenomenon have elevated trauma and anxiety symptoms, relative to those who have never experienced it.
In another study in Abruzzo, I and my colleagues recently showed that fear during sleep paralysis, and fear of dying from the attack, was linked to trauma and depression symptoms.
These findings indicate that when it is understood through a particular cultural filter, the disorder can cause psychopathology. For those suffering from sleep paralysis, sleep is not an escape from reality. The human mind is vastly more mysterious, and occasionally malevolent, than one would have thought.
Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about? Please send suggestions to Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook. Gareth, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, is the series editor of Best American Infographics and can be reached at garethideas AT gmail. Baland Jalal is a researcher at Harvard University's department of psychology and a visiting researcher at the department of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, where he earned his Ph.
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