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The Science Behind Lucid Dreams
Denys Chumak

Denys Chumak

28 Aug 2023

The Science Behind Lucid Dreams

Introduction of Lucid Dreaming

Have you ever wished you could control your dreams? Just picture being able to fly through the air, run into your favourite stars, or travel to fantastical places while you're sound sleeping. Or Have you ever had the sensation of being totally conscious of your dream while it is still happening? The phenomenon known as lucid dreaming is amazing.

A survey revealed that approximately 55% of adults have encountered at least one lucid dream in their lifetime, while 23% of individuals experience lucid dreams every month.

In this blog, we will examine what is lucid dreaming, the science behind lucid dreams, and techniques for inducing them.

What is Lucid Dreaming?

A dream in which you are conscious of dreaming is called a lucid dream. You have power over the dream and can act whatever you like. It allows you to experience things that you couldn't otherwise have in real life while exploring your subconscious mind. Since ancient times, lucid dreaming has attracted people. It allows you to experience things that you couldn't otherwise have in real life while exploring your subconscious mind.

The Fascination with Lucid Dreaming

It's understandable why so many people in their early 20s, like you, are lured to its appealing opportunities. Exploring unresolved emotional issues and seeking direction for daily decisions can both be done safely in lucid dreaming.

Also Read: What Does It Mean When You Dream About The Devil?

The Science Behind Lucid Dreaming

Brain Activity during Lucid Dreams: Insights from Neuroimaging Studies

With the help of cutting-edge neuroimaging techniques, researchers have studied the brain activity that takes place during lucid dreams. This study shows that lucid dreaming increases activity in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for judgment and self-awareness. You can make choices and steer the plot while you're in the dream as if your conscious mind suddenly becomes cognizant.

The Link Between Lucid Dreaming and REM Sleep

The majority of our dreams take place during a sleep stage known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, which is also closely associated with lucid dreaming. Our muscles briefly paralyse during REM sleep to prevent us from acting out our dreams physically.

But in lucid dreams, this paralysis is broken, allowing you to move around and engage with your dream world. You can enable lucid dreaming by learning to recognise the telltale indications of REM sleep and developing your awareness of those dreams.

Neurochemical Factors Influencing Lucid Dreaming Experiences

Our brains' neurochemical composition can affect whether we have lucid dreams. For instance, the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is important for memory and learning, greatly encourages lucid dreaming.

Your chances of experiencing lucid dreams and delving into the depths of your subconscious mind can be improved by increasing acetylcholine levels through particular procedures or even dietary changes.

Techniques for Inducing Lucid Dreams

If you're a spiritual individual in your early 20s, seeking guidance and a sense of belonging, exploring lucid dreaming might be just what you need.

Reality Testing and Reality Checks:

Daily reality checks and testing are a powerful technique to trigger lucid dreams. It's like setting up small checkpoints to see if you're dreaming or awake. Think about periodically asking yourself, "Am I dreaming?" and then looking around you.

Keep an eye out for anomalies or weird occurrences that don't match reality. Making this a habit will cause you to do it in your dreams as well, and when you notice something strange, you'll realise you're dreaming. As a result, you will become lucid and be able to direct and modify your dream environment.

Wake-Induced Lucid Dreaming (WILD):

WILD, also known as wake-induced lucid dreaming, is another method to investigate. It entails going straight from being awake into a dream state while still being conscious. Lay down comfortably and unwind your body before attempting WILD.

Try to keep your mind focused and awake when you nod off. Try to enter a dream scene in your mind or repeat a mantra like "I'm going to have a lucid dream." You can transition from wakefulness into a lucid dream state with practice.

Mnemonic-Induced Lucid Dreaming (MILD):

Setting goals before going to bed is a step in the MILD technique, which induces lucid dreams. Replay a recent dream in your head as you lie in bed, concentrating on realising you're dreaming the next time anything similar happens.

Say to yourself firmly, "I will recognise my dreams the next time I dream." Imagine waking up from that dream and carrying out the steps you'll need to. You can boost your chances of having a lucid dream by programming your mind before bed.

External Stimulation Techniques:

Techniques for external stimulation can also aid in lucid dreaming. Using tools that alter reality, such as lucid dreaming masks or specialised soundtracks, is one common technique. These gadgets provide you hints or stimulation while you're sleeping to induce lucidity. A lucid dreaming mask, for instance, may generate light signals that manifest in your dream and serve as a reminder that you are dreaming.

Similar to this, specialised soundtracks can produce noises that resemble dreams and increase your likelihood of being lucid. Exploring these techniques might be a fascinating and enjoyable method to improve your lucid dreaming.

Benefits of Lucid Dreaming

**Overcoming Nightmares:

We often feel frightened and nervous after having a nightmare. But by practising lucid dreaming, you may take back control and face your nightly fears head-on. You may turn nightmares into rewarding experiences by becoming aware that you are dreaming and understanding that you are in charge.

Consider transforming that dreadful creature into a cuddly unicorn or flying above the clouds while putting your concerns to rest. You can overcome nightmares with the help of lucid dreaming and replace them with enchanting and joyful dreamscapes!

Creative Problem Solving:

Your mind is open to fresh concepts and options when you are having lucid dreams. Without regard to constraints from the real world, you can intentionally explore many scenarios and try out new solutions.

This effective method of problem-solving can offer new viewpoints and assist you in coming up with creative solutions to problems you face in daily life. Let your dreams lead you to a solution the next time you're stuck on a problem!

Personal Growth:

A special possibility for personal development and self-discovery exists with lucid dreaming. You might discover that you're a young woman on a spiritual quest who is looking for a deeper purpose and connection.

Deep understandings of your inner self, unresolved feelings, and secret desires can be gained via lucid dreams. You can learn more about your subconscious mind, your strengths, and your objectives by deliberately examining your dreams.

Also Read: What Does it Mean When You Dream About a Goat?

Lucid Dreaming and Sleep Disorders

Sleep Apnea: A Troublesome Breathing Disorder

A person who experiences sleep apnea temporarily stops breathing while they are asleep. It happens when the airway closes off entirely or partially, causing disturbed sleep and frequent awakenings. Due to their poor quality sleep, people with sleep apnea frequently experience daytime fatigue and irritability.

You may find it difficult to have lucid dreams, in which you may direct and control your dreams, if you have sleep apnea. Because of the sleep disruptions brought on by apnea, it may be more difficult to achieve a lucid dream state. However, addressing sleep apnea might boost your lucid dreaming propensity and sleep quality.

Insomnia: The Frustration of Sleeplessness

Even when you have the chance, insomnia makes it tough to fall asleep or stay asleep. It can cause daylong sensations of fatigue, irritation, and difficulty concentrating. Stress, anxiety, and certain medical conditions can all contribute to insomnia. Lucid dreaming can give those with sleep problems a sense of escape and control, even though it won't heal their insomnia. By using lucid dreaming techniques like reality checks or dream journals, you can direct your attention away from your sleep problems and foster a more positive attitude about sleep.

Narcolepsy: Embracing the Unexpected

Because narcolepsy affects the brain's capacity to regulate sleep-wake cycles, it causes irregular sleep patterns. Excessive daytime tiredness, abrupt and unpredictable episodes of falling asleep, and interrupted nighttime sleep are all symptoms of narcolepsy.

These episodes can happen while doing a variety of things, including conversing, eating, or even driving. It can be difficult to manage narcolepsy, therefore it may seem paradoxical to investigate lucid dreaming in this situation.

However, a few narcoleptics have mentioned having lucid dreams while they were undergoing sleep attacks. Exploring lucid dreaming techniques may present a chance for imaginative and empowering experiences during those unplanned periods of sleepiness, however, it's not a certainty.

Conclusion

Lucid dreaming presents a good opportunity to dig into your subconscious mind and find answers to your questions if you're searching for belonging and feeling neglected. If you want to experience satisfying dreams, it's critical to maintain good mental health and establish a relaxing sleep environment.

Be careful what you watch before bed to help your sleep, and if you're having trouble, think about taking a light snack or changing your sleeping position.

Do you ever wish you could influence your dreams and have amazing adventures while you sleep? Now that you have the incredible DreamApp, it's time to make your dreams come true! Utilising the power of lucid dreaming, this special software seeks to help you delve into the recesses of your mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it possible to have lucid dreams?

A lucid dream is one in which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. The dreamer may obtain some influence over the dream characters, narrative, or surroundings during a lucid dream.

What occurs in the brain during lucid dreaming?

During lucid REM sleep, activity in the anterior prefrontal cortex (PFC), medial and lateral parietal cortex, including the supramarginal and angular gyrus, and inferior/middle temporal gyrus was higher than in non-lucid REM sleep.

Are lucid dreams uncommon?

In general, lucid dreaming is uncommon. Only around half of the general population has personal experience with the phenomenon; approximately 20% have lucid dreams once a month, and only 1% have lucid dreams several times a week.

What kind of people have lucid dreams?

According to several studies, lucid dreaming and certain personality traits may be related in some way. According to one study, lucid dreamers have a stronger internal locus of control. They also do better on measures of cognitive and creative needs.

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16 Jan 2025

dream-about-militia-capturing-loved-ones
Being chased by murderer
Darkness
Family
Police
Trapped

Dream

A group of bad guys like a militia took a lot of males including my dad and brother. The males they took were on their knees and they started to kill them using machetes, directly into their necks. My mom and I were observing all these crazy act from a high building. I yelled at my mom to please let me go to the police. I knew I could make it to the police station to save my brother and dad. I was so frustrated because she didn’t let me go . She was afraid I might get captured and killed. So I went to the roof of the building to see if I could access the police station but the darkness of the night didn’t allow me to see forward. At the end they all got killed and the people that were on the top of the building didn’t allow me either to go to the police. They put traps or say things for Me not to go. So we all can survive .

16 Jan 2025

dream-about-parallel-worlds-and-falling
Abandoned home
Alien
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Children
Stairs

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My dream started off, it seemed like I was in kind of like a parallel world, one of the houses that I grew up in, like a log cabin, and each room I would go in would be different than it was when I was little, and there were like more beds in there, like maybe more people or more siblings or something, and then I kind of jumped to being in a room with who I thought were my kids, I didn't see their faces, but they were being really rambunctious and like broke this plant, like they were very careless, and then I went to carry the plant down the stairs, and the stairs were the stairs that I got pushed down, yeah basically pushed down when I was a child, anyway, the dirt fell down the stairs, and then my grandmother, well we kind of jumped in the dream, and then my grandmother went sliding down the stairs, fell, and then I called for my husband to come out, and he was kind of being grumpy about it, but finally came and helped, and then like I saw her like slumped over at the bottom of the stairs, and then the dream jumped to me and my husband living in California in some random house on a hill, and then we watched some either like alien ship launch or rocket or something, while we were out there, we, I don't know, went to take the garbage out, there were, he had brought the mattress out to the side of the street, and then while we were talking, and this face would start changing, like into like people that I knew, or I don't know, like scarier faces, I guess, and what was face changed into some face, I don't remember recognizing, and then I just woke up to this feeling of, of, it's almost like grabbing my throat, someone grabbing my throat, or pinning me down, but it was like I felt this really big don't touch me in the throat area of peace, and then I woke up very panicked.

16 Jan 2025

Fear
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Car
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First it was animal crossing and I was being chased by scorpions so i when into villager’s house to hide, then sometimes i would lay on their bed and they would lay onto of me making me unable to leave the bed. But when I came out of their house the scorpion was still there. I tried a different strat of catching them carring a flashlight, it didn’t work. Then I started looking for them in the rain and they got smart and would bring another big with their claws, release it when I’m about to swing my net and I capture that instead then the scorpion stings me. Then the dream switches. I’m about to get tattoos one on my arm of a lion and the other one of me and my cat. But the one of my cat requires them to break every bone in my arm. I sketch of where I want the rainbow lion tattoo, only realizing I drew it too low on my arm. I go to the bathroom to clean it off. After I’m done I think of shower then my mom starts knocking on the door saying there’s no time. I go out and quickly grab my bag, my phone charger and my winter jacket. I get in the car only realizing have way that I forgot my glasses. Then on my jacket I see a case of my spare glasses, “Oh I’m fine I found my spare glasses, I forgot I left them in the car haha.” Then when I get to the destination it was my choir group having dinner at a place similar to Apple Bees. I sat in the middle of the booth next to my friends, and I thought to myself “Gosh I feel stinky, did I even put on deodorant? My hair looks greasy doesn’t it…” Then my mom and my sister were also there and my mom started talking for a toast. In the middle of it I just angrily say “Oh shut up!”. I get scolded by my dad of not treating mommy that way then I get upset and lock myself in the bathroom forgot I took a burrito with me instead of leaving it on the table. I take a bite of it then remember I’m not supposed to eat in bathrooms. So I wrapped it in its wrapping the best I could and shoved it in my pocket. Then my mom knocks on the door saying she’s sorry and we need to talk to my sister cuz she’s crying. I wash my face and I’m like “fineee”. Me and mom mom go into her room, she’s on her bed crying with her cat ontop of her. She turns around and says “This was supposed to be Lee’s special day… And you had to go around and ruin it.” I say nothing as my mom taking over the conversation, she tries to explain her actions, there was a little back and forth. Then my sister says “See that’s your problem!” Then the dream switches and I’m a deer specialist Bambi and other people that are always baby animals. We are behind some bushes and a scientist tells us to duck all the way to the floor and cover our ears. Then the ground opens and out comes out a giant dish then it has some square holes on the size of the cylinder under the dish. “Test one!” The scientist says. The dish rotates a little and a giant pink boom wave comes out of it, I could feel it on my chest and the tree would shake from the released pressure. I say “omg that’s so loud that’s scary.”, someone else says “Don’t stand up or you’ll be cut in half.” “o-oh” I say. “Test two and this one goes ove the whole country!”.. the same boom happens. And now we are free to go, they show us up how the dish works, then one of the workers tripped over wires and shut the whole thing down “Oop! My bad” he says then turn is on again. Then a bird crashes into the dish’s and doesn’t the boom again. “You might want to see a real scientist.” I say. Her “Oh I plan too”. Then she goes and meets a professor that looks like Einstein. “Let me introduce you to my daughter” they both say at the same time. Then they realize their daughters already know each other and are a mirror image of each other. The look at the giant coins that are the size of their bodies, they have the same last name, “oh that’s kinda creepy” he says. “Any way I was planning on analyzing this thing tho know what’s wrong” she says. “No no you got it all wrong, analyzing is when you already know that problem” the professor says. Then the dream switches and I’m on my bed, I think I woke up, it was still dark outside so I thought it was probably 5am. I looked at my hand and there was a tiny scorpion on my middle finger I scream, I proceed to slap my hand against the wall. I look at it again and it’s still there I scream again then I accidentally wake up.

16 Jan 2025

dream-about-weird-coworkers-children-and-violence
Being chased by murderer
Violence and death
Abandoned home
Sister
Airport
Baby

Dream

I had 3 interesting dreams last night. In the first one, I was with my old coworkers at my house. It all just felt weird to me, like I was the odd one out. One of them, Janiqua, who was my closest friend at the time, explained to me that she’s sorry because they have inside jokes and lore that I’m not aware of. The house was a mess and nobody helped me clean up. In the second one, I was in an airport. This random man was pushing a stroller with I think two kids, but I only remember one. He asked me for directions to his gate. We got to his gate and he was handling something on his phone so I watched the stroller. The child was really really small with kind of a big head. I assumed maybe she was born prematurely. His gate number wasn’t for an airplane though, it was for a boat. The man boarded first without the stroller and the baby. The platform was swaying badly and the stroller nearly fell out the door but I caught it. I was stressed and scared and kept thinking that this has to be the wrong gate because of the danger. In the third one, I was in a classroom with Jack, the UK guy that broke my heart, and Cam, his friend, along with random other guys. My sister Teri was there, on a table, acting strangely. She was on all fours and acting really sexual. Of course the guys enjoyed it, but I pulled her aside and asked “what’s wrong with you?”. The dream suddenly warped to seeing this character Neal Caffrey from a TV show I’ve been watching starting acting strangely as well. In the show, he’s never killed anyone. But in my dream, it was as if he had a breakdown. He started shooting people dead in front of me. He tried to hurt me but somehow I managed to get into a room and close and lock the door long enough to call 911. It was the first time I used a phone in a dream. It took forever to type in 911 because I kept messing up, but eventually I did it, to Neal”s dismay. I tell the officers “you need to come to my address, there’s a guy, Neal Caffrey, and he’s already killed multiple people, he’s trying to hurt me, get here quickly!” This is how I found out I was back at my own house even though the interior looked nothing like it. Neal runs outside and to the right down the street, in the east direction. I contemplate chasing after him to keep track of him, but I see the lights of the police coming down from north to my house, so I take one last glance at Caffrey and stay to tell approaching officers he’s on foot. I don’t remember anything else after that except being scared out of my mind.

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Apartment
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