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Helpful or Harmful?
Within the study of sleep, many things are still a mystery, even to the experts. One of these mysteries is lucid dreaming. . Lucid dreaming, aptly put, is a sleep in which the dreamer is actively aware that they are dreaming. In this state, a person may be able to take control of their dream’s narrative to some degree, essentially guiding and directing the course of their dream. While the subject is aware that the scenes surrounding them are not real, they feel vivid and tangible. This article will delve into the prevalence and history of the phenomenon, when it occurs, and the benefits and dangers of such a process.
How Common is Lucid Dreaming?
According to Verywell Mind, “research suggests that the spontaneous experience of lucid dreaming tends to be fairly infrequent, but many people report having them at least once.” From a more statistical standpoint:
- Approximately half of all people will have at least one lucid dream during their lifetime.
- Around 23% of people have one lucid dream per month.
- However, only 11% of people report having two or more lucid dreams over the course of a month.
- One study suggested that lucid dreaming tends to be more common in women and may decrease in frequency as people age.
History of Lucid Dreaming
Despite our limited knowledge of lucid dreaming, people have been familiar with it for centuries. The phenomenon played a key role in the development of Eastern religious traditions including Buddhism, although it was dubbed as ‘awareness within dream states’ rather than true ‘lucid dreaming’. The first written record of dream awareness was credited to a notable Greek thinker and philosopher, Aristotle; who in his work, On Dreams, described how he experienced lucid dreaming.
The phenomenon was never credibly researched until the nineteenth century, in which scientists began to finally take a formal interest in the subject. Little progress was made until the 1960s and 1970s in which researchers were able to attribute lucid dreaming to the REM – or rapid eye movement – stages of sleep. Furthermore, this era birthed the electrooculogram (EOG); a tool that could be used to detect a predetermined set of eye movements in order to signal sleep awareness.
The contemporary development of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and other technologies has allowed scientists to better understand the sleeping brain, and by association, the phenomenon of lucid dreaming.
When Does it Happen?
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).
One lucid dreamer told Medical News Today that their lucid dreaming “occurs when I’m waking up, or sometimes if I’ve woken up briefly and I’m going back to sleep. Nowadays, I can pretty much do it on a whim, as long as I’m in that half-asleep half-awake process.”
The ability to control the dream narrative varies between dreamers, and often some people awake immediately after realizing they’re dreaming. The skill can of course be improved through practice, or augmentation of the metacognitive – or thought introspective – functions of the brain.
Benefits and Dangers of Lucid Dreaming
Those who experience lucid dreams may subsequently experience several benefits in their waking hours, including:
- Less anxiety
- Improved motor skills and coordination
- Better problem solving
- Increased creativity
Unfortunately, lucid dreaming is not without its dangers or costs. Examples include:
- Lower sleep quality
- Confusion
- Delirium
- Hallucinations
As such, before purposefully attempting to lucid dream, one must first take into account the pros and cons of such a phenomenon, to ensure the greatest margin of safety before proceeding.
