Elucidating Lucid Dreams

Joanna Cheng Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Awake and asleep are clear opposites, but an extraordinary phenomenon bridges the gap: lucid dreams. This captivating occurrence, in which a dreamer is aware that they are dreaming, has been around for millennia, but its workings bewilder us even today. At first glance, they may seem to be only an entertaining experience, but scientists have recently begun to take note of lucid dreams’ insight into psychology and sleep.

Lucid dreaming is certainly not a new phenomenon; it has been mentioned in texts dating back thousands and thousands of years. However, it had gained little scientific credibility until experiments in the 1970s and 80s proved that they indeed existed. The procedure used in these experiments has become standard for lucid dreaming studies today. Before falling asleep, researchers instructed subjects to move their eyes in a certain pattern as soon as they realized they were in a dream. Electroencephalograms, devices that measure brain activity, were used to record these eye pattern movements, and the data proved that dreamers could be conscious of their dream state [1].

The world of lucid dreams has incited much interest in the phenomenon due to the unique experiences it provides. Although the bare minimum requirement for a dream to be lucid is awareness of one’s dreaming state, some lucid dreamers are able to exert control over their dream and its surroundings. For example, one can manipulate the dreamscape to allow oneself to perform normally impossible tasks such as flying or walking through walls [6]. As a result, there are hundreds of blogs and websites on the internet with guides to induce lucid dreaming. These guides may help one achieve lucidity using simple instructions, but the actual mechanism is much more complex.

There are two types of lucid dreams: wake-initiated lucid dreams (WILDs), in which one remains conscious while falling directly into a dream, and dream-initiated lucid dreams (DILDs), in which one spontaneously becomes lucid while already dreaming [4]. Lucid dreaming in the case of DILDs was proven to occur mostly during the final hours of morning REM, although it is possible to have lucid dreams, albeit less vivid ones, in non-REM sleep [1].

Certain groups of people have a greater disposition to lucid dream. Scientists found that teens have higher rates of lucid dreaming than other age groups due to the fact that the brain, specifically the frontal lobe, is in its final stages of maturation during this time. Lucid dreaming is correlated with increased frontal lobe activity, so the maturation of this part of the brain may lead to higher incidences in this age group [5]. Video gamers are also more likely to lucid dream, due to the fact that both video games and lucid dreams require increased activity in similar parts of the brain and involve an immersion in virtual worlds [3].

For those who have not experienced lucid dreaming before, various methods have been attempted to induce lucidity, but so far there have been none that ensure success. External stimulation techniques range from acoustic stimulation, which involves playing a noise while one is in the REM stage of sleep, to electrical stimulation of the frontal cortex. Researchers who experimented with inhibitors of acetylcholinerase found that increased amounts of acetylcholine, which regulates REM sleep and stimulates parts of the brain related to REM sleep, could increase the occurrence of lucid dreams. Certain types of recreational drugs can also cause lucid dreaming due to the fact that they suppress REM, then cause REM rebound, which is a prolonged amount of REM sleep due to prior REM suppression [1].

In contrast to external stimulation, the following cognitive techniques are more accessible to the public and focus on training the brain to increase the chance of lucidity. The MILD (mnemonic induction of lucid dreams) technique involves imagining a lucid dream in one’s head before falling asleep, keeping in mind the intention to remember that one is dreaming. This may involve repeating words such as “I am dreaming” while visualizing the dream. The principle behind this technique is that since one’s last thoughts are about lucid dreams, one is more likely to become lucid during the night. Another method of lucid dream induction is the reality testing technique, in which one frequently asks during the day whether or not one is dreaming. If this test is developed into a habit, it may appear in a dream, allowing lucidity to occur. Yet another technique was the auto-suggestion technique, which was found to be more useful for frequent lucid dreamers. In this technique, one suggests to oneself to have a lucid dream before falling asleep, therefore leading that person to genuinely expect one. Tholey’s combined technique used both dream visualization as well as auto-suggestion and was one of the techniques with the highest success rates alongside MILD [4].

Lucid dreaming techniques are not created in vain; scientists have already discovered various psychological uses for the phenomenon. Many psychologists have proposed that psychosis is an extension of the dream state into the awake state; in this case, lucid dreaming, wakefulness in dreaming, could have many possible applications in the treatment of psychosis, dreaming in wakefulness. Psychosis, PTSD, and severe depression patients all often experience traumatizing nightmares, which could potentially be treated with lucid dreaming. There are three possible benefits of gaining lucidity during a nightmare. First, one could simply wake up after becoming lucid. Second, one could realize that the contents of the nightmare were not real and therefore lose fear of the situation. Third, one could gain the ability to manipulate the dream, turning it into a neutral or even pleasant dream [2]. Lucid dreaming also has importance in psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia, in which the patient does not realize the presence of their disorder. These disorders are similar to one’s state while non-lucid dreaming, as one is unaware of the fact that it is a dream [1]. Furthermore, lucid dreaming may help patients with motor disorders, since mental rehearsal of motor movements can assist in the actual movements. Therefore, performing movements during lucid dreaming could potentially help these patients rehabilitate. Scientists have found that performing an action in a lucid dream activates the sensorimotor cortex, which controls movement [2].

To both scientists and the common masses, lucid dreaming, with its psychological rehabilitation applications and exhilarating experiences, is a point of intrigue. This fascinating phenomenon has the ability to open up secrets of the brain, so perhaps it’s time we opened our eyes to the world of lucid dreams.

References

[1] Baird, B., Mota-Rolim, S. A., & Dresler, M. (2019). The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 100, 305-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.008

[2] Mota-Rolim, S. A., & Araujo, J. F. (2013). Neurobiology and clinical implications of lucid dreaming. Medical Hypotheses, 81(5), 751-756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2013.04.049

[3] Saunders, D. T., Roe, C. A., Smith, G., & Clegg, H. (2016). Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Consciousness and Cognition, 43, 197-215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2016.06.002

[4] Stumbrys, T., Erlacher, D., Schädlich, M., & Schredl, M. (2012). Induction of lucid dreams: A systematic review of evidence. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(3), 1456 1475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog. 2012.07.003

[5] Voss, U., D'Agostino, A., Kolibius, L., Klimke, A., Scarone, S., & Hobson, J. A. (2018). Insight and dissociation in lucid dreaming and psychosis. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2164. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02164

[6] Voss, U., Schermelleh-Engel, K., Windt, J., Frenzel, C., & Hobson, A. (2013). Measuring consciousness in dreams: The lucidity and consciousness in dreams scale. Consciousness and Cognition, 22(1), 8-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2012.11.001