What Are Lucid Dreams?

A lucid dream is a term used to describe when an individual is in the process of dreaming but is also aware they are dreaming. This phenomenon means an individual can retain their reflexive consciousness when they are dreaming. The individual having a lucid dream can remain asleep physiologically and stay in a dream environment. However, not all individuals have experienced lucid dreams.

Lucid dreams are a phenomenon that is not fully understood by science and researchers yet, but studies have provided some useful information about this type of dreaming that can be used as a reference point. Lucid dreaming only occurs during a certain stage of an individual's sleep and has to have certain characteristics to be considered a lucid dream. There have been claims that lucid dreaming holds numerous benefits for an individual, which are matched by research showing it also has several pitfalls.

Criteria For A Lucid Dream

While a lucid dream is essentially defined as an individual having a dream while they are aware they are dreaming, the dream in question must meet seven different criteria to be scientifically considered a lucid dream. First, the affected individual must have an awareness of the fact they are dreaming. Second, the individual must be aware they can make intentional decisions in the dream. Thirdly, the individual must have an awareness of their memory. Fourth, the individual must be aware of their own identity while they are dreaming.

Fifth, the individual must have an awareness of the environment in which they are dreaming. Sixth, the individual must have an awareness of the meaning of their dream. Lastly, the individual must have an awareness of their ability to focus and concentrate during their dream. Despite these criteria set for what is considered a lucid dream, it has also been argued by some skeptics that an individual who is lucid dreaming is actually dreaming within their initial active dream, rather than being aware of the fact they are dreaming.

When Lucid Dreaming Occurs

Lucid dreaming in an individual most often occurs during the REM stage of their sleep. In an individual who is not lucid dreaming but asleep, lateral temporal, parietal, and prefrontal cortices experience a reduction in the regional blood flow of the cerebellum. The mechanism of hypoactivity of such brain regions during an individual's REM sleep is what is thought to induce decreased volitional control and awareness while in the middle of a normal dream. This mechanism gives rise to the theory that the same reversed mechanism occurs with hyperactivity of the same brain regions during REM sleep.

The hyperactivity of these brain regions can cause increased signaling in the precuneus, anterior prefrontal cortex, inferior temporal gyri, prefrontal cortex, bilateral inferior parietal lobule, and middle temporal gyri. This mechanism is what is thought to produce the phenomenon of lucid dreaming. Functional MRI and low-power EEG findings have given support to this theory. It is also thought that heightened functional connectivity between the temporoparietal association areas and prefrontal cortex in an individual who experiences frequent lucid dreaming is what gives them the ability to do so.

Benefits Of Lucid Dreams

It may not seem as if lucid dreaming could do much for an individual aside from making them aware they are not in what would be considered a nightmare in real life. If scary events occur in a dream, but the affected individual is well aware they are dreaming, they do not wake up in such a startled state. Lucid dreams can provide the benefit of doing things and having experiences an individual would be unable to have in the real world. Individuals who have certain fears and phobias can control their activities during lucid dreams and utilize that to overcome their fear.

Lucid dreaming is a way for an individual to practice meditation and reflect on their true self in the absence of the distractions of the real world. Some individuals who lucid dream claim it is a way to tap into undiscovered creativity within their mind, and gives them better access to memories from their past. Some also claim lucid dreaming gives them the ability to practice spirituality while they are sleeping. While there is no significant research to support this claim, some researchers have concluded individuals who lucid dream have better mental health than those who do not.

Lucid Dream Techniques

Several different techniques have been established to help an individual be able to induce their own lucid dreaming. The wake-induced lucid dream (WILD) is a technique that involves the individual keeping their brain awake when allowing their body to fall asleep. The wake back to bed (WBTB) technique involves an individual waking themselves up in the early morning hours and then attempting to go back to bed, making an effort to lucid dream. The mnemonically induced lucid dream (MILD) technique involves an individual repeating an affirmation or mantra to themselves numerous times before going to sleep with the goal of still having it in their mind when they physically fall asleep.

The senses-induced lucid dreaming (SSILD) technique involves an individual repeating a mental cycle of awareness to themselves of what they see, hear, smell, and feel to induce a lucid dream. The all-rounder lucid dreaming technique involves the use of a combination of different methods to induce a lucid dream, including mediation, dream journaling, and reality checks. Individuals who practice lucid dreaming techniques report that different methods will work for different individuals, and not everyone is successful with the use of any single method.

Concerns Linked To Lucid Dreaming

While many individuals have claimed and investigated the benefits of lucid dreaming, they have also investigated and researched the concerns and possible harm of lucid dreaming. The first concern science has about lucid dreaming is the negative effects it can have on quality of sleep. When an individual is somewhere between being asleep and awake, the processes that aim to eliminate toxins from their brain become impaired. Another problem with lucid dreaming is a phenomenon referred to as awareness of sleep paralysis.

To keep an individual from acting out what they are doing in their dreams, their body triggers sleep paralysis at night when they are in the REM cycle. When an individual attempts to induce lucid dreaming, they can experience a state between being awake and asleep when their body goes into sleep paralysis, but their mind is awake. Another problem that can occur with lucid dreaming is called dream claustrophobia. Dream claustrophobia is when an individual becomes lucid in a dream they cannot wake up from and cannot manipulate.