What are lucid dreams and how can we achieve them

For thousands of years, Human being Questions were asked about the phenomenon of lucid dreaming, that is to say, to be aware while dreaming. Aristotle wrote about lucid dreams in 350 BC. C. and Buddhists practiced the “dream yoga»For several centuries.

This kind of dreams has been the subject of literary conspiracies (“Alice in Wonderland“) And cinematographic (“Start”), As well as scientific studies on sleep. An analysis of these studies, published in 2019, found that brain activity during lucid dreaming is very distinctive.

More recently, lucid dreaming has become a kind of sport that has spawned countless such publications. “Lifehack” in Reddit, Youtube and TIC Tac, where people talk at length about their moments of consciousness while sleeping and more often exchange tips for lucid dreaming.

// What impact sleep and memory can have on education

In theory, anyone can have a lucid dream; After reviewing 50 years of sleep and dream research, a group of scientists concluded that about half of the world’s population has experienced it.

“As far as we know, if people really start to research the subject, if they practice a little bit or something like that, most people end up having lucid dreaming,” he said. Explain. Martin dresler, expert in cognitive neuroscience of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior Research at Radboud University, in the Nederlands.

// How to sleep when worries keep us awake

Daniel Love, educator in lucid dreams of Truro, England, claims to have observed a wide range of lucid dreaming experiences. “During the years that I teach, I saw people with very varied capacities until others unable to overcome certain blockages,” he explained. Even experienced people who lucid dreaming sometimes manage to realize such a dream for several weeks.

Simple and easy steps to achieve “lucid dreaming”

In general, two techniques are recommended develop this skill; Both take time and practice, and there is no guarantee that they will pay off.

The first is keep track of your dreams in a journal and try to identify patterns. I realized, for example, that many of my dreams occur in the attic of my parents’ house and in the gymnasium at my elementary school. Now when I have a dream that occurs in one of these spaces, it should be easier for me to recognize something.

// What did you dream about yesterday ?: This is how our minds work when we sleep

The second technique which is commonly said to help promote alertness is “verify reality “– Test self-awareness during waking hours with simple tasks like finger counting. Once these practices become common, Love explained, they can occur during sleep, where the logical results can be sleep distortions, like the wrong number of fingers.

Are tips on the web healthy?

Internet is saturated with adviceof course, in YouTube videos, Reddit articles, and blogs, not to mention countless virtual classes, books, guides, devices, and even supplements, such as melatonin and vitamin B6, for their purported properties to help people to have lucid dreams. In a small, eight-night study of 35 people, a drug originally designed to treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease induced lucid dreams. Ralph Carlson, educational psychologist at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and one of the study’s authors pointed out that no medication should be used without consulting a doctor.

Either way, even those who sell these type of products and services say they are not needed. “You really don’t need to invest any money in this,” Love said. In his case, he offers mentoring and sells books, but clarified that they are “for those who struggle and want extra help, even if it isn’t needed.”

At this point, accept Nate Turner, waiter of a 19-year-old gastronomic venue Michigan whose TikTok lucid dreaming videos have earned him a sequel on this app. His recommendation to newbies exploring online tips is that “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.”

Love joined in this recommendation. “Essentially, lucid dreaming is about manipulating the world’s most complicated computer: the human brain.”, He said. “So if someone promises you that you can have lucid dreams in five days, a day, or 30 days, you can definitely say it’s impossible.”

// What does dreaming of boats mean

Every brain works differently

Jay Mutzafi, moderator Lucid dreaming On Reddit, she spends a lot of time removing comments that might confuse people who are lucid dreaming. He is convinced that the community element can be useful for those who are starting to explore, as it is a space in which they can ask questions and exchange observations. However, he also cautions that it can be harmful to compare yourself too much to others: “These are personal and subjective experiences. Each brain works in a different way ”.

// Researchers managed to communicate in real time with people who were dreaming

People want to have lucid dreams for all kinds of reasons: they can take it as a mental challenge, it can interest them for therapeutic purposes or as an entertaining hobby. Turner described his experiences as “a video game world in my head.”

My own practice It developed from an immediate sad reality, during a pandemic that is now in its second year. I felt like my life was on hold, I desperately needed some control. My grandfather is terminally ill, so I sleep several nights a week on his couch so I can be there and take care of him. I keep a journal of my dreams the nights I spend there and I practice checking reality.

Habitually, sleeping in a strange place promotes more vivid dreams and sleep disruption may be good for alertness, according to Dresler. But even on those rough nights, even on that seventies couch, I only achieve lucidity once and fleetingly. I dream that I am sitting with my grandfather at his favorite table in his favorite lunch spot, without a mask and in good health. Then he smiles, and while I know I’m dreaming and this perfect moment must be impossible, I smile at him too.

Por Dorie Chevlen, @ 2021, The New York Times