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Have you ever had a dream where you could control what was happening? Have you ever wondered why we sometimes become lucid in dreams? Dreams have always been a great mystery of humanity. They have often been used as a tool for premonitions, or in stories where dreams are a kind of portal to another world.
The truth is that science does not explain 100% what dreams are, and for thousands of years, philosophers, psychoanalysts and now neuroscientists have tried to explain them from different perspectives. However, this characteristic of dreams, in which we become lucid, is already explainable, and we will talk about it in this text.
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So why do we sometimes become lucid in dreams?
Lucid dreams happen in a state of consciousness in which the person is not awake, but also not in a state of deep sleep. We are, in a way, at a kind of halfway point, which shows the complexity of the human mind.
Characteristics of lucid dreaming
In lucid dreams, we can realize that we are dreaming while the dream is happening. This way, we can have some awareness of what is happening and more vivid sensory experiences than what usually occurs in ordinary dreams.
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For example, we can taste food, perceive pain, cold or heat. And we can also decide that we are going to go flying and defy the laws of physics. However, we do not have complete control of what is happening or of our body and we remain in an intermediate state between the conscious and the unconscious.
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Studies on lucid dreams
Studies on this type of dreams have shown that our brain functioning is different compared to ordinary dreams, but it is also different from the waking state, when we are awake. They indicate that, when having lucid dreams, our brain presents mixed signals from both states.
Studies also indicate that lucid dreams usually occur in a state of sleep called “REM” (Rapid Eye Movement). REM is a moment in which our eyeballs make very rapid movements, which is precisely why it has this name.
Furthermore, they are related to greater activity in regions of the brain called the prefrontal cortex and precuneus. These areas are related to our consciousness and deliberate behaviors, which would explain why we feel greater agency within the dream.
Is it possible to train the ability to have lucid dreams?
This area of human knowledge is still very little explored, but there are some possible techniques to test. The first is called mnemonic induction, which means repeating to yourself, before going to sleep, some ideas.
You need to repeat to yourself, mentally, that you will remember what you are going to dream, or that you will have a lucid dream. Furthermore, you should remember a dream you had recently and imagine yourself consciously inside it, as if you were walking and doing things within that dream.
Another technique is the so-called “Reality Test”. You must start analyzing your reality, for example, looking at a watch twice in a row to confirm if it is working correctly. Or, reread a short text and see that the words have not changed.
In dreams, this type of information is not constant. If we look at a clock twice, the time displayed will probably change randomly. We also cannot read the same text twice. For example, we can read a sign and when we try to reread the words, it says something else, or it doesn't even exist anymore.
This technique is originally used for people to know whether they are dreaming or awake. However, by performing the technique in reverse, checking your own reality, it is more likely that you will be able to do the same during a dream. This way, you realize that you are dreaming and can then train your agency within the dream.
How to remember a dream
Many people have difficulty remembering their dreams, or never remember what they dreamed about. To change this, create the habit of writing down your dream as soon as you wake up, when the information is usually fresher and you may remember at least parts of it.
By training your dream recall, your dreams may become more vivid over time, until you have the experience of having a lucid dream.
Application to have lucid dreams
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O Lucid Dreamer promises to help us become lucid in dreams. His method is to work with sound stimuli to guide us towards a lucid dream. It is possible to combine the sound with a visual stimulus, such as the screen flashing a color during the sound effect.
To do this, you need to leave the cell phone screen close to your viewing area and configure the audio volume so that it is audible, but does not wake you up. Furthermore, the application has a feature to write down your dream as soon as you wake up and, in this way, train your dream memory.
Lucid Dreamer is available for free to Android It is iOS.
Have you ever had a lucid dream?
Many people have become lucid in dreams at some point in their lives, which is a very high number. But there are those who have a lucid dream at least once a month, as well as those who have never had this experience.
These incredible experiences can also become very realistic nightmares, as these are usually triggered by the same areas of the brain related to action and consciousness, to make the person wake up.
So, as much as the experience of having a lucid dream seems magical and incredible, it can be explained through science. Plus, it can also turn into something quite unpleasant, so be careful what you wish for.
