A Real Dream or Not?

The term lucid dreaming was coined by the Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in 1913. It is something of a misnomer since it means something quite different from just clear or vivid dreaming. Nevertheless we are certainly stuck with it. Van Eeden explained that in this sort of dream "the re-integration of the psychic functions is so complete that the sleeper reaches a state of perfect awareness and is able to direct his attention, and to attempt different acts of free volition. Yet the sleep, as I am able confidently to state, is undisturbed, deep, and refreshing."

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Becoming a Lucid Dreamer

Surveys have shown that about 50 percent of people (and in some cases more) have had at least one lucid dream in their lives. (See, for example, Blackmore 1982; Gackenbach and LaBerge 1988; Green 1968.) Of course surveys are unreliable in that many people may not understand the question. In particular, if you have never had a lucid dream, it is easy to misunderstand what is meant by the term. So overestimates might be expected. Beyond this, it does not seem that surveys can find out much. There are no very consistent differences between lucid dreamers and others in terms of age, sex, education, and so on (Green 1968; Gackenbach and LaBerge 1988).

For many people, having lucid dreams is fun, and they want to learn how to have more or to induce them at will. One finding from early experimental work was that high levels of physical (and emotional) activity during the day tend to precede lucidity at night. Waking during the night and carrying out some kind of activity before falling asleep again can also encourage a lucid dream during the next REM period and is the basis of some induction techniques.

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Dream Actions

As we watch sleeping animals it is often tempting to conclude that they are moving their eyes in response to watching a dream, or twitching their legs as they dream of chasing prey. But do physical movements actually relate to the dream events?

Early sleep researchers occasionally reported examples like a long series of left-right eye movements when a dreamer had been dreaming of watching a ping-pong game, but they could do no more than wait until the right sort of dream came along.

Lucid dreaming made proper experimentation possible, for the subjects could be asked to perform a whole range of tasks in their dreams. In one experiment with researchers Morton Schatzman and Peter Fenwick, in London, Worsley planned to draw large triangles and to signal with flicks of his eyes every time he did so. While he dreamed, the electromyogram, recording small muscle movements, showed not only the eye signals but spikes of electrical activity in the right forearm just afterward. This showed that the preplanned actions in the dream produced corresponding muscle movements (Schatzman, Worsley, and Fenwick 1988).

Further experiments, with Worsley kicking dream objects, writing with umbrellas, and snapping his fingers, all confirmed that the muscles of the body show small movements corresponding to the body’s actions in the dream. The question about eye movements was also answered. The eyes do track dream objects. Worsley could even produce slow scanning movements, which are very difficult to produce in the absence of a "real" stimulus (Schatzman, Worsley, and Fenwick 1g88).

LaBerge was especially interested in breathing during dreams. This stemmed from his experiences at age five when he had dreamed of being an undersea pirate who could stay under water for very long periods without drowning. Thirty years later he wanted to find out whether dreamers holding their breath in dreams do so physically as well. The answer was yes. He and other lucid dreamers were able to signal from the dream and then hold their breath. They could also breathe rapidly in their dreams, as revealed on the monitors. Studying breathing during dreamed speech, he found that the person begins to breathe out at the start of an utterance just as in real speech (LaBerge and Dement 1982a).

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The Nature of the Dream World

It is tempting to think that the real world and the world of dreams are totally separate. Some of the experiments already mentioned show that there is no absolute dividing line. There are also plenty of stories that show the penetrability of the boundary.

Alan Worsley describes one experiment in which his task was to give himself a prearranged number of small electric shocks by means of a machine measuring his eye movements. He went to sleep and began dreaming that it was raining and he was in a sleeping bag by a fence with a gate in it. He began to wonder whether he was dreaming and thought it would be cheating to activate the shocks if he was awake. Then, while making the signals, he worried about the machine, for it was out there with him in the rain and might get wet (Schatzman, Worsley, and Fenwick 1988).

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Implications for Research on Sleep and Cognition

These foregoing developmental stages refer to how children think about dreams when they are awake. While asleep and dreaming, children, and also adults, tend to remain at the first stage ¬ implicitly assuming that the dream events are external reality. Out-of-body experiences, with a contradictory mixture of material and mental (external and internal), may provide examples of the second stage (LaBerge, Levitan, Brylowski & Dement, 1988). In the fully lucid dream, the dreamer attains the third stage, realizing that the dream world is distinct from the physical world. 

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Implications for Research on Sleep and Cognition

The fact of lucid dreaming presents conceptual difficulties for certain traditional beliefs about "sleep" and presumed limitations of dream mentation. In a certain sense, the anomalous appearance of lucid dreaming parallels that of the state that has been called "paradoxical sleep." The discovery of REM sleep required the expansion of our concept of sleep. The evidence associating lucid dreaming with REM sleep reviewed above would seem to require a similar expansion of our concept of dreaming, and a clarification of our concept of sleep. 

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Psychophysiological Relationships During REM Sleep

Evidence of voluntary control of other muscle groups during REM was found by LaBerge, Nagel, Dement, and Zarcone (1981) while testing a variety of lucidity signals. They observed that a sequence of left and right dream-fist clenches resulted in a corresponding sequence of left and right forearm twitches as measured by EMG. However, the amplitude of the twitches bore an unreliable relationship to the subjective intensity of the dreamed action. Because all skeletal muscle groups except those that govern eye-movements and breathing are profoundly inhibited during REM sleep for, it is to be expected that most muscular responses to dreamed movements will be feeble. Nonetheless, these responses faithfully reflect the motor patterns of the original dream. Similar observations have been made by Fenwick et al. (1984).

 

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Psychophysiological Relationships During REM Sleep

Psychologists attempting to apply rigorous scientific methodology to the study of such phenomena as mental imagery, hallucinations, dreaming, and in general, conscious processes face a major challenge: The most direct account available of the private events occurring in a person's mind is his or her own subjective report. But, unfortunately, subjective reports are difficult to objectively verify and introspection is far from an unbiased and direct process of observation. There are two strategies likely to increase our confidence in the reliability of subjective reports: 1) use highly trained (and in the context of dream research, lucid) subjects who are skillful reporters. 2) use the psychophysiological approach, which makes use of the fact that the convergent agreement of physiological measures and subjective reports provides a degree of validation to the latter (Stoyva and Kamiya, 1968).

 

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Physiological Characteristics Of Lucid Dreaming

There are two distinct ways in which lucid dreams are initiated. In the usual case, subjects report having been in the midst of a dream when a bizarre occurrence causes sufficient reflection to yield the realization that they are dreaming. In the other, less frequent case, subjects report having briefly awakened from a dream and then falling back asleep directly entering the dream with no (or very little) break in consciousness (Green, 1968; LaBerge 1985a). Here is an example of a wake-initiated lucid dream:

I was lying awake in bed late in the morning listening to the sound of running water in the adjoining bathroom. Presently an image of the ocean appeared, dim at first like my usual waking imagery. But its vividness rapidly increased while, at the same time, the sound of running water diminished; the intensity of the internal image and external sound seemed to alter inversely (as if one changed a stereo balance control from one channel to the other). In a few seconds, I found myself at the seashore standing between my mother and a girl who seemed somehow familiar. I could no longer hear the sound of the bath water, but only the roar of the dream sea.... (LaBerge, 1980, p. 85)

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Physiological Characteristics Of Lucid Dreaming 1

The preceding studies have shown that lucid dreams typically occur in REM sleep. However, since REM sleep is a heterogeneous state exhibiting considerable variations in physiological activity, of which two distinct phases are ordinarily distinguished. In its most active form, REM is dominated by a striking variety of irregular and short-lived events such as muscular twitching, including the rapid eye movements that give the state one of its most common names. This variety of REM is referred to as 'phasic,' while the relatively quiescent state remaining when rapid eye movements and other phasic events temporarily subside is referred to as 'tonic.' On first thought, one might expect lucid dreams to be associated with decreased phasic activity (Pivik, 1986). However, research by the Stanford group, detailed below, has shown lucid dreaming to be associated with, on the contrary, increased phasic activity. 

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Lucid Dreaming Physiologically Verified

Although we are not usually explicitly aware of the fact that we are dreaming while we are dreaming, at times a remarkable exception occurs, and we become conscious enough to realize that we are dreaming. "Lucid" dreamers (the term derives from van Eeden, 1913) report being able to freely remember the circumstances of waking life, to think clearly, and to act deliberately upon reflection, all while experiencing a dream world that seems vividly real (Green, 1968; LaBerge, 1985; Gackenbach & LaBerge, 1988). This is all in contrast to the usual past characterization of dreams as typically lacking any reflective awareness or true volition (Rechtschaffen, 1978).

 

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Should I use dream herbs?

Dream herbs are very good at temporarily improving your dream recall, as well as giving you very intense and meaningful dreams the same night. Sometimes these are lucid dreams and at the minimum they are very vivid and memorable dreams.

I find certain dream herbs create interesting dream experiences and are worth experimenting with just for fun and to understand more about the dreaming mind. Beginners may want to try the popular herb like Calea Zacatechichi.

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What are false awakenings?

In false awakenings, you believe you have woken up but are in fact still asleep. It's a very vivid experience and shares some intriguing characteristics with lucid dreams.

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Can I talk to my unconscious in a lucid dream?

As the lucid dream is a co-created experience, you can find profound communication with the unconscious arising from dream events or the fabric of the dream itself. The easiest way is to start a dialogue with the dream: just ask questions out loud. See the article 10 things to ask your lucid dream self for specific questions to pose to your dreaming self.

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Are my dreams psychic?

I'm sure you want them to be, but wanting something doesn't make it real. Otherwise we'd all win the lottery, look like A-list celebrities and solve world hunger.

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Do lucid dream machines work?

Lucid dream machines like the NovaDreamer, REM Dreamer or DreamMask provide external lucidity triggers which are incorporated into your dream. It is up to you to recognize the cue and in doing so, realize that you are dreaming.

They do not guarantee effortless conscious dreams - nothing can, unless you are a natural - but used correctly they can certainly increase your self-awareness in dreams and help bring your consciousness into the dreamscape. To learn more, read my reviews of popular lucid dream machines.

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Can I get stuck in a lucid dream?

If you are imagining getting stuck in a lucid dream that way a child gets stuck in a painting in a horror movie, then no, that's science fiction.

You can no more get stuck in a lucid dream than you can get stuck in a regular dream or nightmare. "Dream limbo" is just a plot device for the movies.

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Are lucid dreams tiring?

The short answer for 99% of people is no.

You dream for around 100 minutes every night in total, across multiple sleep cycles. A proficient lucid dreamer can expect to lucid dream 2-4 times a week, on average, with each session lasting 10-40 minutes. Even if this were considered "lost sleep" (which is a stretch) it isn't that much time at all. On the contrary, a lucid dream can leave you on a natural high for the rest of the day, which gives you more mental and physical energy.

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How can I have flying dreams?

Learning how to fly in lucid dreams is something we all want to master first.

However, it's not like you've had any practice in real life, so the concept can be a little difficult on the lucid dreaming mind. While some people take to the sky like Superman, others can get stuck in power lines, bump into buildings, or waver as if gravity is acting against them (which of course it isn't!)

Think of the movie The Matrix, when Morpheus asks Neo how he beat him in a virtual reality fight. Was it because he was stronger, faster, or fitter in this simulated world? No. It was because he truly believedhe was better.

It's the same in lucid dreams. See how to have lucid flying dreams which explains the expectation principle and a three-step flight training program.

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How can I change the scenery?

Making the dream scene morph in front of your eyes can sometimes be difficult - mainly because you simply don't expect it to happen. This is typical of the results beginners complain about because they lack the anticipated dream control.

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How can I stay lucid for longer?

Beginners often find their lucid dreams end prematurely. Sometimes, the sheer excitement causes you to wake up. Other times, you may simply forget you are dreaming and the unconscious mind regains full control. In this case, the dream loses its intensity and become just like a regular dream again.

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How will I know when I'm lucid?

In Dream Initiated Lucid Dreams, the moment you become lucid is the moment you suddenly realize you are dreaming.

In many movies, fictional characters often realize they're dreaming and make funny comments about it but otherwise allow the dream to continue of it's own accord and nothing changes. Lucid dreaming is nothing like this :)

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How long does it take to have your first lucid dream?

One study showed a group of committed students were able to have their first lucid dream, on average, within 3-21 days. They were equipped with the right tutorials and practiced mindfully every day.

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5 Myths About Lucid Dreaming 5

MYTH #5. Only advanced yogis can have lucid dreams.

While meditation is proven to prime your brain for lucidity, you don't need to be an Eastern yogi to attain this mental state.

I learned how to meditate when I got into lucid dreaming, because the two go hand-in-hand. Meditating simply means focusing your attention on your own train of consciousness (without your internal dialogue running).

This serves to heighten your self awareness while awake, and has a knock-on effect while you're dreaming too. It becomes much easier to have that "Aha!" moment when you're dreaming... and become lucid.

Of course, many children can lucid dream naturally and they are unlikely to be meditators. But they do tend to daydream more and visualize dreams as they go to sleep, which is how they master the art. So it's a very valuable skill to have; to simply meditate and visualize as you go to sleep.

Experts agree that everyone has the ability to lucid dream. You already dream. And you already access consciousness every waking day. Lucid dreaming is a case of combining these two mental states, which really isn't that difficult once you make it a regular mental habit.

Don't believe the myth that lucid dreaming belongs to an elite club of people with special mental skills who are dedicated to years of training. It simply isn't true. Lucid dreamers come from all walks of life, among a range of age groups, and they have a range of IQs.

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5 Myths About Lucid Dreaming 4

MYTH #4. If you don't lucid dream, you're wasting one-third of your life.

If you sleep for an average of 8 hours per day, then it's true to say that you're asleep for one-third of your lifetime.

However, let's not confuse sleep with dreams. It's simply not possible to lucid dream constantly for 8 hours per night.

Each night, you pass through four stages of sleep, of which around 100 minutes total consist of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.

So at best, you could potentially lucid dream for up to two hours, in separate stints, but this really is the upper limit. Most experienced lucid dreamers would consider it a success to achieve 20-30 minutes of lucid dreaming on a given night. That's because lucid dreams are so very awesome; half an hour of that is still breathtaking stuff.

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5 Myths About Lucid Dreaming 3

MYTH #3. Lucid dreaming is a New Age fad.

The charming and innocent movie, The Good Night, tackles lucid dreaming head-on... only to represent the oneironaut community as hairy hippies, holding hands and crying on each other's shoulders for emotional support.

I personally can't relate to this stereotype - and as a lucid dreamer or would-be dreamer, I suspect, neither can you.

Unfortunately, this myth that lucid dreaming is an unscientific, wholly spiritual pursuit still persists in the general population.

On explaining what I do for a living, a friend once said to me: "Lucid dreaming? Do you reallybelieve in all that?"

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5 Myths About Lucid Dreaming 2

MYTH #2: If you die in a lucid dream, you die in real life.

In Wes Craven's classic horror flick, A Nightmare on Elm Street, a pedophile named Freddie Krueger haunts the dreams of teenagers. Worse, when he attacks them in their dreams... they die in real life.

If such a myth were true, I wouldn't be here to write this.

I've died many times in lucid and non-lucid dreams. The other night I was stabbed to death in the stomach and passed through this wonderful red-black dream realm in which I felt totally free before emerging into the first-person perspective of my son. I got to exist as a two-year-old for the rest of the dream!

Some people say they simply wake up when they die in a dream, and that's usually because they've been murdered or have died in some adrenaline-surging dream scenario. As a lucid dreamer I have trained myself to remain calm in my dreams whenever I have the conscious clarity to do so. And that means if someone kills me, I tend to become instantly lucid and hold on to the dream thread.

Typically, I'll pass through some sort of multi-colored portal or realm and emerge as another being. After dying, I have woken up as an alien on a surgical table, with the recollection that my human life was just a long dream as part of an epic alien lifecycle. I have woken up as other human beings. And I have woken up as myself in a different time (like a flashback) or however else my unconscious wants me to perceive this dream plot twist.

I say "woken up" because, for me, the transition between dying and being reborn in a lucid dream is usually a sense of going from dark to light. I suspect this is reflected by my unconscious cultural interpretation about what happens when you die. I don't believe in the afterlife, but the movies tell me so. Also, consider the dark-to-light nature of the hypnagogic state that pervades the inter-dream borderland state.

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5 Myths About Lucid Dreaming 1

All too often, movies and books turn lucid dreaming into hellish personal nightmares. This is not at all representative of my adventures in lucidity.

Let's face it, there are some pretty crazy myths about lucid dreaming.

That's partly because it's a strange concept to grasp if you have never had a lucid dream before. I've seen plenty of people spread misinformation and half-truths around the internet without even realizing what they're really saying.

And it's partly because famous books and movies about lucid dreaming tend to twist the truth to make their plot more dramatic. Sure, I appreciate poetic licence. But it's a devil of a job to set the record straight when thousands of newcomers to the world of lucid dreaming have all these myths in mind.

Lucid Dreaming Myths in Movies

All too often, fictional movie story lines turn the notion of waking up in dreamland into hellish personal nightmares.

The dreamer becomes crippled, trapped in their own unconscious, and plagued by sinister figures out to harm them.

This is not at all representative of my adventures in lucidity. Most of my lucid dreams are surreal, euphoric, awe-inspiring works of inner creativity. When I realize I'm dreaming, it's the best. No bogeymen here, thanks.

MYTH #1. You can get stuck in lucid dream limbo.

Of course I love the movie Inception, but its unfortunate legacy is the myth of dream limbo: the idea that you can become stuck in a deserted lucid dream land for what literally feels like decades.

I've been doing this gig for 17 years, and I've never become stuck in a lucid dream limbo land of any sort.

If I want to wake up, I simply squeeze my eyes tightly shut then open them again while shouting "WAKE UP!" When I first started lucid dreaming, this worked like a charm to help me escape from nightmares. I rarely use it nowadays, even during nightmares, because I prefer to confront the nightmare figure if at all possible and reconcile the underlying issue.

I have been stuck in non-lucid nightmares. I'm sure everyone can relate to this. But let me explain the difference: in a non-lucid (non-conscious) dream or nightmare, you don't know you're dreaming.Therefore, you have no capacity of knowledge to wake yourself up. In short, if dream limbo didexist, lucid dreaming would be the only way to escape!

By contrast, in lucid dreams, you have every awareness that you are dreaming, you have control of your dream body and, to some degree, control of your sleeping body in bed. You can cause your real eyes to open and your real breathing to speed up just by elaborating these actions in your dream.

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Can You Confuse Lucid Dreams with Reality?

If everything you see, hear and feel in lucid dreams is the same as when you're awake, how do you know you're dreaming? Can you confuse lucid dreams with reality? What is the objective difference?

Rebecca says: Great question. This is a common misapprehension about lucid dreaming and I'm more than happy to set the record straight.

In my experience (and, I'm sure, the experience of many lucid dreamers) it is not possible to confuse lucid dreams with reality. With the power of conscious thought behind you, knowing you're dreaming is as intuitive as knowing you're awake.

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