In 1980 Stephen LaBerge, a psychophysiologist, sent messages to his colleague from his dream via eye movements during REM sleep. His doctorate study marked the first published, scientifically verified communication from a dreamer’s mind to the outside world.
Lucid dreaming, or becoming aware you are dreaming, has gained popularity in recent years, although its practice has been recorded for centuries.
Buddhists documented their version of lucidity, what they call dream yoga, as early as the 8th century. About half of adults have had a lucid dream before, according to Susan Blackmore’s published 1984 study surveying 321 random participants from the electoral register in Bristol, United Kingdom.
Josh Blackwell, a high school senior in Dayton, Ohio, became interested in lucid dreaming after watching the film Inception. The 2010 blockbuster film fueled a revival of interest in the practice, nonetheless, the movie remains science fiction due to “dream sharing.” No device exists for two people to share a dream.
“I wouldn’t say Lucid dreaming necessarily improves my waking life, rather it gives me something to look forward to when I go to bed,” Blackwell said. “I feel exponentially more refreshed when I wake up from an LD as opposed to “normal” sleep. I lucid dream once or twice a month on average, but the frequency has increased as time goes onHaving ultimate control over your entire environment can’t be beat.”
In the past decade, many niche sites and books have dedicated themselves to helping people achieve lucidity. Misinformation about lucid dreaming has spread alongside scientifically supported research, according to Patricia Keelin, an associate of LaBerge and The Lucidity Institute.
LaBerge helped pioneer the scientific research of lucid dreaming, making his name synonymous with lucid dreaming in the scientific community. In 1987, he founded The Lucidity Institute, which supports lucid dreaming research and educative training.
LaBerge developed a device called the NovaDreamer, which monitors REM sleep and sends auditory and visual cues while the wearer dreams. Users can modify the settings and practice mental exercises while awake to enhance the likelihood of recognizing the cues in their dreams, greatly increasing the likelihood of inducing lucidity. The mask retailed for $300. The NovaDreamer 2 has been under development for several years now, and is scheduled for release soon. The Lucidity Institute has been using and testing the device at workshops for the past few years now, Keelin said.
Lucidity can be achieved regularly, as long as it is practiced. LaBerge, while writing his doctoral dissertation, needed to be able to lucid dream almost on demand. He increased his lucid dreaming frequency over the course of three years from once a month to four times a night, at which point he could have them at will.
Sabrina M, a 21 year old “frequent lucid dreamer” in Reddit’s online lucid dreaming sub-community, learned to lucid dream by keeping a dream diary for three months. Sabrina claims to lucid dream once every ten nights.
“You can do what you always wanted to do, for me it is flying,” Sabrina said. “A problem of mine is remembering what I wanted to do as soon as I lucid dream, the flying response is now a habit of mine that’s rather difficult to break.”
Lucid dreaming and dream control are distinctive however. While you may achieve lucidity and become aware you are dreaming, controlling the dream requires confidence and practice. Lucidity usually leads to dream control, and both are regularly practiced in tandem.
After first achieving lucidity, dreamers often wake up due to excitement. Eighteen Lucidity Institute members tested three different techniques for prolonging lucid dreams and prevent waking up immediately. The motion of spinning around your axis was shown to greatly increase the chance of staying in the dream, due to your brain’s ability to easily duplicate the sensation. The odds were 22 to 1 in favor of continuing the lucid dream after spinning.
If you die in your dream, you’ll probably wake up due to the level of anxiety involved. Lucid dreaming is safe however, as your body is paralyzed while you sleep. As pleasurable as the dream world may be, psychological addiction is unlikely because REM sleep is limited, according to the Lucidity Institute’s FAQ about lucid dreaming.
“I would not say I’m psychologically addicted to LD’s,” Blackwell said. “In my opinion though, I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t prefer their dream life to the waking life at least a little bit. Having ultimate control over your entire environment can’t be beat.”
LaBerge describes in the FAQ how lucidity can help people cope with nightmares:
“Monsters often transform into benign creatures, friends, or empty shells when courageously confronted in lucid dreams. This is an extremely empowering experience. It teaches you in a very visceral manner that you can conquer fear and thereby become stronger.”
Marvin Rodrigues, a 20 year old financial advisor from Sarasota, learned how to lucid dream specifically to help combat his sleep paralysis. He now claims to lucid dream about once a week.
“I went online and did research seeking a solution after experiencing extreme heart wrenching situations,” Rodrigues said. “Sleep paralysis was my worst fear when it came time to go to bed.
Whether you learn to lucid dream to overcome your fears, explore your subconscious, or simply for pleasure and enjoyment, lucid dreaming allows you to access the expanses of your imagination.
“Lucid dreaming has helped me stay motivated towards my goal in life, I live in a world [in dreams] where I see myself in 5 years or so,” Rodrigues said. “In turn it has improved my waking life drastically. I think it is something everyone should experience.”
Click “Next Page” to find out how to induce Lucid Dreams.
