What is lucid dreaming | Is it safe to lucid dream ?
What is lucid dreaming
Have you ever been aware of a dream while still asleep? Like the one where you are completely aware of the events that are happening and the brain knows that it isn’t real, and sometimes you can take control over the turn of events occurring and change it as you wish to (probably like directing a movie). If yes, then you have experienced a “Lucid dream”. In simple words, A lucid dream is defined as a dream during which dreamers while dreaming, are aware they are dreaming.
Movies such as Inception have popularized lucid dreaming. This movie features impressive dream artisans who are able to control the shape and content of their dreams, as well as the dreams of others. In fact, a number of people are able to experience something called lucid dreaming, and some of them are even able to control certain elements of their nightly dreams.
Key benefits of Lucid dreaming
There are many benefits of Lucid dreaming, for example athletes use it for gaining more confidence by training in lucid dreams, some artists use it for inspirations, you can fulfill your desires or fantasies very vividly just like a real experience. Lucid dreaming also has the potential to help people with phobias, such as a fear of flying or a fear of spiders.
At the same time, lucid dreaming is also attractive as an unusual means of entertainment — much like the immersive experience of virtual reality. An experienced lucid dreamer might be able to “go on an adventure” and interact with people and things in ways they may not be able to in real life.
How to have a lucid dream ?
There are many techniques that people who want to try lucid dreaming or perfect their lucid dreaming experiences employ.
Reality testing
This may involve verifying whether or not you are dreaming both in real life and during a dream.
For instance, throughout the day, a person may want to ask themselves, “Am I dreaming right now?” as they try to make their hand pass through a solid wall.
This technique relies on intention. In real life, the wall will remain solid and impenetrable, but in a dream, the hand will easily pass through it.
Another “reality check” is rereading a line of text. In real life, if we read the text on a poster, it will stay the same when we reread it. In a dream, however, the text will constantly shift.
Conducting these experiments repeatedly throughout the day may make it easier to remember to conduct them during dreams, thus allowing the dreamer to gain awareness of the dream.
Remember your ordinary dreams & Keep a dream journal
Each night before drifting off to sleep repeat the phrase ‘I will remember my dreams as soon as I wake up’. Say this phrase over and over until you fall asleep, after a few days you will start to remember your ordinary dreams. This can be tedious but it’s well worth the effort. Even writing a few short sentences about your dream is enough. This will get you into the habit of remembering your ordinary dreams. It can also be a tool to analyze your thought processes.
Wake back to bed (WBTB)
Wake back to bed (WBTB) involves entering REM sleep while you’re still conscious.
There are many versions of WBTB, but consider this technique:
- Set an alarm for 5 hours after your bedtime.
- Go to sleep as usual.
- When the alarm goes off, stay up for 30 minutes. Enjoy a quiet activity like reading.
- Fall back asleep.
When you go back to sleep, you’ll be more likely to lucid dream. While you’re awake, choose any activity that requires full alertness.
check more on https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams/lucid-dreams
Is it safe to lucid dream ?
Now you know what is lucid dreaming and how to achieve it. While lucid dreaming may have some mental health benefits, there is some evidence to suggest that it may also have some downside.
Sleep interruptions
Because a lucid dream can be so vivid and emotional, they have the potential to interrupt your sleep. Also, some of the methods used to help induce lucid dreams are centered on deliberately interrupting sleep. WBTB and other methods involve waking up in the middle of the night sometimes. These interruptions can make it difficult to get enough rest, especially if you have a sleep disorder or an irregular sleep schedule.
Derealization
Sleep disturbances can lead to derealization, or the feeling that people, things, and your environment aren’t real.
You might be more likely to have bad dreams
Invoking dreams that are both vivid and emotional could potentially make it more likely that nightmares will occur.
Final Takeaways
Lucid dreaming is certainly an attractive and fascinating prospect; being able to explore our own inner worlds with full awareness that we are in a dream is intriguing and has an almost magical flavor to it. Because lucid dreaming allows the dreamer to invent or create anything within the dream, it could be an exciting way to explore creatively and safely within the confines of a dream. Lucid dreaming may be a fascinating, helpful, or pleasant experience, but you should consider why you are interested in achieving it and what you expect to get from it before trying to experiment.
Read also : The OODA Loop | Decision Making Model ( https://thebrightdelights.com/the-ooda-loop-decision-making-model/ )