How do I have a lucid dream? How do you train for it? Well, all your questions are answered in this article.
Lucid dreaming: introduction
Are you dreaming? You bet I am!
Do you ever have nightmares? Yes, it can happen!
Are you aware that you're in a dream? No ?
Well, that's what we're going to discuss today in this article on lucid dreaming.
Lucid dreams, or waking dreams, are dreams in which we are conscious: we realize that we are in our imaginary world. A non-lucid dream, in contrast, is one in which we don't distinguish between reality and fantasy.
Lucid dreaming can vary in intensity. The intensity will vary according to our training, as in a film: spectator, actor, director and even director.
- Spectator: I live my lucid dream by following the dream's plot without intervention.
- Actor: I can control my actions and thus interact, but I have no control over the dream itself.
- Director: I can control my actions and slightly change the dream's plot. For example, by adding objects.
- Director: I have total control over the dream's plot. I can interact and modify the storyline and universe in depth.
Already as a spectator, it's pleasant to have a lucid dream because, being conscious, we can live the experience to the full. What's more, if we have nightmares, we can easily wake up without experiencing the anguish.
But what is a dream anyway?
Dreams
A night's sleep is made up of 4 to 5 cycles of around 1.5 hours each. These cycles are themselves made up of several sleep phases:
- Light between 15 and 30 minutes: falling asleep
- Deep: between 45 minutes and 1 hour: a deep, restorative slow-wave sleep.
- Paradoxical: between 15 and 20 minutes: when we dream
Source: Morphée network
During these different phases, the brain changes its working frequency. During deep sleep, this frequency is very low, whereas in REM sleep, this frequency is rapid and close to our waking frequency. Brain activity is therefore much more intense in REM sleep: this is when we dream.
In fact, during REM sleep, our body undergoes muscle paralysis as a "protective" mechanism to prevent us from getting up and living our dream in reality. In somnambulists, this mechanism malfunctions, which is why they dream while moving.
The usefulness of dreams
There are several theories. The oldest of these theories propose that dreams serve to consolidate memory and/or digest emotions experienced during the day. Today, the latest studies assign these functions to deep sleep (heavy, restful sleep).
The most recent studies suggest that dreams are an evolutionary advantage, allowing us to serve as training grounds. This is to prepare us for the difficulties and anxious situations of reality.
This is a very interesting theory, as we know that a nightmare is a dream that never ends. In fact, a dream that is too emotionally intense or awakens too many fears in us, forces us with a survival mechanism to wake up with a jolt of adrenaline: it's a nightmare. If the dream is less intense, then the dream ends normally without triggering an adrenaline rush (survival mechanism). This is the difference between a dream and a nightmare: a nightmare is a dream that ends abruptly with an emergency awakening.
According to studies, dream actions use exactly the same areas of the brain as those used in reality. This confirms that our dreams enable us to train in a safe, controlled environment: our imagination. In other words, to improve our ability to respond to anxiety-provoking situations, or to develop skills for future challenges.
I find this training theory interesting, because personally, I see that my dreams are very much linked to my anxieties. In fact, I have a lot of dreams about either traumatic past memories or upcoming stressful activities.
The usefulness of lucid dreaming
We've already seen the usefulness of dreams, but what about lucid dreaming? Well, I'd like to start with the theory that dreams are training for real-life challenges.
Each dream is therefore a universe specially developed by our subconscious to help and train us to respond to a specific situation.
By having lucid dreams, we are therefore able to respond even better to this training. By controlling our dream world (director), we can also train for specific situations: improving sports performance, alleviating a phobia, reliving an anxiety-provoking memory.
What's more, if we know we're dreaming, there's no need for a nightmare. A dream too intense? I can choose to wake up. But once I've reached a certain level of control, I can also act on the intensity.
For example, if I'm surrounded by spiders, I can choose to build an impregnable wall around myself.
In one of my dreams, I was attacked by horrible beasts. I said to myself, but it's weird, these beasts scare me more than anything else, but they're blurry. And then I realized, I'm dreaming. So I decided to create a sword in one of my hands, and the tension immediately dropped to a more acceptable level: I could defend myself.
Interested in trying lucid dreaming? Then let's get started.
Training
And yes, before you can have lucid dreams, you're going to have to practice. The first thing is to try to remember your dreams. To do this, it's important to keep a dream diary.
In OpenSynapsWe suggest you write down your dreams in your personal diary. This will not only help you analyze your dreams, but also prepare you for lucid dreaming.
One technique to help your mind remember your dreams is to mentally prepare yourself in bed just before falling asleep by saying to yourself "I want to remember my dreams" several times.
As the nights go by, you'll gradually recall your imaginary world. At first, it will be in bits and pieces: emotions, colors, impressions. Then your memories will take on more and more substance. Don't give up - it may take a while, but that's perfectly normal.
Finally, when you remember your dreams well, it's important to look for things that show you were in a dream. For example, blurred beasts of gigantic proportions, or text that's impossible to read. Spotting these details will help you understand that you're in a dream.
Lucid dreaming
In fact, lucid dreaming is actually quite simple: you "just" have to realize that you're in your imagination. You have to "wake up" your consciousness. Paradoxical, isn't it 😉 (Like a paradoxical dream!)
So, several times a day, practice testing your reality. This will train reflexes that will help you to say to yourself "ah but I'm actually in a dream" and thus achieve lucidity.
To be done several times a day:
- Ask yourself " Am I dreaming? "
- Question yourself " Am I conscious? "
- Scan your surroundings for strange details
Strange details in a dream:
- You have no reflection in a mirror
- Most of the objects around you are elusive
- Your hands may be abnormal
- Texts and numbers are constantly changing
- You can continue to breathe even if you pinch your nose.
- You can do unusual things: flying, for example.
Writing your dream journal will train you to spot its unusual details, as well as many other things.
Final details
Congratulations on your lucid dreams. A few important details:
Stay calm and don't get too excited when you become lucid. Otherwise you'll wake up right away.
In one of my first lucid dreams, the moment I realized I could control my dream, I began to change the whole universe. Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled upwards as if I were climbing into a swimming pool. As I broke through the surface of the water, I simply woke up.
Choosing to wake up You're in a lucid dream, but despite your best efforts, it's becoming increasingly distressing. This can happen, but you'd better wake up before it turns into a nightmare. To do so:
- Shout. This will tell your mind that it's time to get up.
- Blink rapidly
- Falling asleep in a dream has the opposite effect to falling asleep in reality: you'll wake up!
- Start an activity that requires cerebral effort: reading, singing, counting, ... . This will activate your brain and wake you up.
- Interact with your dream. Create objects, change colors, ... .
In conclusion
Knowing that we spend more than 20 years of our lives sleeping and 5 of those 20 years dreaming, it would be a shame not to take advantage of living our dreams... literally.
In addition, understanding your dreams, analyzing them and living them can help you improve various personal situations. For example:
I therefore encourage you to use the dream diary in OpenSynaps. As well as helping you to improve the quality of your sleep, it will also gradually give you the keys to lucid dreaming.
Personally, I've used these different techniques to achieve lucid dreaming, and I have to say it's pretty cool. That's in addition to the fact that I have far fewer nightmares.
If you give it a try, don't hesitate to leave your testimonials and feedback below.
If you're a lucid dreamer, leave your techniques and tips.
Have fun and wonderful adventures in your ... lucid dreams! 😀
