Author: Tianzi Liu
Editors: Ethan Tai, Elizabeth Li
Artist: Felicia Chen
Have you ever "woken up" in a dream, where you can see everything vividly, but realize it's just a dream? Or when you're unhappy with how a dream unfolds, you can even control the events, as if you're directing a movie? These are all symptoms of lucid dreaming. The word “lucid” means “easy to understand or recognize.” Therefore, lucid dreaming means being aware in your sleep. There are three stages of sleep associated with dreaming. The first stage, non-rapid eye movement stage one (NREM1), marks the transition from awake to asleep. During this phase, you might experience brief, fleeting dreams or images as you fall asleep and can be easily awakened. The second non-rapid eye movement stage — NREM2, involves a deeper, more stable sleep where you experience more consistent and sustained dreams. These dreams are usually not recalled upon awakening. The next stage is NREM3, where your muscles relax, blood pressure and breathing rate drop, and the deepest sleep occurs. Lastly, the stage most associated with lucid dreaming is REM sleep or Rapid Eye Movement sleep. When you are at the REM stage, your eyes will race, and your brain is set in motion, while most voluntary muscles are temporarily paralyzed. The REM stage is known for its vivid, detailed, and emotionally intense dreams.
Conversations about lucid dreaming are often mixed; some find it exciting and fun, while others see it as tiring and confusing. However, lucid dreaming can be more than just an intriguing experience; it may also help with serious issues like PTSD, recurring nightmares, and anxiety. For those with PTSD, lucid dreaming allows them to confront and manage traumatic memories in a controlled way. Furthermore, lucid dreaming offers a secure place for people to face and manage their anxiety, helping them develop coping skills and relieve real-life stress.
Here are some tips for those trying to achieve lucid dreaming: First, understanding your sleep cycle can help you target REM sleep periods, which is when lucid dreaming is most likely to occur. For an average 8-hour sleep cycle, your REM periods typically occur around 1 hour 45 minutes, 3 hours 10 minutes, 5 hours, 6 hours, and 7 hours 10 minutes into your sleep. These REM periods usually last about 20 minutes. To increase your chances of entering a lucid dream, try setting an alarm to wake you up during one of these REM periods. For instance, if you go to sleep at midnight, setting an alarm for 3:10 a.m. could help you catch a REM period.
Since everyone’s sleep schedule is different, you might need to experiment with different times to find your own REM periods. If you wake up feeling extremely tired and eager to go back to sleep, this is a good sign that you’re waking up during REM sleep, which can increase the likelihood of having a lucid dream when you go back to sleep. The entrance to lucid dreaming would also be open when you are drifting to sleep, and it would be an exhausting method as you have to force yourself to stay still while not fully falling asleep in order to successfully reach the REM stage.
Lucid dreaming is also a double-edged sword. Dr. Aspy from American Psychological Association suggests that certain mental health patients, especially those with schizophrenia, need to stay away from forcing themselves to enter lucid dreaming. He warns: “This condition may cause people to have difficulty distinguishing between hallucinations and real-life events.” This process would exacerbate their mental issues.
Lucid dreaming’s popularity has increased through the years, and people who feel excited about their dreams are eager to record and explore them. Lucid dreaming helps you interact with your brain and body by giving you the power to affect your dreams and explore new possibilities. However, it’s important to remember that, like everything new, lucid dreaming has its limits. While having fun, be controllable and resistable towards lucid dreaming, and try to maintain a healthy lifestyle to avoid any drawbacks.
Citations:
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"Sleep Cycle REM 8 Hour Graph." YouCanLucidDream, YouCanLucidDream.com,
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