Have you ever had a night full of active and engaging dreams? Wish you could do this more often, or better yet learn to control your dreams? Studies show that dream control is possible, using a method called lucid dreaming. This guide will show you how.
In This Guide | What is lucid dreaming? | Lucid Dreaming for Beginners | Three Techniques to Lucid Dream Tonight | How to Tell If You’re in a Dream or Reality | How to Wake From A Lucid Dream | Summary | FAQ | Citations
What is lucid dreaming?
Lucid dreams occur whenever you realize you are dreaming, but stay asleep.
In other words, it is the act of maintaining a level of consciousness within a dream. This gives you the ability to control dreams and the direction they take or the activities within them.
There are some obvious reasons why someone might want to control their dreams. Lucid dreaming allows you to test out different scenarios or behaviors within the safe confines of a dream world.
Lucid Dreaming for Beginners
If you’re new to lucid dreaming, here are a few methods you can try to increase your chances of engaging in a lucid dream.
#1. Keep a dream journal.
Writing down your dreams is a great way to get into the practice of becoming consciously aware of dreams.
Dream journals are most effective when you write down dreams within 10-15 minutes of waking up. At this time, you are most likely to remember your dream and can document the dream with greater detail.
#2. Get more sleep.
Lucid dreaming typically happens when you are in the REM stage of sleep. REM sleep occurs after you’ve been asleep for 60-90 minutes and is the deepest level of sleep you obtain in a night.
The more sleep you get, the more time you can spend in REM sleep, which increases your chances of having a lucid dream.
#3. Look for symbols.
Identifying symbols in your dream is a great way to start recognizing dreams (as not being reality). Dream symbols could increase falling, flying, walking through walls, slow motion time or hyper-speed time, just to name a few.
3 Techniques to Lucid Dream Tonight
There are many different strategies that people use to have a lucid dream.
#1. Wake Back to Bed (WBTB)
The Wake Back to Bed technique is a method of lucid dreaming, also known as WBTB, that enables you to enter REM sleep while you’re still conscious.
REM sleep is usually the stage of deep sleep that you only obtain after being asleep for at least an hour and is also when you experience the most vivid dreams.
To try this technique, set an alarm for 4 hours after you initially go to sleep. When the alarm goes off, stay awake for 30 minutes and practice a quiet activity. Try reading, doing a puzzle, or a crossword.
TIP: You want an activity that engages your mind and requires alertness, but doesn’t fully wake you up.
Using the technique you will be more likely to return to REM quickly while your brain is still alert.
#2. Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD)
Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams, AKA the MILD technique, involves recognizing dream signs (like flying or falling) and consciously identifying that this is a dream. Upon recognizing the dream sign, tell yourself “The next time I’m dreaming, I will remember that I’m dreaming”.
The next time you fall asleep, look for dream signs that you have previously identified. This makes it easier to identify dreams while you are in them and transform regular dreams into lucid dreams.
#3. Wake-Initiated Lucid Dreaming (WILD)
Wake-initialed lucid dreaming, also referred to as the WILD technique, is the only type of lucid dreaming that can happen directly after being awake.
To activate this technique, lie down in a calm place. Allow your mind to reach a relaxed state which resists falling fully asleep.
You may experience hallucinations or sleep paralysis as your body shifts back and forth between sleep and awake.
It is in this state that you are more likely to experience a lucid dream, although it can be difficult to maintain this state without falling fully asleep.
Practicing this technique will increase your success rate or the length of time you may stay in a lucid dream.
How to Tell If You’re In a Dream or Reality
Lucid dreams can feel very real and in your control. This makes it hard to distinguish dreams from reality. When you’re in a dream and want to determine if it is reality, try these 5 tests.
- Look for your reflection. If you can find a mirror or a reflective pool of water, check out your reflection. If it looks normal, it is likely reality as reflections in dreams are oftentimes distorted.
- Check for solid objects. In dreams, sometimes your mind doesn’t read solid objects correctly. Pushing your hand against a wall or solid object to see if it goes through the object is a great way to see if it’s reality or not.
- Pinch your nose. Can you still breathe? If you can, this is a fast and effective way to know if you’re breathing.
- Check the time. In a dream, the time on a clock will constantly change, but if you’re awake the time will change slowly, as it does in real-time.
- Look at your hands. In reality, your hands will look how they’ve always looked, but in a dream hands are one feature of your body that is commonly distorted.
How to Wake From a Lucid Dream
So what if you have a lucid dream, realize that you’re dreaming, and want to wake up? There are a few strategies you can try to get out of a lucid dream.
- Ask for help. Audibly speaking out loud or yelling for help engages a part of your brain that can make it hard to stay asleep—voila… you’re awake.
- Look for dream signs. Realizing that you’re dreaming is another quick way to wake yourself up. Falling, flying, or being in a place that you know is impossible for you to be in (ex: old home, different state, etc) are all possible dream signs that could indicate you are not in reality.
- Blink repeatedly. Blinking in a dream helps your brain to engage with reality and ease your way out of a deep dream.
- Read. Did you know if you read in your dream, your brain will activate parts that cannot operate in REM sleep? This can help you to wake up if you’re in a dream.
- Fall asleep. Contrary to how it sounds, falling asleep in a dream is a surefire way to wake up in real life.
Summary
In short, lucid dreaming can be an exciting way to live out scenes or fantasy scenarios within your control. Lucid dreaming has its benefits, but may also have some drawbacks for some sleepers, namely feeling mentally exhausted or unable to “truly rest”.
FAQ
There are three types of dreams—daydreams, false awakening dreams, or lucid dreams.
Daydreams: occurs when you are awake, but you let your imagination take you into a dream-like state or scenario
False Awakening Dreams: occurs when you dream that you wake up and go about your day, but you are actually still asleep
Lucid Dreams: occurs when you realize you are dreaming, but stay asleep
Having lucid dreams is neither good nor bad in most cases. Some people who experience lucid dreams are said to have less anxiety or wake up feeling more refreshed. But others report waking up emotionally drained by dreams that feel so real and in their control. This phenomenon can make it difficult to separate dreams from reality.
Lucid dreams are pretty rare, among most sleepers. According to studies, about 50% of the population have ever experienced this type of dream first-hand. Roughly 20% of sleepers have at least one lucid dream monthly, and only 1% of the popular experience lucid dreams on a weekly basis.
If you have lucid dreams frequently, it could mean that your brain is wired a bit differently than other sleepers. Studies of lucid dreamers have revealed an association with increased functional connectivity between aPFC and temporoparietal association areas in the brain. For most sleepers, these regions are deactivated during sleep.
In lucid dreams, all of your senses are heightened—smell, taste, sight, sound, and touch.
Citations
- “3 Ways to Lucid Dream.” WikiHow, WikiHow, https://www.wikihow.com/Lucid-Dream.
- Baird, Benjamin, et al. “Frequent Lucid Dreaming Associated with Increased Functional Connectivity between Frontopolar Cortex and Temporoparietal Association Areas.” Scientific Reports, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 12 Dec. 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6290891.
- “Dream Sign.” LucidWiki, https://lucid.fandom.com/wiki/Dream_sign.
- Erlacher, Daniel, and Tadas Stumbrys. “Wake up, Work on Dreams, Back to Bed and Lucid Dream: A Sleep Laboratory Study.” Frontiers in Psychology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 26 June 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7332853/.
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- “How to Lucid Dream.” Sleep Foundation, 3 Nov. 2022, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams/lucid-dreams.
- Howtolucid. “How to Lucid Dream Tonight for Beginners: 6 Step Guide + Tips.” HowToLucid.com, 8 Aug. 2022, https://howtolucid.com/how-to-lucid-dream-tonight/.
- Katiejo. “Lucid Dreaming for Beginners.” SleepPhones, 20 Dec. 2019, https://www.sleepphones.com/Lucid-Dreaming-for-Beginners.
- “Lucid Dreams.” Lucid Dreams – an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/lucid-dreams.
- “Lucid Dreams: Definition, Benefits, Dangers, How to Do It.” WebMD, WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/lucid-dreams-overview.
- Nunez, Kirsten. “Lucid Dreaming: Techniques, Benefits, and Cautions.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 5 Jan. 2022, https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/how-to-lucid-dream#how-to-lucid-dream.
- PhD, Kristen LaMarca. “Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreaming (Mild).” Dr. Kristen LaMarca, Dr. Kristen LaMarca, 21 Nov. 2022, https://www.mindfulluciddreaming.com/post/mnemonic-induction-of-lucid-dreaming-mild.
- Regan, Sarah. “Want to Lucid Dream Tonight? 9 Tips & Techniques to Get You Started.” Mindbodygreen, Mindbodygreen, 17 Nov. 2021, https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/how-to-lucid-dream-tonight.
- Samantha Fox, MS. “How to Wake up from a Bad Dream: 10 Steps (with Pictures).” WikiHow, WikiHow, 4 Sept. 2022, https://www.wikihow.com/Wake-Up-from-a-Bad-Dream.
- Wake Back to Bed: Lucid Dreams with WBTB – World of Lucid Dreaming. https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/wake-back-to-bed.html.
- “Wild or Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream.” WILD or Wake-Induced Lucid Dream, https://corrosion-doctors.org/Dreaming%20is%20Personal/WILD.htm.
- Yetman, Daniel. “Hypnagogia: How the State between Wakefulness and Sleep Works.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 26 Oct. 2020, https://www.healthline.com/health/hypnagogia#inducing-hypnagogia.
