What is Lucid Dreaming?
Lucid dreaming is the ability to control what is happening in your dreams. Your imagination is the only thing limiting what you can do while you lucid dream.
Lucid Dreaming and Polyphasic Sleeping Schedule
Learning how to lucid dream works well with practicing a polyphasic sleeping schedule because you are able to immedietelly enter into REM sleep, which is the point in which we dream. By having such a short period of time between the start of sleep and achieving Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, you will be better able to realize that you are asleep. This is the first step to being able to realize you are in your dreamworld. You will also have much more opportunities to lucid dream, with 6 REM cycles per day with Uberman.
Is Lucid Dreaming it Real?
First, you might be very skeptical of being able develop such an amazing skill. You might say to yourself, “it can’t be real” because of previous experiences you have had while asleep, where things were totally out of your control.
However, many scientists who study the phenomenon of lucid dreaming believe it to be real. There have been some studies performed that provide credence to the belief that lucid dreaming is a real thing. People who claim to be able to lucid dream have been shown to have increased activity in the parietal lobes when sleeping, compared to those who are not trained to lucid dream. The parietal lobe is the portion of the brain responsible for understanding sensory information and understanding how to use objects.
I would like to point out that just because you are unable to lucid dream right now, does not mean you are unable to in the future. It just means you aren’t trained to, yet. This is a skill that you can learn, train, hone, and perfect, just like riding a bike.
Tips to Help you Learn How to Have a Lucid Dream?
This is the basics of the MILD Technique to learn to lucid dream:
- Start writing down what you dream.
- Do reality checks.
- Plan to have a lucid dream tonight! Picture an event or experience you want to have and think about it before you go to bed. Plan how it will go down. Imagine yourself becoming cognizant of the fact that you are dreaming
Performing Reality Checks
Reality checks are things you can do to check for inconsistencies when you are dreaming. The most often cited in movies are asking someone to pinch you. However this requires both the cooperation of a second individual, as well as the
Frequently cited reality checks are looking at a watch or clock, look away, then look again. If the time is significantly changed, you are dreaming. The second frequently mentioned check is to attempt to breathe with your mouth closed and a hand blocking your nose. If you can breathe like this, you are dreaming.
The very first night I decided to attempt to have one, I woke from sleep and began writing my dream down on a thin slip of paper using a red pencil I had found. Having finished writing down and recalling my dream, I went back to sleep and had two more extremely vivid dreams. The second time I woke up, I attempted to locate the slip of paper I had been using to write down my first dream.
I couldn’t find the slip of paper, nor the red pencil I had used. Realization slowly dawned upon me. I had dreamt writing down my first dream. I believe this is the first step to having a lucid dream, and I am going to keep at it. Last night I had a very vivid zombie/survival dream. Still no control while dreaming, but at least I am dream memory is much improved.
Another technique, which I have yet to try, but will in the future is the FILD Technique, or Finger Induced Lucid Dreaming.
Benefits of Lucid Dreaming
While initially it does appear that there are any particular benefits to being able to control your dreams, the truth is that lucid dreaming has had significant benefit to a specific group of people.
Specifically, I am referrring to people that suffer from
nightmares. After being trained how to lucid dream, sufferers of frequent nightmares were able to reduce the frequency of nightmares. This alone would be enough to encourage people to attempt it, however other people have conquered phobias while dreaming as well. Imagine being able to face your biggest fears in a perfectly controlled environment, your mind.
Are you afraid of heights? Go fly for a bit, get familiar with how it feels looking down from the top. You can smash spiders, address the nation. The sky isn’t the limit when you are asleep.
YES! You can study for a test while dreaming!
A report by a reddit user stated that you can even study during dreams, but you have to be careful to know the correct information before attempting to study, as you can reinforce incorrect knowledge and get it wrong later. Facts seem to be easier to learn while lucid dreaming, whereas mathematical and chemical formulas seem to cause the symbols to morph.
Conclusion
Lucid dreaming appears to be a real thing, but even if it isn’t, paying attention to your dreams can give you insight into your innermost desires. Attempting to learn to lucid dream is, at worst, a waste of a small amount of time. At best, your wildest dreams can become a temporary reality. Lucid dreaming training, whether real or not, was shown to help reduce the number of nightmares that sufferers from PTSD had, improving sleep.