I Can Control My Dreams (and here's how)

Out of all the billions of things people can talk about, I find the topic of dreams one of the most fascinating and engaging. It appears that a lot of people agree with me, 'cause once I start the dream conversation, it goes on for ages.

There's a lot to be said for sleep. For one, have you ever thought about how strange it is that we voluntarily put our bodies into unconsciousness each night? It makes less and less sense the more you think about it. But the most fascinating thing about sleep is what our brains do while unconscious.

They say that dreams are the result of your brain sorting through everything that happened during the past day or two: filing away the things it wants to remember and getting rid of the things it doesn't. Everyone dreams every night - it's just a matter of whether or not you remember if you did.

So what is all this about controlling your dreams?

Lucid Dreaming

The core of lucid dreaming is that you have some measure of control over what goes on in your dreams, gained by knowing that you are dreaming to begin with. For example, if you were dreaming about a monster chasing you and you were done with the monster, you could choose to have it disappear so that you can stop running. It's essentially the best version of virtual reality out there. XD

There are limits, though. Most lucid dreamers report that they control their dreams through a series of decisions. As a lucid dreamer myself, I can vouch for that. One of my earliest memories of a lucid dream was one where I was sliding down this chute towards a split in the chute with signs next to them. The signs told me what kind of a dream I would have if I went down that chute, so I chose the sign that I preferred and proceeded to enjoy my dream. Back then I had no idea that not everyone dreamed like that.

Frequent lucid dreamers (as in those that lucid dream at least once a month) make up 19-37% of the population. They're not terribly uncommon, but not especially common either. If you ask around, I bet there's a lucid dreamer in your family. ;) In mine, my dad and I are both frequent lucid dreamers... which brings me to another interesting topic.

Genetic Connections

Disclaimer: I have no research to back me up on this; it is a personal theory, nothing more. ;)

One of the benefits of lucid dreaming is that it gives the dreamer the ability to either change or escape nightmares. People get out of their dreams differently, the most common ways being:

• Falling asleep/closing your eyes in your dream

• Eating/drinking something

• Trying to read something

  
  

For me, to get out of my dream, I have to close my eyes and spin around until I fall through the floor. Once my "body" has passed through the floor or ground, I open my eyes and I'm awake (and usually freezing cold from the buckets of sweat my actual body decided to produce as it was convinced we were dying). But the interesting thing is that that is the same way my dad gets out of his dreams.

So! I'm starting to wonder if lucid dreaming is a genetic thing. Let me know if you know of any lucid dreamers, and if so, if their parents or some other close relation is also a lucid dreamer. ;)

The Benefits & Drawbacks of Lucid Dreaming

There is a variety of answers among the non-lucid dreamers about whether or not they would want lucid dreams. Some say they think it would be fun to be able to control their dreams, and they wouldn't mind being able to get out of their nightmares. Others (like my siblings) say that they prefer the suspense of not knowing what is going to happen next in their dreams. Still others (like my mother) are just plain weirded out by the concept.

So if you're not a lucid dreamer, let me give you some of the pros and cons of this.

Pros:

• It's just plain fun. I mean, who doesn't want to go flying or fighting or exploring underwater while able to breathe or have superpowers or literally anything you can think of? This is especially for those of you who have extroverted sensing (Se). (Let me know if you know what that is.)

• You can work at night. While not all lucid dreamers choose to do this (*cough* me *cough cough*), there are multiple stories of people studying for tests, working through problems they need to fix, and other mental tasks at night while they are asleep. I can't vouch for how well that works 'cause I have never tried and have no inclination to try it, so take that with a grain of salt. XD (However... I do tend to brainstorm story ideas while I sleep and try them out... heh heh)

• You are better at common tasks in psychological studies. According to this article, "...University of Lincoln psychologist Patrick Bourke decided to test his 68 study participants — 20 of whom were frequent lucid dreamers — using the Remote Associates Test, in which participants must figure out which word links three seemingly unrelated other words. Here’s an example: Age. Mile. Sand. The common word linking all three? Stone. It’s the kind of problem where you can’t think of the answer until, all at once and seemingly out of nowhere, you do. "In this study, the participants who reported frequent lucid dreams were better at the task than those who occasionally or rarely experienced lucid dreams." (Yeah I would have failed that study regardless of my dreams XD)

• You can learn things about real life through impossible scenarios. Definitely done this one. One common thread in lucid dreams are the insanely potent emotions. For me, the emotions are so strong that they used to run the entire dream and I literally do not have the capacity to feel more than one thing at once. Through those dreams, I've learned how to not let my emotions control my actions, no matter how potent, and how to think through them. It isn't foolproof. But it has helped me as a very emotional person (whether asleep or not).

• You can escape your dreams. I believe I already covered this one, so... 'nuff said. XD

  
  

There are definitely more pros, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Cons:

• It can be really hard to stay in touch with reality. One of the biggest dangers for lucid dreamers (especially those who experience vivid dreams as well) is being unable to tell when something is reality or when it's a dream. I've had this problem more than once, though I usually struggle more with deciding if a dream is reality than if reality is a dream. Many people cope by a lot of reality testing (i.e. closing your mouth and plugging your nose to see if you can still breathe, as you usually can do in dreams). This helps you discern reality, and it also makes it easier to lucid dream.

• Sleep disruption. While it has yet to be proven if lucid dreaming is the cause or if it's the fact that lucid dreamers tend to have more sleep-disrupting nightmares, some tests have determined that the brain has both elements of sleep and of wakefulness when a person is lucid dreaming. So, in a way, lucid dreaming is a hybrid of being asleep and being awake, which obviously makes it less restful. However, depending on the emotions I have in my dreams, I tend to wake more rested than if I had a non-lucid dream. But the nightmare thing is definitely not restful, and dreams with intense anger or ones where I have to wrestle to keep control tend to leave me exhausted in the morning. (Random thing: strangely enough, dreams where I am extremely sad are the most restful ones to me. XD)

• Mental health concerns. This one is hard, because lucid dreaming can both benefit and harm your mental health. If you're careful, it can help you reduce nightmares from PTSD and other traumas and ease anxiety and depression. But lucid dreaming is also a lot like psychosis, a dissociation mental state which makes you feel detached from your body and results in issues discerning what is reality and what is not (like we already discussed). People who deal with psychosis before they start lucid dreaming are at a greater risk of losing themselves in the "reality" of their minds rather than staying in the "real" reality.

• It can be addictive. Especially if you prefer the "reality" you build in your mind to your life, which is understandable. Unfortunately, lucid dreaming does not rid you of your problems - it only postpones having to deal with them. And many problems only get worse the longer you ignore them. It's definitely something to be aware of.

  
  

Wrap Up

There you have it: my quick-ish brain dump on lucid dreaming. Are you a lucid dreamer? If so, what are your favorite things to do while you sleep? If not, would you want to be one, and what are your dreams like? Do you know people who are lucid dreamers? Would you be interested in seeing more posts like this in the future? Did you notice that I accidentally skipped Story Day?

Here are some articles I looked at for this post that you can read if you're interested. :)

People Who Can Control Their Dreams Are Also Better at Real Life

Dreams

How to Wake Up from a Bad Dream (10 Steps)

Is Lucid Dreaming Dangerous?

And that's that!

Until next time,

Take courage, seek God, and smile while you still have teeth! ;P

-Joelle