Lucid dreaming is used to help reduce anxiety, control nightmares, and improve creativity. Find out how to do it and how it can help you get a better night of sleep.
People talk about being aware in their dreams, but if you haven’t experienced it, you might not understand what they are saying. Would you like to? Lucid dreaming has been attested to since ancient times, and today, it is used as a tool to get better sleep and control the mind. Wouldn’t it be nice to know how? Join Mysticsense to find out. Discover what lucid dreaming is, the benefits of it, and how it helps you sleep better. Best of all, find out three simple ways to start lucid dreaming. Just because you have never been able to lucid dream before doesn’t mean you can’t. Read on to get started.
What is Lucid Dreaming?
Lucid dreaming means you are aware that you are dreaming in your sleep. It is believed that about half of people have a lucid dream at one time and up to 20% of people lucid dream regularly. In a lucid dream, you are aware that you are dreaming and you have the capacity to make decisions in that dream. You are aware of yourself and when you wake up you remember the dream. Aristotle wrote about lucid dreams saying that they were dreams that you were consciously aware were just a dream instead of real. Read about dreams of snakes and what those mean here: The Meaning of Snakes in Dreams
Lucid dreams happen in a sleep state called rapid eye movement, or REM sleep. In REM sleep, your blood pressure, heart rate, brain activity, and breathing increase. The muscles in your legs and arms become motionless. This is the time of your sleep when tissue repair and growth are possible and certain hormones that are essential for your body's functioning are released. If you sleep for 7 to 8 hours up to 120 minutes of your sleep will be this deep rapid eye movement sleep. This deep sleep is essential for your well-being and health. This is when lucid dreaming occurs. Read about the meaning of fruits in dreams here: Fruit Meanings in Dreams | A Spiritual Guide
Lucid dreaming is not losing control of yourself or drifting into a different state of existence. It’s not a mysterious psychic ability, but it is something you can learn to do if it doesn’t happen all on its own. It's very natural to the body. Some people awaken during a lucid dream, and want to go back into the very same dream. They will tell themselves “I will reenter my dream right where I left off” and imagine things they want to dream to include when they return to it. Read about spiritual dreams and what they mean here: How to Interpret Dreams Spiritually
Signs of Lucid Dreams
If you can't remember ever having a lucid dream, you might wonder what the signs you are having a lucid dream are. If you try to wake yourself up, that's a sure sign that you were having a lucid dream. Lucid dreams can be surreal, like your mind has created a whole new world. Lucid dreams can be more vivid than regular dreams also.
You Try to Wake Up
The perfect sign that you are lucid dreaming is that you try to wake yourself up from the dream. If you are having a dream about being chased and you realize you're in a dream, if you tell yourself to wake up and you do, you'll know it's lucid dreaming. Sometimes you're having a good dream that you don't want to wake up from, but you tell yourself that it's just a dream, but to wake up. Other times, you have dreams about falling, and you tell yourself to wake up to feel safe. Some people report trying to pinch themselves in dreams to see if it's really happening or it's just a dream. Read about dreams of spiders and what they mean here: Dreams with Spiders and their Meaning
It's Surreal
Lucid dreams sometimes feel like you have stepped into another world. Sometimes appearances are distorted, or you have an unexplained sense of euphoria. Other times you have a powerful feeling of peace. When the world that you are dreaming about is different from the world you really live in, you might immediately know that it's a dream. You might also be visited by your ancestors in a dream, and to remember that they have passed away so you know you must be dreaming. There are other ways of contacting the dead besides through lucid dreaming. Find out how here: Contacting Dead Loved Ones
It's More Vivid
Some people say that lucid dreams are more vivid than regular dreams. You can feel like you're actually participating in the dreams as if it was real life. Recurrent dreams that feel like they're really happening can change as you begin to control lucid dreaming. If you dream about your victimizer over and over again, but at a certain point you start to take control of the dream because you know it's a dream, that's a great use of lucid dreaming. You might wake up refreshed from a vivid lucid dream. Vivid dreams can be more realistic. Read about being realistic in life here: Embracing Reality- Letting Go of Your Fairy Tales
Benefits of Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming has distinct benefits. It can help you to control nightmares. It can help you to develop your creativity further, and it can also help you with your anxiety.
Nightmare Control
Nightmares are bad dreams. They happen for different reasons. When you're under a lot of stress, your mind might create nightmares. When you're not feeling well or you're eating the wrong foods, nightmares might occur. When you lucid dream during a nightmare, you realize that it's only a dream and can't hurt you. Even if your mind doesn't control the dream and shift it out of nightmare mode, simply understanding that you are having a dream instead of a waking experience will make you feel much better. Read about nightmares here: The Meaning of Having a Nightmare
Creative Development
People are naturally programmed to create. Becoming aware that you are having a dream can help your mind to take control of creating your dream. Depending on the topic of your dream it may be something that you're completely unfamiliar with. What kind of a story is your conscious mind creating during lucid dreaming? In dreams, you are not confined. You can create any world that you want. Unleash your inner creativity during a lucid dream and see how boundless your imagination is. Read about cultivating your personal creativity through the arts here: Creating - Discovering Who You Are Through the Arts
Help for Anxiety
Anxiety is no joke. Millions of people worldwide suffer from it every day. It can be debilitating and can be very bad for years at a time. Gaining control of your mind while you're dreaming can give you a sense of confidence like nothing else can. Although anxiety itself is a medical problem that you can't wish away, if you achieve mind control in your sleep, it can give you the courage to try to push yourself past anxiety or at least reassure you that you will come through your anxiety. Read some spiritual tips to reduce anxiety here: Spiritual Help for Anxiety
How Lucid Dreaming Improves Sleep
Some people are concerned that actively partaking in a dream or being aware of it instead of being a passive observer will exhaust them. However, what really disturbs your sleep is nightmares. Becoming aware of your dream during a nightmare makes you less likely to have a sleep disruption than if you didn't become lucid during the dream. Nightmares can trick your body into thinking that the negative things you're dreaming about are actually happening and you will suffer as if you were really experiencing them. You are less likely to have a nervous reaction if you know that it's just a dream and it's not really happening. Read our guide to dream interpretation here: A Guide to Interpreting Psychic Dreams
When you can recall your dreams, unless it's a horrible nightmare, you typically have deeper and more relaxed sleep. That makes you wake up feeling more refreshed. Lucid dreams may be easier to remember than a dream that's not lucid, because your mind is participating. Scientific American explores the idea that lucid dreams can help with insomnia. People who suffer from things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can control their dreams better during lucid dreaming, and therefore they will get better sleep. People with insomnia tend to have worse dreams than sound sleepers also, and lucid dreaming will help them to make the dreams more pleasant. Read more from Scientific American here: Could Inducing Lucid Dreams Treat Insomnia and Nightmares? | Scientific American
How to Lucid Dream
50% or more people worldwide are estimated to have had a lucid dream at least once in their life. 20% or more people lucid dream regularly, some up to once a month. Would you like to learn how to lucid dream? Start by keeping a dream diary, writing down everything that you dream about. Then control your thoughts before you go to sleep, and finally control the sleeping environment so you can have the perfect sleep every night.
Keep a Dream Diary
One thing that really helps with lucid dreaming is keeping a dream journal. Keep a notebook next to your bed with a writing instrument, and every time you have a dream, write down everything that happened in the dream. Record the day and time that you woke up from the dream. If you wake up in the middle of the night, don't wait until the following morning to record the dream. Write down what you're dreaming about before you go back to sleep. Sometimes if you do this, it helps you to go back into the very same dream that you were having before you woke up. Dream journaling is just one way to journal. Read about couple’s journals here: Couples Journals & Love Manifesting Guide
Control Thoughts
If you want to lucid dream, control your thoughts before you fall asleep. This will help you to have more control of your mind once you fall asleep. Sometimes, these controlled thoughts will translate into a dream about what you are thinking of. You might not master this the first time you try. Keep trying. Decide what you want your lucid dream to be about. Think about that while you're falling asleep. You can go into a light meditation as you are settling into sleep to help you focus on what you want to lucid dream about. Just make sure to relax. If you are stressed about dreaming, it might turn into a nightmare and you don’t want that. Your thoughts are very important. Read about the power of your thoughts here: The Power of Mindset
Control the Environment
A dark, quiet, cool space is ideal for lucid dreaming. If your bedroom is noisy, do things to make it quieter, like using noise cancelling curtains, or wearing earplugs while you sleep. If it’s not dark enough, blackout curtains can help, but so can wearing an eye mask. You might be able to change the arrangement of your room to ensure a quieter room and darkness. What is your bed facing? A window with loud sounds or bright light? Can your bed be moved, or can a large piece of furniture be positioned to block sounds and light? If you don’t like feeling cold, you might not like the news about the best temperature for lucid sleep. If the room is between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit, it is the perfect temperature for good sleep, according to Cleveland Clinic. If you feel cold, just pile on blankets or use a heating pad to make your body warmer. Read more about sleep temperatures from Cleveland Clinic here: The Best Temperature for Sleep
How to Wake Up From a Dream
Everybody is different. Every dream is different also. Once you realize that you are awake in a dream, you might want to really wake up. There are some techniques that some people say their sleeping mind uses to wake them up. The first is to simply tell yourself, “Wake up now.” Some people say that immediately wakes them up. Other people will scream in a dream and it wakes them. Some people pinch themselves or slap themselves in a dream to wake themselves up. Some people will repeatedly blink in a dream to wake themselves up because their bodies want to mimic the motion of opening their real eyes. Try to force yourself to speak out loud, and your body might follow suit. You can also try to sit up in bed. Just keep in mind, even if it's not the best dream, if you are lucid dreaming, you are fully aware of the fact that it's just a dream and no harm can come to you. Fear of dreams isn’t a great thing, but fear has its uses and can be good sometimes. Find out how here: Why Fears Are Good Sometimes
Lucid dreams are when you realize in your sleep that you're having a dream. Signs that you were having a lucid dream are that you try to wake yourself up, the dream is very surreal, or it's extremely vivid. Lucid dreaming is beneficial because it helps control nightmares and anxiety, build your creativity, and it helps to improve your sleep. Keeping a dream diary, controlling your thoughts before you go to sleep, and creating the perfect sleep environment are ways that you can help encourage lucid dreaming. Some people like to wake themselves up when they realize they're having a dream, but you don't have to. Lucid dreaming gives you the confidence and control to be the master of your dreams one night at a time.
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