Every night you go to sleep and have dreams. These dreams often seem like something that's happening to you, and completely out of your control. However, what if you could decide what happens in them; if you could shape the story like a film director? You might give yourself superpowers, become a pop star or score the winning goal in the World Cup final. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of lucid dreaming.
Lucid means clear and easy to understand. Lucid dreaming is when someone becomes aware that they're in a dream and can even influence the visions they see. Beyond making wishes come true, lucid dreams can also help people better prepare for real-life events. For example, some athletes use lucid dreaming as part of their practice.
Some people find that lucid dreaming comes easy to them, but for most it's a skill that needs to be learned, like playing an instrument. There are many methods that scientists have found to teach people how to lucid dream. One is something called reality testing, where throughout the waking day people constantly ask themselves whether or not they're dreaming and look for signs that what they're experiencing is real. The hope is that they will then carry this over into the dream state, asking themselves whether or not they're awake while they're sleeping.
Another method involves interrupting your sleep and is known as "wake back to bed". This means waking yourself up in the early hours of the morning, then repeating to yourself that the next time you're dreaming you'll know that you're dreaming. Then, you drop off to sleep again. A study in 2022 found that this w...
Lucid means clear and easy to understand. Lucid dreaming is when someone becomes aware that they're in a dream and can even influence the visions they see. Beyond making wishes come true, lucid dreams can also help people better prepare for real-life events. For example, some athletes use lucid dreaming as part of their practice.
Some people find that lucid dreaming comes easy to them, but for most it's a skill that needs to be learned, like playing an instrument. There are many methods that scientists have found to teach people how to lucid dream. One is something called reality testing, where throughout the waking day people constantly ask themselves whether or not they're dreaming and look for signs that what they're experiencing is real. The hope is that they will then carry this over into the dream state, asking themselves whether or not they're awake while they're sleeping.
Another method involves interrupting your sleep and is known as "wake back to bed". This means waking yourself up in the early hours of the morning, then repeating to yourself that the next time you're dreaming you'll know that you're dreaming. Then, you drop off to sleep again. A study in 2022 found that this w...
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The Week Junior Science+nature Uk (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 72