Have you ever heard of lucid dreaming ? Lucid dreams (also known as conscious dreams) are those dreams we have and in which we are aware that nothing we are experiencing is really happening, since we know that we are asleep.
There are several levels at which an individual can experience lucid dreaming. At the lowest level the person notices that they are dreaming, but cannot recognize the meaning of what is happening. Those who manage to have a higher degree of dream lucidity They are fully aware of what is happening and can control the dream
Lucid dreaming and problem solving in the real world
The world of dreams can be either a wonderful place or a hostile terrain to spend the night. But If sleep is controlled, it can become something more : since it can help hone those cognitive skills we use when we are awake and help solve problems in the real world. A recent study from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom demonstrates this.
The research was carried out by Dr Patrick Bourke, a professor at the University of Lincoln’s School of Psychology, and his student Hannah Shaw. This is the first study to link lucid dreaming with insight. It is an example that the way we relate to the dream world has effects in the real world. Although, of course, this does not serve as a definitive solution to our problems through evasion can help improve people’s quality of life.
Lucid dreams, self-confidence and satisfaction with life
Other studies on lucid dreams are aimed at demonstrating the benefit that this type of dream causes on well-being and mental health in general.
According to Ursula Voss, a sleep researcher at the University of Bonn in Germany, people who experience lucid dreams tend to wake up “with a feeling of euphoria, as they really feel better and with the feeling of having accomplished something in their dreams.”
According to another study conducted by Evelyn Doll of the Medical University of Vienna, her research subjects who had experienced lucid dreams scored higher on questions related to self-confidence, tended to be more assertive, and showed greater well-being In this sample, the scores of a questionnaire completed by 27 frequent lucid dreamers and 33 people who had rarely experienced lucid dreams were compared.
Lucid dreams to overcome Post Traumatic Stress
Following the 2008 Gaza conflict between Israeli and Palestinian forces, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel demonstrated that lucid dreaming is effective in overcoming Post-Traumatic Stress. Nirit Soffer-Dudek and her collaborators carried out the research with 223 women who lived in the area affected by the military offensive, the results indicated that the subjects who had been exposed to higher levels of violence showed the highest levels of distress, a a condition that was less severe in those who claimed to be able to experience lucid dreams.
This is in line with what is known about the types of psychotherapy that help treat and overcome trauma, and that are based on Help people confront memories linked to what they fear In this sense, lucid dreams are a good “testing ground” to expose ourselves to what worries us, but this time from a position of control and power over the content of our mind.
This study indicates that the same brain areas are used in lucid dreams as in imagination training. Therefore, in addition to the benefits that we have shown in the previous lines, there are other positive effects:
To read more about the mental training through imagination we recommend this article: “Mental Training through Imagination: Sports Psychology”.
