The Dreamer's Playground: Lucid Dreaming with Relation to Psychology

Imagine being able to fly, explore new worlds, or rewrite the ending of a nightmare—all while you’re still asleep. That’s the magic of lucid dreaming, where you not only realise you’re dreaming but also get to steer the ship! In this blog, we’re diving into the cool, mind-bending world of lucid dreams and the psychology that makes it possible. From superhero-level dream control to brain hacks that can help you boost creativity or conquer fears, we’ll explore how lucid dreaming isn’t just fun, but can be much more—like unlocking a secret level of your mind! Ready to take the wheel in your next dream? Let’s get started!

Lucid dreaming is when we're aware that we are sleeping, conscious during this time, and can control what happens next or rewrite it. Dreams are reflections of one’s state of mind, and awareness is often categorized as metacognition, which is the ability to think about one's thinking. Lucid dreaming occurs during a REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleeping cycle. A REM sleeping cycle is a shorter period when our brain is active, almost the same amount as when we are awake. During this period, we get vivid dreams.

Can everyone lucid dream? Not exactly—but plenty of people can unlock the power to dream on their terms! Lucid dreaming doesn’t pop out of nowhere, it is usually triggered by some internal and external factors as given below.

1. Recalling dreams: People who can recall their dreams regularly, are more likely to realise when they are dreaming and become conscious.

2. Sleep Patterns: Irregular sleep patterns like the Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB) technique - where you wake up during REM sleep and go back to sleep, can boost the likelihood of lucid dreaming.

3. Emotional Intensity: When dealing with heightened emotions, people are more likely to experience lucid dreaming about their problems.

4. Medications and meditation: Mindfulness and meditation increase focus and self-awareness, and natural substances people take to medicate, like galantamine or melatonin, can enhance the chances of lucid dreaming by affecting sleep cycles and REM sleep.

5. Creativity and game plays: People who are more creative and open-minded and also people who play video games or virtual reality games, frequently are more likely to have lucid dreams because they are used to navigating immersive, unreal environments, which mirror the experience of dreaming.

6. Sleep disorders: Certain sleep disorders, like narcolepsy, may increase the likelihood of lucid dreams. These are a few factors that can cause someone to lucid dream but it may also vary from person to person.

Lucid dreaming isn’t a new topic, this discussion has been ongoing for many years. The term ‘ludic dreaming’ was coined in 1913 by Frederik van Eeden, who was a Dutch psychiatrist. He wrote about it in his article ‘A Study of Dreams’. The earliest discussion of lucid dreaming was by Hindu sages and Greek philosophers. Although there are many different areas of these discussions, I will try to talk about the discussion in regards to psychology or as done by a psychologist.

Firstly, let's talk about the person who coined the term: Frederik van Eeden, a Dutch writer who studied his dreams from 1896 to 1913. He collected data about 500 dreams, 352 of which were the specific kinds that he found most important. He differentiated dreams into nine sections, of which lucid dreams were the seventh section comprising the 352 dreams he found important and interesting. He described the state of lucid dreaming as “In these lucid dreams the reintegration of the psychic functions is so complete that the sleeper

remembers day-life and his own condition, reaches a state of perfect awareness, and is able to direct his attention and to attempt different acts of free volition. Yet the sleep, as I am able confidently to state, is undisturbed, deep and refreshing.”

He also wrote, “I cannot in this paper give even a short and superficial account of the many interesting details of these dreams.”

Carl Jung also talked about dreams being a key to the unconscious. He didn't particularly mention lucid dreaming but rather talked about dreams in general and laid the foundation for understanding lucid dreaming.

Another contributor to the importance of dreams was Sigmund Freud. He was more interested in how dreams reflected unconscious desires than in lucid dreaming itself. However, his focus on dream states brought attention to the broader study of dreams in psychology.

In modern lucid dreaming research, Stephen LaBerge is a big pioneer who is a founder of the Lucidity Institute at Stanford University. As part of his groundbreaking research and contributions, he has published books like 'Lucid Dreaming’ (1985) and ‘Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming’ (1990) that brought this topic into mainstream media.

I chose this topic because of my personal experience where there's one dream which I remember vividly. I was on open grounds in Mumbai, near my school, and it was brightly decorated and filled with people. I was walking towards it, and as I got closer, I realized it was the school fest that was planned for the following week. In reality, I had been planning not to participate in the dance show. But in the dream, I was participating in the dance show. Since I knew it was a dream, I let myself be free, participated in the show, and saw myself having fun. I even made it to be among the Top 3 winners! After I woke up, I remembered how much fun I had in the dream and how happy I was. I decided to participate in the event, and though I didn’t win, I made a lot of great memories. I’m so glad I chose to participate.

I had forgotten about having that dream, but I recently remembered how I made that choice in my dream and felt in control. I’m deeply intrigued by how the solutions to my problems manifested in the dream and how they helped me come to a decision.

About The Author

Meet Ria, a lively first-year student who's always buzzing with energy! She's super talkative and loves striking up conversations with anyone around. When she’s not chatting away, you’ll likely find her binge-watching the latest shows and movies. She’s the go-to person for recommendations! Fashion is another one of her passions, and she has a knack for effortlessly putting together stylish outfits. Always fun to be around, Ria brings a bright, enthusiastic vibe wherever she goes!

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