Lucid Dreams

What They Are and How to Have Them

P. P. Zhang

IT’S THE MONIKER OF JUICE WRLD’S MOST POPULAR SONG, BUT TODAY WE’RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT A DIFFERENT KIND OF LUCID DREAM. The kind that refers to one being aware they’re dreaming. Lucid dreams are a ‘between state’ where one isn’t fully asleep or awake. They’re relatively rare – with only 50% of all people saying they’ve experienced one in their lifetime. It’s unclear why we have lucid dreams – let alone regular dreams. Despite this, scientists have discovered several possible benefits, including improving motor skills and creativity and reducing anxiety. Additionally, lucid dreaming is potentially able to reduce insomnia and chronic nightmares. 

So how does one go about lucid dreaming? While there are no proven techniques, researchers have tried a variety of methods. These include keeping a dream diary as a way of focusing more on dreaming and using mnemonic induction, which involves reminding yourself to do something in the future, in this case remembering that the next time you dream, you’ll remind yourself that it is just that and nothing more. However, perhaps the most successful strategy is the “reality-check” method, where one periodically asks themselves whether they are dreaming, in order to convince their brain about the possibility of dreaming while awake. In your endeavour to lucid dream, it’s important to ensure that you don’t interrupt your sleep schedule just to induce it, as this can lead to sleep deprivation and a plethora of other issues. 

To me, the thought of being aware while dreaming sounds fascinating but slightly frightening at the same time. Perhaps we’ll reach a point where we can even control what we dream. A point where the dreamworld can be used to affect the real world. Who knows how far away that future is, or whether we even want it to be our future. Popular culture, especially as of late, has been obsessed with this conflict between reality and illusion, spurred on by the rise of popular films like Inception and The Truman Show. Of course, there is a possibility that, as we speak, we are living in an intricate, convoluted lucid dream, similar to the possibility that we’re living in a simulation. Whether we are or not – I guess you’ll have to pinch yourself a little harder to find out.