A lucid dream is a dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. This can give the person control over the dream, being able to go to interesting places, meet and talk with all kind of people or even find solutions to real problems encountered day to day. A painter lacking inspiration for his next piece of work could dream and see his next painting. A musician could compose his next song, etc. During dreams, sensory perceptions (perception of pain, cold, external noise) are eliminated and the brain can fully dedicate itself to the dream, without any external distractions (also called sensory deprivation).
The ability to recall dreams is often described as the first step towards lucid dreaming. To improve dream recall, some people keep a dream journal, writing down or recording dreams immediately after awakening. It is important to record the dreams as quickly as possible as there is a strong tendency to forget what one has dreamt. Dream recall can help find patterns that the person can recognize when the dream starts and become aware of it.
Another technique involved is reality checking:
* Looking at text or one’s digital watch, looking away, and looking back. The text or time will probably have changed randomly and radically at the second glance or contain strange letters and characters. (Analog watches do not usually change in dreams, while text and digital watches have a great tendency to do so. A digital watch or clock may feature strange characters or the numbers all out of order.)
* Flipping a light switch. Light levels rarely change as a result of the switch flipping in dreams
* Looking into a mirror; in dreams, reflections from a mirror often appear to be blurred, distorted, incorrect, or frightening
* Holding one’s nose and mouth closed while attempting to inhale. If dreaming, one will find themselves breathing and aware
* Pinching oneself throughout the day. As soon as one starts dreaming, there will be no pain sensation when pinching oneself
When a person is dreaming, the eyes move rapidly up and down and vibrate. Scientific research has found that these eye movements may correspond to the direction the dreamer “looks” at in the dreamscape. This has enabled trained lucid dreamers to communicate with researchers while dreaming by using eye movement signals.
Interestingly, a lucid dreamer may experience a false awakening, in which one dreams of having awoken. The room the dreamer falsely awakens in is often similar to the room he/she fell asleep in. He then often believes that he is no longer dreaming and begins his daily routine, thus giving up his dream awareness. A reality check can determine whether that is the case.
