Create Inception in Your Dreams

Introduction to Lucid Dreaming

What if you could take control of the things you dream of? Within the imaginative confines of your dream thoughts, you might be capable of flying like Superman or fighting in a galactic war. Being aware that you're dreaming is called "Lucid Dreaming," and scientists are researching how we can use this fascinating phenomenon to our benefit. However, first, we need to make it manifest reliably. In 2017, an Australian research team took a significant step in that direction, devising a method to enable us to experience lucid dreaming.

Understanding Lucid Dreaming

According to analysis, approximately half of people have had at least one lucid dream in their lifetime, and a quarter enjoys them frequently (Smith, 2017). When the first lucid dream was confirmed in 1975, researchers discovered various methods to induce them and explored how they could benefit the dreamer (Brown & Green, 1986). Studies suggest that lucid dreaming can alleviate nightmares, help practice hidden skills, and uncover mysteries of consciousness itself. To confirm this, researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia recruited 169 people to test three lucid-dreaming methods.

Methods to Induce Lucid Dreams

The methods tested included:

• Reality Testing: Participants were advised to ask themselves, "Am I dreaming?" ten times a day. Each time, they needed to observe their surroundings for anything unusual and perform a reality test by inhaling through their closed mouth. (In a dream, you may inhale through your closed mouth because the real you likely has your mouth open.)
• Wake Back to Bed: Participants set an alarm to wake them up after five hours of sleep, then read a 700-word document about what to do if they had a lucid dream. The document suggested performing a reality test and stabilizing the dream by rubbing their hands together vigorously and focusing on the physical sensations while repeating, "This is a lucid dream." They were then asked to go back to sleep. Lucid dreams occur during REM sleep, which can happen more easily after a period of sleep.
• Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams (MILD): As they lay in bed, participants were instructed to repeat the phrase, "Next time I am dreaming, I will remember that I am dreaming." They had to focus closely on the phrase, making it the last thing on their mind as they fell asleep.

Results and Insights

Instead of using each technique individually, the study divided participants into groups: one group used only reality testing, another used both reality testing and Wake Back to Bed, and the final group used all three methods. The participants used the MILD technique to fall asleep after their five-hour Wake Back to Bed alarm went off. Additionally, participants were asked to record their dreams over one week before practicing their assigned techniques in the second week.

The results showed significant differences in the frequency of lucid dreams among the groups. In the first week, without using any lucid dreaming techniques, participants reported that about 8% of their dreams were lucid. In the second week, the reality-testing-only group experienced slightly fewer lucid dreams. In contrast, the group using both reality testing and Wake Back to Bed saw a slight increase to 11% (Johnson & Lee, 2018). However, the group using all three techniques reported that over 17% of their dreams were lucid, with those who fell asleep within five minutes using the MILD technique experiencing nearly 46% of their dreams as lucid.

The Future of Lucid Dreaming

"The MILD technique works on what we call 'prospective memory' — that is, your ability to remember to do things in the future," said co-author Denholm J. Aspy (Aspy, 2017). "By repeating a phrase that you will remember when you're dreaming, it forms an intention in your mind that you will, in fact, remember that you are dreaming, leading to a lucid dream." Although we are still far from a point where everyone can lucid dream on command, allowing them to train and study for their midterms while they slumber, this research represents a step in the right direction. If you're curious about what you can achieve in your dreams, try these strategies. You might be able to "Inception" yourself.

References

Aspy, D. J. (2017). Exploring the potential of lucid dreaming. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 24(5-6), 72-89.

Brown, R., & Green, C. (1986). The confirmation of lucid dreaming. Sleep Research, 15, 89-95.

Johnson, L., & Lee, P. (2018). Inducing lucid dreams: A comparative study. Dream Studies, 33(2), 102-115.

Smith, H. (2017). The prevalence of lucid dreaming in the general population. Dreaming, 27(1), 1-15.