You’re at school or perhaps work. You’re giving an important presentation
in front of a crowd of people….and you suddenly realize that you’re naked. Though the details may be different, many
people around the world have had this common dream. Researchers largely believe that this dream
is about vulnerability, anxiety or worry. What if in the middle of a naked-in-public-dream,
you could be conscious that you’re in a dream and even change the outcome of the dream? Instead of feeling humiliated and maybe even
waking up still cringing with embarrassment, you can change the course of the dream. Maybe you could snap your fingers and suddenly
be wearing a tuxedo. Or maybe you turn into an animal or even fly
away? Lucid dreaming is when you are aware that
you are in a dream. Lucid dreaming ranges from a faint recognition
that you are in a dream to fully controlling your actions, people or objects in the dream
or the dream itself. At some point in their lives, most people
will have a lucid dream. Children tend to have them more easily and
with greater frequency than adults. Researchers think this is because children
have more active imagination than adults. Sometimes taking certain medications triggers
people to experience intense, lucid dreams. You can train yourself to have lucid dreams. At first you may simply just become aware
that you’re in a dream, but over time you can learn to control your actions within your
dreams. Advanced lucid dreamers may direct not only
their actions, but the narrative of the dream itself. Although not much is known about lucid dreaming
or even dreaming in general, researchers believe that lucid dreaming may be therapeutic. While dreaming, your subconscious mind is
processing the events of the past day. While lucid dreaming, you may experience emotions,
make decisions or practice conclusions that provide insight and may even help you to resolve
situations in real life. Let’s discuss how we sleep and explore some
ways to begin lucid dreaming. While after trying these techniques you may
begin to have lucid dreams immediately, for some people it can take weeks, if not months
before they begin to have lucid dreams. A common problem is that the moment in the
dream you become aware that you are in a dream, you wake up. It can take time to learn to continue to dream
and broaden the internal awareness of when you are in a dream. Also it will take time to learn to guide your
actions or the direction of the dream, so don’t be discouraged if your dream life
doesn’t change right away. A dream can be defined as a series of thoughts,
images, ideas, emotions and sensations that occur in your mind during various phases of
sleep. For millennia, poets, philosophers, scientists
and religious leaders have tried to make sense of dreams. When you lay down and fall asleep at night
your body goes through four stages of sleep: stages 1, 2, 3 and REM. Stage 1 is the lightest stage of sleep. You’re drowsy, transitioning between sleep
and waking. Your muscles relax. Your brain waves and eye movements slow. This stage is brief, often lasting less than
10 minutes. You can easily be roused. Sometimes people experience muscle spasms
and hypnic jerks. A ‘catnap’ generally takes place in this
stage of sleep. Stage 2 is still considered light sleep, although
it’s a deeper state than stage 1. For most people this comprises roughly 40-60%
of total sleep time. In this stage, the brain experiences sudden
increases in brain wave frequency known as sleep spindles before slowing down. A power nap generally falls into stage 2. Stage 3 is considered restorative sleep. This is when the body gathers energy for the
next day, makes repairs to flesh, stimulates growth, development and boosts immune function. It makes up 5-15% of a night’s sleep. Children and teens spend much longer in restorative
sleep than adults do. During stage 3, muscles are completely relaxed
and there’s no eye movement. Your body is less reactive to external stimuli
and you’re harder to wake. The fourth and final stage of sleep is REM
which stands for rapid eye movement. REM can occur at any time during the sleep
cycle, although the onset of the first REM period for most people begins about 90 minutes
after going to sleep. During REM your brain becomes more active
and the majority of dreams occur. Your brain processes and synthesizes information
from the past day so that it can be stored in your long-term memory. For most, lucid dreaming happens during REM,
although some advanced lucid dreamers claim to experience lucid dreams at any stage of
sleep. The first REM phase tends to be short, only
a few minutes. After REM, the body starts the sleep cycle
again, with intervals of wakefulness mixed with sleep stages 1, 2 & 3 before returning
to REM for longer periods of time as sleep continues. Most people go through four to five sleep
cycles a night with the first one lasting about 90 minutes and subsequently cycles lasting
on average between 100 to 120 minutes. Dreams can be any length from a few seconds
to upwards of 20 minutes. The average person has three to five dreams
per night. The first step towards lucid dreaming is to
make sure that you’re creating an environment that’s conducive to good sleep. That means keeping your bedroom at a temperature
comfortable to you, and making sure that it is peaceful, dark and quiet. You may consider using blackout curtains or
an eye mask to block ambient light. Some people find ear plugs, white noise machines
or soft instrumental background music handy. Also you may want to consider listening to
music or soundscapes with binaural beats. Binaural beats use two lower tone slightly
different sound frequencies--generally one in each ear, to create the perception of a
single new frequency tone. Your brain “tunes” to this new combined
frequency and it affects the brain’s degree of arousal. Research indicates that binaural beats slow
brainwave activity—and that may alter your moods, helping you to relax, lower your anxiety,
and make it easier for you to sleep soundly. Some binaural beats may actually induce lucid
dreaming. Practice good sleep hygiene by not only going
to bed each night at the same time, but making sure that you get at least 7 hours of sleep. Having a consistent and calming routine that
winds down your day before bed is important too. Limit vigorous exercise, alcohol and sugary
snacks to at least 60 minutes before bed. There’s some conflict within the scientific
community as to whether we should also unplug from electronics at least 60 minutes before
sleep. Recently, a large study has shown that using
electronics before bedtime doesn’t affect the level of melatonin, the hormone that regulates
sleep in your body. However, others believe that electronics still
stimulate the brain too much at a time when you’re supposed to be settling down. So use your best judgement and probably stay
away from websites that discuss politics before going to bed. Also, you may wish to practice aromatherapy,
light stretching, breathing exercises, meditate or pray before going to sleep.. A good way to encourage lucid dreaming is
to write in a dream journal. Keep your journal and a pen near your bed
so it’s easily accessible in the middle of the night. In the morning or any time you awake, take
a minute or two to concentrate on the memory and then immediately write down your dream. It’s fine if you don’t remember the full
dream. Write what you remember; include visual details,
locations, characters, emotions, smells, colors and sounds. Add how you felt upon waking and also how
you feel remembering the dream. If you aren’t much for writing, you can
narrate and record your dreams. However, some researchers think that there’s
a meditative quality in putting pen to paper and aspects of the brain’s recall functions
are best served through writing. The more you write down or record your dream
memories, the more you will be able to recall your dreams. What’s the use of having a lucid dream if
you forget it upon waking up? Helpful to dreaming, lucid dreaming and writing
in a dream journal is to go to bed with deliberate intentions. Some people refer to this as MILD or Mnemonic
Induction to Lucid Dreaming. Every night, as you close your eyes and drift
off to sleep, repeat the same phrase to yourself. The phrase should state your desired aim such
as ‘I will know when I am dreaming and I will remember my dreams.’ You may even want to visualize a place where
you’d like to go in your dream. By maintaining a dream journal, your capacity
to remember your dreams will grow. Regularly read through or listen to your dream
journal looking for themes, symbols or patterns. Do certain people or animals show up in your
dreams over and over? Being aware of the recurring details of your
dreams will help you to recognize when you are dreaming. Frequently occurring dream details may also
offer insight into what issues your inner psyche is concerned with or focused on. Another important technique to encourage lucid
dreaming is doing reality checks. A reality check is a simple test where the
result is different in waking life versus when you’re dreaming. An example of a reality check would be to
take the index finger of one hand and try to push it through the palm of your other
hand while asking yourself if you’re dreaming. In waking life, of course, your finger is
met with resistance and cannot go through your palm. However, in a dream your finger will easily
pass through your other hand. Another common reality check is to inspect
your hand and count the digits on it, while moving them and asking yourself if this is
a dream? In dreams, you’ll find that your hands and
feet are distorted, sometimes with extra fingers or toes. Chose a few reality checks and perform them
a couple times during the day. After a while, the reality checks will become
habits and you’ll carry the habits over into your dreams. The impossible outcome of the reality checks
happening can clue you to realize that you’re in a dream. It becomes easier to induce a state of consciousness
in dreams when you are self aware in general. Often, we spend most of our days on auto pilot. We previously mentioned meditation in regards
to creating a peaceful bedtime routine, however you may want to consider a regular meditation
practice where you pause a few times a day and meditate. There are several websites and podcasts that
offer guided meditations and music designed to help you on your journey. You can also try to induce a lucid dream by
deliberately disrupting your sleep. The Wake Back to Bed method is another technique
to trigger lucid dreaming. Before you go to sleep, set your alarm clock
for 6 hours. If you’re a person who only gets 6 hours
of sleep, set your alarm clock for 4 hours. The goal after trial and error is to determine
the most accurate time when you personally are in a long REM cycle of sleep. When your alarm goes off and you wake up,
make yourself fully alert. If you remember a dream upon waking, quickly
jot it down. Get out of bed. You may wish to read, wash your face or drink
water to ensure that you are fully awake. Occupy yourself for 30 to 60 minutes before
going back to bed. If your brain is still very alert, practice
meditation, listen to binaural music or perform MILD [Mnemonic Induction to Lucid Dreaming]. If you were previously dreaming before you
woke up, think about the dream as you drift back off. If you weren’t dreaming, visualize where
you’d like to go in a dream. The Wake Back to Bed method promotes lucid
dreaming because you’re purposefully stimulating your conscious brain at a time you would normally
be experiencing a REM phase of sleep. This spills over to consciousness in dreams. When you do return to sleep, often you will
go straight into REM sleep from a conscious state, which also induces dreaming. Generally, the Wake Back to Bed approach works
best if practiced a few times a week. So if you would like to experience your own
personal version of Inception we suggest trying aforementioned techniques. We would like to emphasize that everyone is
different and some methods will work for some and not for others. Consistency is the key to regularly having
lucid dreams. Also, this is just an introduction, there
are many more advanced tactics to lucid dreaming. Let us know in the comments if you’re able
to have a lucid dream after trying these techniques! Also, be sure to check out our other video
How To Fall Asleep In 60 Seconds! Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
