Want to Control Your Dreams? Here’s How You Can

Summary: University of Adelaide researchers report a specific combination of techniques can increase a person’s chance of experiencing a lucid dream.

Source: University of Adelaide.

New research at the University of Adelaide has found that a specific combination of techniques will increase people’s chances of having lucid dreams, in which the dreamer is aware they’re dreaming while it’s still happening and can control the experience.

Although many techniques exist for inducing lucid dreams, previous studies have reported low success rates, preventing researchers from being able to study the potential benefits and applications of lucid dreaming.

Dr Denholm Aspy’s research in the University of Adelaide’s School of Psychology is aimed at addressing this problem and developing more effective lucid dream induction techniques.

The results from his studies, now published in the journal Dreaming, have confirmed that people can increase their chances of having a lucid dream.

The study involved three groups of participants, and investigated the effectiveness of three different lucid dream induction techniques:

1. reality testing – which involves checking your environment several times a day to see whether or not you’re dreaming.

2. wake back to bed – waking up after five hours, staying awake for a short period, then going back to sleep in order to enter a REM sleep period, in which dreams are more likely to occur.

3. MILD (mnemonic induction of lucid dreams) – which involves waking up after five hours of sleep and then developing the intention to remember that you are dreaming before returning to sleep, by repeating the phrase: “The next time I’m dreaming, I will remember that I’m dreaming.” You also imagine yourself in a lucid dream.

Among the group of 47 people who combined all three techniques, participants achieved a 17% success rate in having lucid dreams over the period of just one week – significantly higher compared to a baseline week where they didn’t practise any techniques. Among those who were able to go to sleep within the first five minutes of completing the MILD technique, the success rate of lucid dreaming was much higher, at almost 46% of attempts.

“The MILD technique works on what we call ‘prospective memory’ – that is, your ability to remember to do things in the future. By repeating a phrase that you will remember 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,” says Dr Aspy, Visiting Research Fellow in the University’s School of Psychology.

Image shows a dreamy scene.
Although many techniques exist for inducing lucid dreams, previous studies have reported low success rates, preventing researchers from being able to study the potential benefits and applications of lucid dreaming. NeuroscienceNews.com image is adapted from the University of Adelaide news release.

“Importantly, those who reported success using the MILD technique were significantly less sleep deprived the next day, indicating that lucid dreaming did not have any negative effect on sleep quality,” he says.

“These results take us one step closer to developing highly effective lucid dream induction techniques that will allow us to study the many potential benefits of lucid dreaming, such as treatment for nightmares and improvement of physical skills and abilities through rehearsal in the lucid dream environment,” Dr Aspy says.

About this neuroscience research article

Dr Aspy is continuing his research into lucid dreams in an attempt to further increase the effectiveness of the technique. He’s conducting a new study, which is open to any English-speaking people aged 18 and over anywhere in the world. For more information and to take part in the study, visit here.

Source: Denholm Asp – University of Adelaide.
Publisher: NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com images is adapted from the University of Adelaide news release.
Original Research: Abstract for “Reality testing and the mnemonic induction of lucid dreams: Findings from the national Australian lucid dream induction study” by Aspy, Denholm J., Delfabbro, Paul, Proeve, Michael, and Mohr, Philip in Dreaming. Published online September 2017 doi:10.1037/2Fdrm0000059

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]University of Adelaide. “Want to Control Your Dreams? Here’s How You Can.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 19 October 2017.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/lucid-dream-control-7769/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]University of Adelaide. (2017, October 19). Want to Control Your Dreams? Here’s How You Can. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved October 19, 2017 from https://neurosciencenews.com/lucid-dream-control-7769/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]University of Adelaide. “Want to Control Your Dreams? Here’s How You Can.” https://neurosciencenews.com/lucid-dream-control-7769/ (accessed October 19, 2017).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Reality testing and the mnemonic induction of lucid dreams: Findings from the national Australian lucid dream induction study

Lucid dreaming is a learnable skill and has a wide range of potential applications. However, research in this area has been limited by a lack of effective and reliable lucid dream induction techniques. The present study provides a thorough investigation into 3 of the most promising cognitive lucid dream induction techniques—reality testing, wake back to bed (WBTB), and the mnemonic induction of lucid dreams (MILD) technique. A sample of 169 Australian participants completed a pretest questionnaire, provided baseline logbook data in Week 1, and practiced lucid dream induction techniques in Week 2. Results showed that the combination of reality testing, WBTB and the MILD technique was effective at inducing lucid dreams. Several factors that influenced the effectiveness of the MILD technique were identified, including general dream recall and the amount of time taken to fall asleep after finishing the technique. Recommendations for future research on lucid dream induction are provided.

“Reality testing and the mnemonic induction of lucid dreams: Findings from the national Australian lucid dream induction study” by Aspy, Denholm J., Delfabbro, Paul, Proeve, Michael, and Mohr, Philip in Dreaming. Published online September 2017 doi:10.1037/2Fdrm0000059

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  1. Lucid dreaming is nothing more than altered states we achieve before entering sleep and before fully awakening. The control of such dreams is due to suggestion as used in hypnotic states or prior to hypnotic state induction. Study and practice the induction of altered states (hypnosis) and you will fully understand the phenomena labelled ‘Lucid Dreaming’.

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