LUCID DREAMING

Ngan DiepKim Fleck

Stephen JohnsonDavid Yoshida

Outline

• Discussion Questions

• Introduction

• History

• Characteristics of Lucid Dreaming

• Physiological Aspects

• Usefulness of Lucidity

• Methods of Induction

• Conclusion

• Could there be consciousness during sleep?

• Do we have deliberate control over our actions in dreams?

• What is the nature of imaginary worlds?

• Is lucid dreaming an altered state of consciousness?

Discussion Questions

• What is lucid dreaming?• Dreams in which you know that you are

dreaming.

• Levels of lucid dreaming and awareness• High-level lucidity• Low-level lucidity

• How common are lucid dreams?• "About 58% of the population have experienced a

lucid dream at least once in their lifetime, while about 21% report it with some frequency (one or more a month). – Jayne Gackenbach

Introduction

History • 415 AD written in a letter by St. Augustine.

• Practiced by Tibetan Buddhists for a thousand years through a form of dream yoga

• 1913 Term coined by Frederick Van Eeden

• Modern research- Stephen LaBerge and Lynn Nagel of Stanford University

CHARACTERISITICS• The beginning of lucidity is marked by

distinct eye movements• Occurs late during the REM sleep cycle• Induced by some sort of “cue”• Recognition of this “cue” is made

possible by higher cortical arousal• Waking up from a lucid dream feels more

real than waking from a normal dream• This is due to the higher cortical arousal

experienced during lucid dreaming

PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS

• Is there a correspondence between actions of the dreamer and muscle activity and electrical responses?

• Dream Actions • (Schatzman, Worsley, and Fenwick 1988)

• Dream Sex • (LaBerge, Greenleaf, and Kedzierski 1983)

Usefulness of Lucidity

• Adventure and Excitement • Practice/Rehearsal

• Creative Problem Solving

• Therapeutic

What is the nature of the dream world?

Methods of Induction

• Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreaming (MILD)

• Mindfulness

• External Signals• Electric Shock to the wrist• Dream Light (LaBerge 1985)

How long do dreams last?

Conclusion

• Is lucid dreaming an ASC? YES• How long do dreams take? About 13 sec• Is there a correspondence between

actions of the dreamer and muscle activity and electrical responses? YES

• What is the nature of the dream world? We don’t know.

References• Blackmore, Susan. Lucid Dreaming: Awake in Your Sleep? Skeptical Inquirer, 1991.

362-370.

• Conscious Mind, Sleeping Brain: Perspectives on Lucid Dreaming. Ed. Gackenbach, Jayne and Stephen LaBerge. New York: Plenum Press, 1988.

• Holt, Doug. LUCID DREAMING. Philadelphia. 1998. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper1/Holt.html

• LaBerge, S., Greenleaf, W., & Kedzierski, B. (1983). Physiological responses to dreamed sexual activity during lucid REM sleep. Psychophysiology, 20, 454-455.

• LaBerge, Stephen and H. Rheingold. EXPLORING THE WORLD OF LUCID DREAMING. New York: Ballantine. 1990.http://www.lucidity.com/EWLD6.txt

• LaBerge, Stephen. Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine. 1985.http://www.lucidity.com/LD8DFM.html

• Schatzman, M., A. Worsley, and P. Fenwick. 1988. Correspondence during lucid dreams between dreamed and actual events. In Conscious Mind, Sleeping Brain, 155-179, ed. J. Gackenbach and S. LaBerge. New York: Plenum.

• Sparrow, G. S. LUCID DREAMING, DAWNING OF THE CLEAR LIGHT Virginia Beach: A.R.E. Press, 1976.

• Wallace, Benjamin, and Leslie Fisher. Consciousness and Behavior. Waveland press. 2003.