The ability from time to time to be aware of oneself in a dream is manifested only in every second of us. The rest require special training. But now it may be easier to induce lucid dreams — thanks to a conventional electronic alarm clock.
Lucid dreaming is a state in which we are aware that we are dreaming, and we can force the events in it to obey our will. About 20% of all people regularly (at least once a month) experience this condition. But if you are not one of them, this is not a reason to despair: the lucid dreaming mode can be artificially triggered. This usually requires a long preparation. But recently, psychologists at Swan University discovered an easy way to boost your chances — with a button on your alarm clock.
- Are you getting enough sleep?
Psychologists Bethan Smith (Bethan Smith) and Mark Blagrove (Mark Blagrove) from the University of Swansea (UK) interviewed 84 people who visited forums and were subscribed to groups on social networks dedicated to lucid dreaming. Among them were 44 women and 39 men aged 18 to 75 years. Participants were asked directly whether they had experienced dreams, which “occur when a person realizes that he is dreaming and, while remaining in the dream state, can control some of the events or content of the dream.” More than twenty respondents answered that nothing like this had ever happened to them. The rest were asked to determine how often they were aware of themselves in a dream. They were also asked other questions — about the daily routine, diet, rituals associated with falling asleep and waking up.
- How to manage sleep. Scientists have found a way to control dreams
One of the researchers’ most intriguing findings was the relationship between the frequency of lucid dreams and how actively the participants, they said, used the «snooze» (literally — «snooze») function in the alarm clock.1. Its purpose is to buy us some time before waking up. By pressing this button, we do not turn off the alarm clock, but put it into a delay mode (say, for 15 minutes) in order to have time to soak up the bed and enjoy the last minutes of morning sleep.
Can it be said directly: the snooze button is that magic switch that can throw us into the world of lucid dreaming? So far, the conclusions of the Smith and Blagrove team are more moderate: it is only about the fact that the real masters of lucid dreaming are somehow attached to this function. But the pattern found is definitely not random—it holds true regardless of other factors, such as the participants’ ability to recall the details of their dreams or the number of awakenings per night.
- «I made friends with my insomnia»
Maybe the participants themselves believe that the call delay mode helps them tune in to the right way? There is a certain logic in this. When our sleep is interrupted by something, such as an alarm clock, we are more likely to return to REM sleep. In addition, sleep becomes more lucid as the brain is in a state of tension. Waiting for a new alarm clock already slightly improves our ability to manage our sleep. The better we can balance on the verge of sleep and wakefulness, the more likely it is that during sleep we will retain control of consciousness.
Some of those who practice lucid dreaming believe that they may be the key to the mysteries of the unconscious. For example, some psychotherapists use dream control techniques to cure nightmares. And psychologist Deirdre Barrett, in her book Committee of Sleep (2001), suggests that we can manipulate our dreams for inspiration and answers to life’s questions.
1 Dreaming, 2015, vol. 25, № 4.