Considering the mystery surrounding dreams, it's not a stupid question to ask. “Lucid dreaming is like stepping into the conscious world, the waking world, and the unconscious dream world,” says dream analyst Lauri Loewenberg. Dream a Dream: Live Your Dreams and Change Your Life. The idea of drawing a line between reality and the world of dreams can be a little scary, but the benefits of lucid dreaming are plentiful and worth getting over your initial fears, says Loewenberg. “If you can lucid dream, that’s a superpower!”
Ahead, dream experts answer your most pressing questions about the safety of lucid dreaming and the potential risks of dream control.
Is lucid dreaming dangerous?
Probably yes. However, the risks of lucid dreaming are primarily related to waking life, not the actual act of lucid dreaming itself.
First, lucid dreaming can cause serious problems with your sleep habits. This is especially true when you intentionally try to dream repeatedly. Certain lucid dreaming techniques, such as the Wake Back To Bed method, require you to force yourself to wake up and fall back asleep in quick succession to achieve a REM rebound. This is where your REM sleep cycle is extended, increasing your chances of waking up. You can have lucid dreams. Doing this regularly (continuously depriving yourself of sleep to enable lucid dreaming) can lead to potential problems ranging from minor (e.g. bad mood, poor concentration) to more serious potential problems (e.g. increased risk of diabetes and dementia).
That's what some experts, including dream decoder and best-selling author Theresa Cheung, say. Dream dictionary from A to Z—Warning against using lucid dreaming techniques that will shorten your precious sleep time. These techniques seem like shortcuts to lucid dreaming, making them more tempting to try (especially for people who have never dreamed). But “sleep is very good for restoration and healing of the mind, body, and spirit,” says Cheung. “And anything that interferes with my sleep hygiene is not good news for me.”
Another reason why lucid dreaming can be dangerous is that the line between reality and dreams can become blurred, especially if you dream them repeatedly and in rapid succession. When you have consistent control over your dreams *and* your waking life, distinguishing between the two can be tricky, which is one reason why Loewenberg recommends not lucid dreaming every night.
The potential psychological effects of lucid dreaming become even more dangerous for people who struggle with any form of lucid dreaming. psychosis2– Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, manic depression, etc. This blurring of the waking and dream worlds can worsen existing symptoms and potentially reinforce misperceptions of reality.
With this in mind, lucid dreaming can actually be beneficial when practiced responsibly. It has even been used as a therapeutic intervention. People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)three. “Many therapists use dream consciousness to [help the client] Get over the trauma,” explains Lowenberg. “You actively confront whatever has traumatized you in a safe environment. It's very safe in your head.”
Can you get hurt while lucid dreaming?
Maybe so, but again, not in the way you think. It is unlikely that you will be physically harmed during a lucid dream (
Despite more and more research being done, the topic of whether one can experience actual pain while dreaming is still a matter of debate. there was study a lot4 It was performed against suffering in a dream. new research5 What we offer do You actually experience pain (or at least something similar). one study5 They found that brain activity associated with real pain and brain activity associated with imagined dream pain were closely correlated.
What we know for sure is that the physical harm experienced in the dream world exists only in the dream world. In other words, you can't attract Freddy Krueger. A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Can lucid dreams be scary?
Like regular dreams, lucid dreams can become intense. The first moment you realize you are dreaming can be especially overwhelming if you have never experienced it before. But like any skill, the more you do it, the better you get at it, Loewenberg says. “When you realize you are dreaming, calm down,” adds Cheung. He advises you to actively remind yourself that you are the one in control.
Because our dreams, clear or not, are not bound by the physical limitations of reality, we literally nothing It can happen to them. In the dream world, you run the risk of encountering something downright nightmarish, like a 30-foot-tall talking tarantula. But the benefit of encountering a spider while conscious is that it gives you the awareness you need to decide what happens next.
“During lucid dreaming, it is important to ground yourself and focus on objects in the dream that do not cause fear,” says Cheung. Whenever we recognize a character in our dreams, that person tends to stick around. If a giant spider appears in your dream while you are doing something else, turn your attention back to what you were doing in the first place.
If that doesn't work and the spider still insists, confront it head on. Rather than ignoring the giant spiders, Cheung suggests giving them a try. “Evoke your fear in your dream and ask it what it wants,” says Cheung. “Often, fears go away when you face them and show compassion.”
If the that If that doesn't work, Cheung recommends reaffirming that you are the one in control in your dreams. “Think about wanting something in your dreams to remind you that you are in control and to make you feel secure,” says Cheung. Ultimately, this is the beauty of lucid dreaming. You decide what happens next.
What should you not do in a lucid dream?
Just as your waking life decisions can affect your dreams, your actions within your dreams can determine how your lucid dreams unfold.
Lucid dreaming is exciting. So exciting, in fact, that our excitement can take us out of lucid dreaming entirely, says Loewenberg. If you immediately try to do something really cool in a lucid dream (like flying a space shuttle), you might wake up. When you first realize you're dreaming, take it easy and instead start by making small changes to your dream, says Loewenberg.
Because lucid dreams defy the laws of physics that we experience when we are awake, such as the law of gravity or the law of reflection, we cannot expect our dreams to follow those laws. This is why many dream experts suggest not looking in the mirror while lucid dreaming. That's because while your brain is dreaming, the reflection in the mirror may be distorted or strange. think You look like.
As mentioned earlier, lucid dreams can be just as scary as any other dream. To prevent a lucid dream from turning into a lucid dream, don't actively try to think about what you're afraid of. “Stay positive,” says Loewenberg.
But above all, “don't overdo it,” Loewenberg says of his nightly attempts to lucid dream. “You have to allow your subconscious to do its job,” she says. always If you try to control your dreams, you may miss important messages from your subconscious.
Well+Good articles reference scientific, credible, recent and robust research to support the information we share. You can trust us on your wellness journey.
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Soffer-Dudek, Nirit. “Is lucid dreaming good for us? Are we asking the right questions? “Lucid dream research needs attention.” Frontiers in Neuroscience flight. 13th, 1423. January 24, 2020, doi:10.3389/fnins.2019.01423
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Calabrese J, Al Khalili Y. Psychosis. [Updated 2023 May 1]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; January 2024~. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546579/
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Holzinger, Brigitte et al. “Cognition during sleep: Lucid dreaming as an intervention for nightmares in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.” Frontiers of Psychology volume. 11 1826. August 21, 2020, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01826
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Zadra, Antonio & Germain, Anne & Lavigne, Gilles & Donderi, Don. (1998). The nature and spread of suffering in dreams. Pain Research and Management. 3. 155-161. 10.1155/1998/946171.
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Siclari, Francesca et al. “Neural Correlates of Dreams.” natural neuroscience volume. 20,6(2017): 872-878. doi:10.1038/nn.4545
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