subject: Lucid Dream Benefits, History And Types [print this page] When one has a lucid dream (LD), in the most basic term this means they are aware that they are having a dream. The scientific credibility of a LD is well established and a person can have one in two different ways. The first is when a person is having a dream and they become aware that they are having it. The second is when a person is fully awake then goes into a lucid dream without and break in consciousness.
In 1968 Celia Green wrote a book titled Lucid Dreams. This is considered the first book to look at this type of dreaming from the scientific perspective. In Celia Greens research she came to the conclusion that a lucid dream was very different from a normal dream and that this type of dream is associated with rapid eye movement. She also was able to link a lucid dream with false awakenings. Daniel Oldis in the 1970's developed the technique of using external triggers for a lucid dream. What he did was have a bell or light go off when the subject entered a rapid eye movement state of sleep. This allowed the subject to realize they where dreaming and take control of the dream or at least become aware of the dream. Since the early days of dream research several techniques have been developed to aid in having a lucid dream. These include hypnosis and binaural beats. To this day research continues on dream activity and benefits associated with it.
One of the benefits of lucid dreaming is for those who suffer from nightmares. Studies have shown that becoming aware of the dream as a nightmare helps in the reduction and intensity of the nightmare. If you are suffering from a nightmare and turn it into a lucid dream, this will give you the ability to take control. Even if you do not have the ability to take control of the dream nightmare, just the realization that it is not real holds a tremendous benefit. Another benefit of having a lucid dream is that the dream will typically relate to a persons life in the waking state. Through understanding the dream the person can gain further understanding of problems in their daily life. This has been shown in studies to help reduce anxiety, depression and other psychological problems.
It has also been shown that while in a dream, dream control and being aware of the dream are not dependent on each other. In other words, you can have a lucid dream and not have any control of what is going on in the dream. It should also be noted that many times a person in a dream could potentially take control, but choses instead to just watch the dream. It is also known, that some people have the ability for the dream to help them solve problems from their waking state. As an example, you can go to bed with a problem in how to start a book you want to write. When you realize that you are in a dream, the problem is brought up and many times solutions are achieved. This does take a little practice to achieve this level of dreaming.
