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Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

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Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#21
post #2

I wonder what are the benefits from lucid dreaming. I read some claims that it’s possible we could gain access to some ‘hidden registry’ figuratively speaking by using methods such as lucid dreaming. However, I had a few lucid dreams in my life, all without any deliberate effort, they just happened and it’s nice to have them and all, but I don’t see myself getting out of my way to have lucid dreams. Does anyone get a…

I actually dislike lucid dreaming; it's not as restful and it's often difficult to return to restful sleep once you're aware.

When it happens nearly every time you go to sleep, it gets rather tiresome (I’ll show myself out)

Seriously though, I wish I could turn it off. Almost every single night. No thanks.

Edit: When it gets to be that common, it really starts to mess with your memory of things.

Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#22
post #9

Every lucid dream I have becomes a nightmare. When I suddenly gain consciousness in a dream I begin to panic and the atmosphere turns sinister. The last time this happened it turned into some kind of sleep paralysis where I became aware of my physical body but was unable to move as I crossfaded between dream and reality.

I've had both lucid dreams (which was enjoyable) and sleep paralysis before. The paralysis was not a fun experience at all, and sounds a lot like what you describe.

It's apparently common enough that there's folklore around it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_hag

I've only had the sleep paralysis a couple times thankfully, and anecdotally the last time I had woken up in the middle of the night beforehand, remembered something I needed to do on my computer, took care of it in a dark room real quick, then went back to sleep. I suspect the sudden bright light and a bit of stress probably contributed to it happening.

Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#23
post #9

Every lucid dream I have becomes a nightmare. When I suddenly gain consciousness in a dream I begin to panic and the atmosphere turns sinister. The last time this happened it turned into some kind of sleep paralysis where I became aware of my physical body but was unable to move as I crossfaded between dream and reality.

I would suggest doing a sleep test.

While I believe this can just happen to some people, in my case it was a result of sleep apnea. Getting diagnosed for it and taking remedial steps has been a life changer for me.

Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#24
post #10
post #2

I wonder what are the benefits from lucid dreaming. I read some claims that it’s possible we could gain access to some ‘hidden registry’ figuratively speaking by using methods such as lucid dreaming. However, I had a few lucid dreams in my life, all without any deliberate effort, they just happened and it’s nice to have them and all, but I don’t see myself getting out of my way to have lucid dreams. Does anyone get a…

When I was little I had a reoccurring nightmare, but one night something seemed familiar and jarred me into lucidity. I made a conscious decision to go left instead of right and it ended uneventfully, never to return. A couple times since being somewhat lucid helped end a nightmare, though I had practiced a little using the 'Waking Life' technique of testing light switches

My mind eventually started becoming half lucid during nightmares by itself. Any time I have a nightmare where something is about to hurt me, a slight lucidity kicks in and whatever threat gets nullified. Most clear example was Jurassic Park-like and I was about to be attacked by a raptor when walking into a room. My mind anticipated what it was about to do and turned the threat into a cute dog.

Been hoping I can turn that into full lucidity at some point, but that type of nightmare where it happens is rare.

Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#25
post #9

Every lucid dream I have becomes a nightmare. When I suddenly gain consciousness in a dream I begin to panic and the atmosphere turns sinister. The last time this happened it turned into some kind of sleep paralysis where I became aware of my physical body but was unable to move as I crossfaded between dream and reality.

I would suggest doing a sleep test. While I believe this can just happen to some people, in my case it was a result of sleep apnea. Getting diagnosed for it and taking remedial steps has been a life changer for me.

When the Apple Watches start monitoring for it, you’re going to see sleep apnea diagnosis skyrocket.

Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#26
post #9

Every lucid dream I have becomes a nightmare. When I suddenly gain consciousness in a dream I begin to panic and the atmosphere turns sinister. The last time this happened it turned into some kind of sleep paralysis where I became aware of my physical body but was unable to move as I crossfaded between dream and reality.

Mine have never turned into nightmares, but once I become aware that I'm dreaming and try to take control, the dream seems to fall apart and I wake up. I've had the sleep paralysis and crossfade that you describe. But it's never psychologically unpleasant. I've also had lucid dreams where it seems like I get stuck in a time loop and keep dreaming that I'm waking up. It feels like hours have elapsed and I've even gott…

This used to happen to me as well.

This might sound weird but what works for me is once I realize I’m lucid and the dream starts falling apart as you describe it - I quickly start spinning my (dream) body counter clockwise. In most cases this stops the awakening and I can continue lucid dreaming.

Waking up in the ”time loop” is also recurring to me, but a reality check often gets me back on track even when I’m pretty certain that I’m awake (I’m not). I usually just look at my hand. If my fingers look spooky, I’m still sleeping and can induce lucid again.

Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#27
post #2

I wonder what are the benefits from lucid dreaming. I read some claims that it’s possible we could gain access to some ‘hidden registry’ figuratively speaking by using methods such as lucid dreaming. However, I had a few lucid dreams in my life, all without any deliberate effort, they just happened and it’s nice to have them and all, but I don’t see myself getting out of my way to have lucid dreams. Does anyone get a…

Supposedly it is easy to go from lucid dreaming to astral travel.

unless its one and the same

Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#28
post #9

Every lucid dream I have becomes a nightmare. When I suddenly gain consciousness in a dream I begin to panic and the atmosphere turns sinister. The last time this happened it turned into some kind of sleep paralysis where I became aware of my physical body but was unable to move as I crossfaded between dream and reality.

Personally every time I lucid dream I wake up a few seconds later. As soon as I realize I'm conscious, I directly remember the existence of my physical self, the feeling of my arms, my legs in my bed which directly wakes me up

Re: Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds

#30
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was little I had a reoccurring nightmare, but one night something seemed familiar and jarred me into lucidity. I made a conscious decision to go left instead of right and it ended uneventfully, never to return. A couple times since being somewhat lucid helped end a nightmare, though I had practiced a little using the 'Waking Life' technique of testing light switches

My mind eventually started becoming half lucid during nightmares by itself. Any time I have a nightmare where something is about to hurt me, a slight lucidity kicks in and whatever threat gets nullified. Most clear example was Jurassic Park-like and I was about to be attacked by a raptor when walking into a room. My mind anticipated what it was about to do and turned the threat into a cute dog. Been hoping I can turn…

That's how lucidity started for me. I was having recurrent nightmares, and gradually built up my confidence at repelling the threat with telekinesis and fire. Those "skills" evolved into having lucid dreams about once a month, for a while.

I remember in one dream, it started off on a nice beach, when awareness hit me. I looked around and marvelled at how real it all looked. I was near a wooden railing and touched it, wondering how could I ever tell the difference between a dream and reality, since it all looked and felt so solid and vibrant. Then I noticed a truck parked nearby, levitated it with my mind, and hurled it hundreds of meters down the beach.

The frequency of lucidity subsided after a while. I don't know why my brain only switched on lucid dreaming for just one phase of my life. I did have another lucid dream a week ago, the first in about four years. I was flying over a landscape and entered a surreal city, and once again marvelled at how real everything all looked.

I'm with a couple of the other commenters in this thread. It's nice to have experienced lucid dreaming at some point, and it's fun when it happens again. However, it's also kind of pointless. A healthy attitude is to appreciate restful sleep instead of craving for some useless thrill.

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