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Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

npr.org

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Re: Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

#31

Post by emteycz »

frongpik wrote: post #27
bongoman37 wrote: post #26

It is interesting to me that this is the first time someone has done this in a lab setting. I have lucid dreams and I talk in my sleep a fair amount as well. I used to be a somnambulist as a kid as well, though haven't done that in a long time though I will still kick out occasionally in my dreams. I have had reasonably long conversations in my sleep. When I was living in the dorms once my roommates were solving a ph…

Let them ask you "who are you?" and "what's your name?"

I know the answers, but can't really drive my attention. So I might say that I am a train occasionally... But then I'm able to correct myself sometimes!

(All of this is absolutely out of my memory, you have to trust my girlfriend)

Re: Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

#33

Post by nextaccountic »

jerrygoyal wrote: post #9

on a side note, people who do lucid dreams, how do you do it?

I followed the advice of this page http://www.lucidity.com/ which is mostly what other commenters are saying

First step is to get a dream diary next to your bed to write down any dreams before you forget them (note: you forget dreams faster when you move your muscles, so try to write down without moving too much). In the long term, this makes you greatly improve recalling of dreams, which include lucid dreams. see also http://www.lucidity.com/NL11.DreamRecall.html

After that, you need to develop a trigger to distinguish between dreaming and awake states. One idea is to look at a clock, then look away and look back to it - if you're in a dream the display will be completely different each time. You need to repeat this regularly when you are awake - by habit you will repeat this in your dreams too.

Once you successfully discover you're dreaming, don't get too excited! Being to hasty to do stuff in your dreams will most likely make you wake up. You need to appreciate it calmly. see also http://www.lucidity.com/NL7.34.RU.SpinFlowRub.html

Also, the dream maker in your mind will attempt a number of tricks to make you cease the lucid dreaming and get back to regular dreaming, such as false awakening https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_awakening - it seems that the mind is really invested in having dreams where you're not aware you're dreaming, that you forget as soon as you start your day.

Re: Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

#34

Post by tokai »

jerrygoyal wrote: post #9

on a side note, people who do lucid dreams, how do you do it?

As others have written getting a trigger you regularly practise is key. Some triggers I have used are:

Watches misbehave in dreams, look at it twice to sus it out. Usually the time changes between peeks.

Light switches. They seem to never work in dreams.

Pushing your hand through your chest. This trigger is very easy and quick. Put your fingers to your chest and push against your ribs without look down at your hand. If dreaming the hand will go through without any effort.

Generally our dreaming brains don't seem to deal well with permanence. The trick is to make it a habit to check if you are dreaming regularly, and at some point you'll do it instinctually in a dream and realize that its not reality.

Re: Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

#35

Post by yreg »

lrem wrote: post #5

This is amazing, underwhelming and not very surprising, all at the same time. Unsurprising, as it was already known that lucid dreamers can move their eyes... And I think everyone has experienced external stimuli, say an alarm clock, being seamlessly integrated into a dream. Underwhelming, as this requires people with rare skills and special requirement to achieve just 18% success rate. For a basic task. Amazing, bec…

>requires people with rare skills and special requirement

It's not like one has to be born lucky though. It is possible to learn to lucid dream, or rather to remember dreams.

Re: Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

#36

Post by tiborsaas »

jerrygoyal wrote: post #9

on a side note, people who do lucid dreams, how do you do it?

Do reality checks regularly while awake. Try telekinesis, jumping (try to defeat gravity), look for your personal dream signs, that's why keeping a dream journal helps.

So I made a tattoo on my hand not to forget to do reality checks. I got used to it and doesn't work :)

Re: Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

#38

Post by bayesianbot »

tiborsaas wrote: post #36
jerrygoyal wrote: post #9

on a side note, people who do lucid dreams, how do you do it?

Do reality checks regularly while awake. Try telekinesis, jumping (try to defeat gravity), look for your personal dream signs, that's why keeping a dream journal helps. So I made a tattoo on my hand not to forget to do reality checks. I got used to it and doesn't work :)

I really, really like closing my nose (with fingers) and mouth and trying to breath. It takes so little time, can be done anywhere and without anyone noticing and seems to work extremely easily in dreams for me. Lot of the other recommendations I've read are much harder. (As in flying or putting a hand through a wall were hard to do at first even when I knew I was dreaming. Looking at clock multiple times requires a clock. And all look weird if done in public)

So my technique is find some situation I'm in pretty often in both dreams and in real life, and do this check every time in that situation. After a while it's like a reflex and sometimes I even think I'm surely not dreaming and get surprised.

Re: Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

#39

Post by pwm »

jerrygoyal wrote: post #9

on a side note, people who do lucid dreams, how do you do it?

I didn't do any specific training nor did I plan to lucid dream, it just happened at a point in my life when I meditated a lot. The realisation, ie. that you are asleep and dreaming but aware, is rather special and you can choose to do whatever you like with it. I had some pretty wild experiences "sitting down and meditating" in my lucid dream :) Sadly these days I don't meditate much and I did not have lucid dreams for a while.

Re: Scientists talked to people in their lucid dreams

#40

Post by sokoloff »

lrem wrote: post #5

This is amazing, underwhelming and not very surprising, all at the same time. Unsurprising, as it was already known that lucid dreamers can move their eyes... And I think everyone has experienced external stimuli, say an alarm clock, being seamlessly integrated into a dream. Underwhelming, as this requires people with rare skills and special requirement to achieve just 18% success rate. For a basic task. Amazing, bec…

On integrating outside stimuli, what I’ve always wondered is how wall clock time relates to time in the dream world.

I have a vivid memory of a dream as a kid where I was a fighter pilot, went through a bunch of dream time as a kid’s idea of what fighter pilots did, was eventually shot down/ejected over water and condemned to drown in the dream. I woke up with my mouth stuffed full of my own blanket to the point which was making mouth breathing almost impossible.

Did I start ingesting the blanket and concoct and experience a long dreamtime dream in 3 minutes? Or did the dream take 45+ minutes and I started ingesting the blanket midway through?

This was probably 40 years ago and I can remember it like it was last week.

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