Dream On...

If you could control your dreams, what would you do? Fly with wings, meet your favorite celebrity, quit school and travel the world, become the most rich and famous person ever to exist? Unfortunately, that might not all be possible, but with lucid dreaming, there is a way to achieve the control to make these things happen in your sleep.

Dreaming on a Cloud

Usually when dreaming one is not aware of the fact that they are dreaming, but during lucid dreams, one becomes aware of this fact while continuing to sleep and is able to have control over the decisions they make. In short, lucid dreaming is a state where the conscious part of the brain is awake while the body is sleeping. Like most dreams, lucid dreaming occurs in the REM - rapid eye movement - sleep. During this stage, dreams are the most vivid, respirations are irregular and shallow, and irregularities in heart rate and body temperature may occur; the brain waves of this stage are most similar to those when awake.

Brain Waves during Sleep

Although it is not absolute, the frontal lobe of the brain is said to be responsible for lucid dreams occurring as they become more active in lucid stages than normal REM stages, but not as active as when you are fully awake; which is why some might say that lucid dreaming is a hybrid stage of wakefulness and REM. The frontal lobe of the brain is the part that controls cognitive skills and helps us make decisions which is why it is not too far fetched of a hypothesis to say this part plays a role in lucid dreaming.

Frontal Lobe

The big idea of lucid dreaming is control. If you really wanted to, you could consciously make the decision to quit school and travel the world. Because of this aspect, lucid dreaming can even be seen as a treatment for those that suffer from nightmares by them making conscious decisions in their sleep and being able to get rest.

Lucid dreaming is a safe and innate way to have control over your mind while sleeping. Practicing methods like reminding yourself as you are falling asleep that you want to realize you are dreaming tonight, recalling dreams, reminding yourself throughout the day that you are conscious, or recognizing dreamsigns can help you achieve a lucid dream because of an increase in your grasp of reality. From lucid dreaming you are able to do literally anything you can dream of without actually doing anything, how fun!