Scientists have gradually changed their position on lucid dreams (LD), the ability to know that you are dreaming and even controlling your destiny within that dream state.
Many were initially skeptical when, in the 1970s, Stanford’s psychophysiologist, Stephen Laberge, proposed the concept. Psychologists turned slowly, conducting research and taking advantage of the lucid dream capacity of patients for therapeutic purposes.
Now, a team of neuroscientists has compiled and analyzed the largest known data set that compares brain activity during vigil, fast movement dream and lucid sleep. The comparison of the brain image of these three states of consciousness shows how the different parts of the brain are involved in each and how each state affects perception, memory, self -consciousness and cognitive control, according to a study in Jneurosci. For example, some brain waves during lucid dreams cross from one side of the other, or, within the same hemisphere, from one region to the other.
Lucid sleep: Another state of consciousness
“This research opens the door to a deeper understanding of lucid dreams as an intricate state of consciousness by pointing out the possibility that the conscious experience can arise from the dream itself,” said çağatay demirel, a neuroscientist of the Medical Center of the University of Radboud in the Netherlands, an author of the document, in a Press release. “This work offers a perspective that could challenge the traditional binary vision of sleep and vigil in future research.”
The new study shows how the lucid sleep, which according to the newspaper has “followed by poorly understood”, works at the molecular and electrochemical level. The work could provide more information about similarities and differences within the brain during different states of consciousness.
Read more: What are the lucid dreams, and there are real dangers for them?
Taking advantage of lucid dreams
Previous psychological studies have investigated how lucid dreams can be used for therapeutic and improved purposes for performance. A study that examines the effects of the state of sleep on performance showed that Dart players could improve their precision By first controlling your dreams about your techniques. Another showed that people could reduce nightmares Essentially taking control of them in a state of lucid sleep.
Some psychologists recommend taking advantage of their dreams with a three steps process. First, record your dreams in a newspaper as soon as you wake up, so you don’t forget them. Then, over time, look for common issues. Finally, establish an intention to address them. For example, if, in his dream, he is being constantly persecuted by a specific monster (which represents some neurosis or another), make a plan to stop, turn and face that creature the next time he dreams of that.
Understanding how these dreams work as electrical signals in different parts of the brain could even more help the therapeutic attempts to take advantage of them. It could also be used to improve brain computers interfaces for paralyzed people.
“Taken together, these findings illuminate the electrophysiological correlates of LD, establishing the bases to decode the mechanisms of this intriguing state of consciousness,” the article concluded.
Read more: Yes, you can control your dreams: the strange science of lucid sleep
Sources of articles
Our writers in Discovermagazine.com Use studies reviewed by pairs and high quality sources for our articles, and our editors review to obtain scientific precision and editorial standards. Check the sources used below for this article:
Before joining Discover, Paul Smaglik spent more than 20 years as a scientific journalist, specializing in the United States Life Science Policy and global scientific career problems. He began his career in newspapers, but changed to scientific journals. His work has appeared in publications that include scientists, sciences, nature and American scientific.
#Understanding #lucid #sleep #provide #therapeutic #benefits
