The mystery behind lucid dreaming

Have you ever become aware you were dreaming? When you suddenly realise you can’t really fly, or that riding a massive cat to school isn’t exactly normal. That’s lucid dreaming!

In dreams, we typically have no awareness of the strange happenings in them. This is because we are unable to effectively reflect on our own thought processes and analyses. But in lucid dreams, you can often gain some awareness and control over the dream's narrative, characters, or environment, essentially blending real life and the dream.

When do lucid dreams happen?

Lucid dreams usually happen in REM (Rapid eye movement) sleep, which is a period of sleep characterised by rapid eye movement, faster breathing and heightened brain activity closer to wakefulness. 

In simple terms, it is often in the early morning hours before waking, characterised by increased brain activity, which allows for conscious awareness within the dream state.

Why do lucid dreams happen?

There isn’t a clear reason as to why lucid dreams happen, but scientists have observed that lucid dreams are hybrid states between sleep and wakefulness, where you aren’t quite asleep but not quite awake either. Scientists have also observed that people who lucid dream have widespread activity across different regions of the brain, but which regions are particularly active is still unclear. 

But did you know that simply ‘realising’ that you are dreaming won’t magically give you control of the dream? The dream itself still takes precedence while the realisation lingers in the back of your mind. This means that you may not have the mental focus to actually control the dream. Think of it as being on the web, where after browsing you close a tab, it feels so real during the dream, but you don't even realise you have been dreaming!

Is there a way to control lucid dreaming?

Fundamentally, your dreams are a reflection of who you are and what has been in your mind for a long time, a process of subconscious reflection. Scientists still don't know lots about lucid dreaming yet. They have lots of different complicated theories and methods that frankly us normal people don't have the time or energy to do. 

So here is a simple step-by-step process you could try to control your dreams into practically anything you want, based on real lucid dreamers and scientific research.

1. Practise reality checks – during the day, test reality by looking at a clock or checking your hands so it becomes a habit in your dreams

2. MILD - Before sleep, consciously repeat a phrase like “I will realise I am dreaming”, and focus on one very specific topic or thing that you would like happen

3. WBTB - Wake back to bed - Although not recommended, you could wake up after 5-6 hours, stay up for 30 minutes, then go back to sleep. This increases chances of REM sleep, which causes Lucid dreams

4. Stay calm - Excitement can wake you up, breathing calmly in the dream and maintaining a comfortable position in your sleep environment can help

5. Practice – it takes consistent practice for these habits to translate into the dream state. Having a dream journal may be effective; write down everything you remember from your dream that you vividly remember, as it trains your brain to become more conscious.

That said, Yes, it is still extremely hard to gain lucidity and control dreams, which requires different approaches. Even self-proclaimed “pro lucid dreamers” cannot do it consistently. It is up to complicated factors that no one has solved just yet, and perhaps it's mysterious because it happens suddenly, out of nowhere. And when that happens, just enjoy what this mysterious state has to offer.