The mysteries of lucid dreaming

Lucid dreaming is the experience of, or ability to be aware that you are dreaming while the dreaming is happening. It sounds like a sci-fi movie, but it happens as a type of metacognition or cognitive control during REM sleep.

Vivid dreaming is a high-definition dream where the experiences feel real and the person believes they are awake. Vivid dreams have an intense sensory experience. You can feel the taste, sense the smell and don’t realize that you are dreaming until you wake up.

Both lucid dreaming and vivid dreaming gather attention for their intense experience during and after they happen. For example, some people experiencing vivid dreams with a deceased loved one may interpret it with religious or emotional connections, although there is no scientific confirmation. Meanwhile, a person with post-traumatic stress disorder may revive the traumatic experience with a lucid dream and change the traumatic incident into something liberating.

There is limited research on these topics, although the interest is growing recently.

For lucid dreaming, the ability to manipulate the dream outcome can help treat mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression. Some research indicates similar benefits for vivid dreaming.

For example, Lucid Dreaming Therapy (LDT) is being used with people with PTSD and frequent nightmares. LDT therapists use a restructuring method and self-hypnosis to help patients become more aware of their nightmares, identify different outcomes for them while awake, and then test the effectiveness of restructuring the next time they lucid dream.

There is also “dream-shaping” research ongoing with Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists using an app (Dormio). The goal is to insert certain topics into a person’s dream at the sleep onset — but that is not considered lucid dreaming, since it does not impact REM sleep. 

The quest for wellness and better mental health has increased people’s interest in sleep overall. I have noticed this phenomenon since the COVID-19 pandemic. People are talking more about their dreams now that their sleep quality and duration have improved. They are also more aware of the dream content, which sometimes brings unusual or unpleasant memories.

In my experience, noticing dreams — either traditional ones, lucid or vivid — is an interesting outcome for study participants who had struggled with sleep disturbances for many years. They often tell me they did not dream or do not remember dreaming. They start sleeping better after joining sleep research or getting sleep treatment and noticing dreams.

My lab has undergraduate students in biochemistry, nursing, and medical and graduate students in nursing and pharmacy. We work with surveys, computer-based testing, blood-based biomarkers and wearable devices for continued monitoring, such as Fitbit. We are a diverse group working with older adults in our community. Although my research focuses on the molecular biology of sleep and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, the center of what I do is the person. We learn about their sleep and dreams, and hope to help them live better. It has been a joy to conduct this research and connect with the community, and I am excited for the next steps.