Is Lucid Dreaming Merely a Matter of Hitting Snooze?
By: Angela Volkov
Tags: Consciousness, Psychology, Dreams, Sleep, Lucid Dreaming

In your dreams, you raise an army of the dead, raze cities to the ground, and then, growing weary of the ethereal domain of gods, the ouroboros of creation and destruction, you sate your more… earthly pleasures.

Problem is, you’re only along for the ride, and to add insult to injury, you’re likely to forget your nighttime exploits mere seconds after the sound of your alarm rips you from sleep’s sweet embrace.

If only you were aware you were dreaming, then you’d be free to explore your surroundings, not to mention, tweak them for maximum satisfaction. In short, you’d enjoy dreaming so much more if you were lucid.

Prevalence and propensity

You may already be a part of the approximately 55% of people who have experienced a lucid dream at some stage in their life (Saunders, Roe, Smith, & Clegg, 2016).

Perhaps you have a head start, being adept at mindful meditation which, like lucid dreaming, requires the maintenance of a specific mental state — a mixture of detachment and simultaneous self-awareness. Long-term meditators report more frequent lucid dreaming as compared with the general population (Baird, Riedner, Boly, Davidson, & Tononi, 2019). In fact, there is even a type of meditative practice utilising lucidity known as ‘dream yoga’.

If you’re a gamer, the spatial and immersion skills you’ve developed will put you in good stead to navigate the virtual world of your subconscious. Out of all subgroups investigated by Saunders and colleagues (2016), frequent video game players reported the highest prevalence of lucid dreaming (85%).

Above all, lucidity requires self-reflection, detachment, and a cognitive style characterised by double-dissociation — the ability to be “actor and observer simultaneously” (Ertl, 2017).

Given the appropriate guidance, under the right conditions, and with ample practice, you’ll be able to count yourself among the one-in-five people fortunate enough to experience lucid dreaming on a regular basis (Saunders et al., 2016).

The nature of lucidity

Lucidity is the perfect blending of the goal-directed, linear conscious mind and the freewheeling, unconstrained subconscious (Voss, Holzmann, Tuin, & Hobson, 2009). When we are lucid, we inhabit the waking and dreaming states simultaneously (Hobson, 2009) — we are both explorer and creator.

Neural correlates of lucid dreaming

Lucidity occurs mostly during REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep, at times of increased fronto-parietal activation.

These regions of the brain are involved in higher-order cognition, such as the ability to think flexibly and abstractly, to plan, and to exercise self-control (Stumbrys, Erlacher, & Schredl, 2013; Dresler et al., 2015; Ertl, 2017). Resumed executive functioning puts you back in the driver’s seat.

In particular, activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), allows for metacognition and insight during the dream state (Dresler et al., 2015), and is therefore crucial for lucidity.

EEG data shows activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during lucidity is similar to waking levels, (Voss et al., 2009)

Perhaps in the near future we’ll be able to effect particular emotions and states of consciousness — a real-life Penfield Mood Organ — however attempts to apply transcranial direct current stimulation to the DLPFC in order to induce lucidity have thus far yielded poor results (Aspy, Delfabbro, Proeve, & Mohr, 2017).

Fortunately, there are several ways to train yourself to achieve lucidity while actively dreaming, or on the cusp of sleep. Before attempting these techniques, however, first you must become adept at recalling your dreams.

Dream recall can be enhanced by keeping a logbook

Neurobiological evidence suggests the process of encoding and recalling episodic memories is largely similar for wakefulness and sleep (De Gennaro, Marzano, Cipolli, & Ferrara, 2012). To me, this suggests there is no especial barrier to being able to recall one’s dreams, and that it’s the oppressive rush of to-dos and workaday worries which flush all recollection of dreams from our mind.

Therefore, your new habit must be that immediately upon waking you record your impressions of last night’s dream— the events, characters, and emotions felt. Keeping a dream diary/logbook has been shown to be an effective way to improve dream recall (Dyck, Schredl, and Kühnel, 2017).

Techniques for inducing lucid dreams

Broadly speaking, there are two types of cognitive* lucid dream induction methods, depending on whether you are awake or dreaming in the moments prior (Aspy, Delfabbro, Proeve, & Mohr, 2017). I’ll be covering three specific techniques, and also discussing supplementation with Galantamine.

DILD Dream induced lucid dreaming (Mnemonic, Reality testing)

Dream induced lucid dreaming (Mnemonic, Reality testing) WILD Wake induced lucid dreaming (Wake Back to Bed)

*By cognitive, I mean requiring no external stimulation/specialised equipment, such as used for light stimulation.

In your MILDest dreams

MILD stands for Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams, a scientifically verified method of dream-induced lucidity (LaBerge, LaMarca, & Baird, 2018). This technique involves forming an intention to become lucid after a ‘dream sign’ alerts you to the fact that you’re inside a dream.

This technique requires a mindful focus on the following visualisation and recitation until you are claimed by sleep:

Recall last night’s dream (if this is not possible, select the last dream you are able to recall) Identify an anomaly within that dream (e.g. an absurdity such as your tenuous relationship with gravity, or a contradiction such as your former schoolmate appearing to you as a co-worker) Visualise a return to that dream with one key difference — this time you will recognise this anomaly as a sign that you are dreaming, and using your new-found lucidity, you will accomplish a predetermined goal Now here’s the mnemonic part: as you’re visualising this, mentally recite: “The next time I’m dreaming, I want to remember to recognise that I’m dreaming”. (Feel free to substitute with less of a metaphorical mouthful.)

Reality Testing

Reality testing is another dream-induced technique, a sort of pared-down MILD.

This technique requires you to monitor your unique ‘dream signs’ while awake, cultivating a habit of ‘reality testing’ which will hopefully persist into the dream state (Aspy et al., 2017).

Common reality tests are the ‘inhalation test’ where you inhale through closed lips, producing a contradictory sensation, and the ‘rereading test’ wherein you re-read a passage to see if it has changed. This of course, requires a dream-book to be conveniently at hand.

To me, the glaring flaw in DILD techniques is that they require the integration of autobiographical memories (reality tests, goals and intentions) which are often only available after one has achieved lucidity. However, if the double-dissociation theory holds, then these techniques may be effective because they help us zero in on some nascent level of awareness lurking just beneath the surface.

Why not test if you’re dreaming right now?

Wake Back to Bed

They say hitting snooze is a bad habit, however falling back asleep after a brief period of wakefulness greatly increases chances of a lucid dream. People who make habitual use of their alarm clock’s snooze function are more likely to experience lucid dreams (Smith & Blagrove, 2015).

The diagram below shows that the duration of REM sleep increases during the course of the night; awakening toward the tail end of the sleep phases cycle, means that you’ll enter into REM sleep more quickly than usual (Aspy et al., 2017). In the Wake Back to Bed method, lucidity is a matter of good timing.

Simplified sleep phases with REM sleep indicated in red, Kernsters / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

The process is simple: sleep for five to six hours, wake up briefly, and then slip back into REM sleep. It’s recommended you remain awake for ten minutes to an hour (Aspy et al., 2017) — you’ll have to play around with the sleep-latency which works best for you.

This technique requires retaining conscious awareness whilst simultaneously relaxing and going with the flow. Lucidity is a liminal experience, so a delicate balance between dreaming and wakefulness must be struck (LaBerge & Rheingold, 1991), making WILD techniques trickier to master for lucid dreaming novices (Aspy et al., 2017).

An advantage of WBTB, however, is that it can be combined with MILD. Upon waking up from five to six hours of sleep, begin reciting your mantra (“I will realise I’m dreaming”). With your intentions fresh in your mind, you’ll hopefully increase your chances of lucidity in the bout of REM sleep which follows (Aspy et al., 2017).

[Author’s note: It will take some experimentation on your part to figure out which technique/combination of techniques works best for you. For example, I’ve had great success with WBTB and no luck at all with mnemonic induction or reality testing.]

Pulling out the big guns i.e. Galantamine

If you’d like to give your brain a boost, there is the option of supplementation.

Galantamine is a nootropic (mental performance enhancer) which improves dream recall, as well as increasing the frequency and complexity of lucid dreams, and the duration of REM sleep (LaBerge et al., 2018).

Galantamine works by inhibiting the re-uptake of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, leading in the aforementioned effects as well as greater mental clarity when awake (Biard et al., 2015; LaBerge et al., 2018).

“…the integrated method of taking galantamine in the last third of the night with at least 30 minutes of sleep interruption and with an appropriately focused mental set is one of the most effective methods for inducing lucid dreams available today” (LaBerge, LaMarca, & Baird, 2018)

Be warned that Galantamine can trigger depressive episodes if acting on an imbalance of the cholinergic and serotonergic systems (Biard et al. 2015). If you suffer from depression, you may want to steer clear.

In general, however, at a dosage of 4mg or 8mg* side-effects are experienced by approximately one-in-eight, and typically confined to mild discomfort: “mild gastrointestinal upset, insomnia and next-day fatigue” (LaBerge et al., 2018). At these doses, 27% and 42% of participants, respectively, reported experiencing lucidity compared with 14% of the placebo control group.

[Author’s note: Although I experienced a drastically altered — and unpleasant — quality of dreams, it did not lead to lucidity in my case. You can read about my experiences here.]

Parting thoughts

Inducing lucidity is only the first step; stabilising and controlling lucid dreams are a whole other ball game. Keep turning into Sike!’s series on dreams, featuring monographs on sleep-related (but hopefully not soporific!) topics to learn more.

Further reading

Prevalence and propensity

Baird, B., Riedner, B. A., Boly, M., Davidson, R. J., & Tononi, G. (2019). Increased lucid dream frequency in long-term meditators but not following mindfulness-based stress reduction training. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6(1), 40.

Saunders, D. T., Roe, C. A., Smith, G., & Clegg, H. (2016). Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Consciousness and cognition, 43, 197–215.

The nature and neural correlates of lucid dreaming

Dresler, M., Wehrle, R., Spoormaker, V. I., Steiger, A., Holsboer, F., Czisch, M., & Hobson, J. A. (2015). Neural correlates of insight in dreaming and psychosis. Sleep medicine reviews, 20, 92–99.

Ertl, K. (2017). Lucid Dreaming: Neural Correlates and Practical Applications. Maastricht Student Journal of Psychology and Neuroscience, 6(1).

Hobson, J. A. (2009). The neurobiology of consciousness: Lucid dreaming wakes up. International Journal of Dream Research, 2(2), 41–44.

Stumbrys, T., Erlacher, D., & Schredl, M. (2013). Testing the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in lucid dreaming: a tDCS study. Consciousness and Cognition, 22(4), 1214–1222.

Voss, U., Holzmann, R., Tuin, I., & Hobson, A. J. (2009). Lucid dreaming: a state of consciousness with features of both waking and non-lucid dreaming. Sleep, 32(9), 1191–1200.

Dream recall

De Gennaro, L., Marzano, C., Cipolli, C., & Ferrara, M. (2012). How we remember the stuff that dreams are made of: neurobiological approaches to the brain mechanisms of dream recall. Behavioural brain research, 226(2), 592–596.

Cognitive methods of lucid dream induction

Aspy, D. J., Delfabbro, P., Proeve, M., & Mohr, P. (2017). Reality testing and the mnemonic induction of lucid dreams: Findings from the national Australian lucid dream induction study. Dreaming, 27(3), 206.

Smith, B. V., & Blagrove, M. (2015). Lucid dreaming frequency and alarm clock snooze button use. Dreaming, 25(4), 291.

Supplementation for lucidity

LaBerge, S., LaMarca, K., & Baird, B. (2018). Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. PLOS ONE, 13(8), e0201246.