Have you ever been in the middle of a dream when all of the sudden you realized that you were in the middle of a dream? This phenomenon is called lucid dreaming. Collin’s English Dictionary defines lucid dreaming as “a dream in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming and can sometimes influence the course of the dream.”
Taken from nathanielclaiborne.com
My interest in dreams began the first time I watched Christopher Nolan’s movie Inception. I was fascinated by the thought of being able to control my own dreams just by realizing I was dreaming. I have tried to induce a lucid dream many times, but I never had much success. However, many people who practice the correct steps to induce a lucid dream are able to do it quite easily. With even more practice, people can learn to control their lucid dreams. When someone controls their dreams, they can do whatever they want while asleep.
One person who is beyond experienced in this is Beverly D’Urso. She earned a Ph.D. in 1983, focusing on Artificial Intelligence. She has performed experiments where she would enter a lucid dream and be monitored by scientists to see how her body was acting during the dreams. According to Psychology Today, “She was the first person to have a recorded orgasm during a dream. During her lucid dreams, she has tasted fire, visited the sun and overcome a writer’s block” (Brogaard). They conducted an interview with her about her lucid dreaming. In that interview she explained that the key to lucid dreaming is paying attention to small details during the day, and you will continue the habits while dreaming. However, when you look at the small details in the dreams, they won’t make sense, and you will be able to realize that you are dreaming.
Picture taken from informermg.com
Another thing that could help induce a lucid dream is eating certain foods before bed. Although the foods alone will not cause you to have lucid dreams, they will make dreams easier to recall and more intense. Foods that are high in vitamin B6 and tryptophan will make dreams much more vivid (Turner). They do this by increasing the level of serotonin in your brain which deals with your sleep cycle and the vividness of dreams. The vitamin B6 must be taken through a B6 supplement pill because there are no foods that have levels high enough to affect dreams. However there are some foods with high amounts of tryptophan: chicken, soybeans, turkey, and tuna to name a few. I also came across some sources that said foods with high melatonin levels are the way to go. Some of these foods would be: white mustard, black mustard, almonds, sunflower seeds, cherries, and flax seeds (Cope).
So through my research I learned that the best way to have a lucid dreams is to pay attention to small details in everyday life and eat certain foods before going to bed.
Works Cited
Brogaard, Berit. “Lucid Dreaming and Self-Realization.” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 04 Dec. 2012. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
Cope, Amy. “Foods for Vivid Dreams – Enhance Your Dream Life.” Amy Cope Bring Your Dreams into Life. N.p., 04 Nov. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
Turner, Rebecca. “15 Foods That Enhance Your Dreams.” World of Lucid Dreaming. Rebecca Turner & World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
Dreams have always been something that have fascinated me, and while reading your blog I thought about how people have recurring dreams over the years or more specifically can have recurring stress dreams. Since dreams of that nature can be so odd and taxing at times I was wondering why we have recurring dreams and if we have any control over provoking them or getting rid of them. According to the Psychology Today, recurrent dreams are most likely to occur “during times of stress or change”(Carr). Recurrent dreams often reflect upon an “unresolved conflict or stressor” (Carr), such as “being attacked or chased, falling, being stuck, being late, missing or failing an exam, and even losing control of a car” (Carr). In most cases, recurrent dreams begin at a young age, however, they “can begin at any time, and persist for the rest of one’s life” (Carr). So, we really do not have control over these dreams, but small things we can do are to try and control or regulate our stress levels and rid ourselves of those “unresolved conflicts or stressors”.
Citation:
Carr, Michelle. “What’s Behind Your Recurring Dreams.” Psychology Today. 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
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I have always heard about this crazy experience but never knew the real science behind it! I really want to try this to see if it works for myself but I dont think I could have that self control. I am a little skeptical about this occurrence after reading this article that shows why lucid dreaming can be fake http://www.ld4all.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34306
I thought this blog was really interesting, I loved the topic about lucid dreaming. I have always tried to control my dreams, I have watched countless videos and read many different articles about ways to control your dreams. I have never been able to control my dreams, and whenever I try to control them I always end up waking myself up. There have been many times where I am falling asleep and dreaming, and realize that I am dreaming and wake up. I am curious, though, if people are actually able to control these dreams. It happens to me pretty often in the morning when I first wake up, I imagine myself getting up and getting ready for class, and then my alarm goes up and I am startled to find myself still in bed.
Excellent blog, and how interesting! I have often heard of lucid dreaming but have never thought of doing it myself. I find it very interesting that you can incur this dreaming by eating certain foods and noticing daily activities! I find it most interesting how there are no barriers to these dreams you have, making it as I would assume, extremely enjoyable. I wonder how the length of lucid dreams compares to regular dreams? Is there any difference between the two, in terms of length?