Ever wake up in the morning pondering what your dream from last night was all about? What about the other five dreams? That’s right you’ve completely forgotten all about those other ones. The average person can have anywhere from 3 to 15 separate dreams a night. Usually only one, if even that, is remembered in the morning. These dreams that you recall, are called lucid dreams. In a lucid dream, you usually have some control over your own actions (even if you for some reason make curiously strange choices). These lucid dreams usually occur later in your REM cycle and last longer than most dreams, usually between 20 and 30 minutes.
Many neurological scientists have debated off and on whether lucid dreaming is even possible. If you are capable of controlling your actions and moving your body, are you really asleep? Some described lucid dreams not as dreams, but micro-awakenings in which the brain temporarily comes out of sleep.
In a study put on by the American Psychological Association, five subjects were monitored while they slept using a polygraph to measure small movements and anything else that might indicate a lucid dream. Subjects were also instructed before falling asleep that if they do have a lucid dream in which they can control their actions, to indicate so with a squeeze of the palm or other physical indicator. With the five test subjects, tested across a 34-day window, 35 lucid dreams were reported. 30 times the test subjects indicated that they were aware of their lucid dream. The scientists recording this data looked at when these signals came in and compared that time to where the brain was in the sleep cycle. These signals all fell within the REM cycle so scientists concluded that these signals must not be false positives since they would have seen some signals come through outside of the sleep cycle. Addressing the question as to whether or not lucid dreams are actually dreams and not a temporary wakening, scientists observed that since the subjects had no reaction to movement around them when they signaled, they must be submerged in some alternate reality, therefore, truly asleep and dreaming.
The scientists conducting this specific experiment said that their numbers correspond with other studies conducted similar to this one. This does beg the question whether or not the Texas Sharpshooter Issue could be a factor here. Were these scientists looking for these numbers having already seen the results from similar studies? I think this experiment did a very good job at drawing conclusive data that led to a clear conclusion.
Works Cited: http://www.lucidipedia.com/downloads/lucidityinstitute_researchpapers.pdf#page=163
This is an interesting blog post. I dream all the time, and I’ve always wanted to know how dreams work. When I dream I can remember them like it actually happend in real life. I know others who can only remember a few seconds of their dreams.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/dream.htm
Honestly I feel no connection to this article because I hardly ever have dreams I remember I have not had a dream I can remember in about 3 months which is pretty concerning I guess. But also I remember reading in your article that we dream anywhere from 3 to 15 times a night and remember only 1 of them if that, so maybe I just haven’t remembered any because statistically it is possible not to remember them for long periods of time. Do you think people who do not dream have a psychological disorder? This article answers some questions about dreams
http://www.asdreams.org/subidxeduq_and_a.htm
Great job! I think you could have included more sources into this blog, especially with all of the studies on dreams. However I still really enjoyed the piece. I think lucid dreaming is so interesting. My AP psychology teacher actually taught us how to lucid dream and we all went home that night and tried it. It is a a very strange experience, and I do think it is very real. I like how you talked about the Texas sharpshooter problem. I think this could really have been an issue.
Hereare some instructions on how to lucid dream.
Great job! I think you could have included more sources into this blog, especially with all of the studies on dreams. However I still really enjoyed the piece. I think lucid dreaming is so interesting. My AP psychology teacher actually taught us how to lucid dream and we all went home that night and tried it. It is a a very strange experience, and I do think it is very real. I like how you talked about the Texas sharpshooter problem. I think this could really have been an issue. Hereare some instructions on how to lucid dream. Try it!