Myth-busting [Lucid Dreaming Series (6/6)]

I encourage you to begin reading the series from the beginning.

"Lucid Dreaming Series"

For centuries, lucid dreaming was considered as some kind of sorcery, a branch of mysticism, or even demonology in its purest form. Indeed, dreaming lucidly on a daily basis in the Middle Ages wasn't an ability to brag about... unless you wanted to be burnt for the sake. Luckily, science came to the rescue in the 19th and 20th centuries, and today this phenomenon is pretty well understood. However, many myths have emerged during this period, such as the prophetic meanings of dreams, demon possessions, out-of-body experiences, and thousands of others. Today, I would like to present some of the more popular myths and dispel them.

The following picture reveals the brain's activity during three different states of activity: waking (left), lucid dreaming (middle), REM sleep - so a "normal" dreaming state (right frame)

These EEG studies were standardized to 40Hz power. The colors indicate the level of brain activity (red - the highest, blue - the lowest). During lucid dreaming, the entire frontal cortex is highly aroused. When this part of the brain is activated during dreaming (it is mainly responsible for logical thinking), it allows us to perceive something from a logical point of view. That's why, when we are unconsciously dreaming (frontal cortex inactive), a pink giraffe holding a 40cal pistol while riding a bicycle would not be a surprise to us, and our sleepy consciousness will take it as nothing unique. It is also worth noting that the occipital and parietal regions are highly activated, making it possible to experience everything in a lucid dream (i.e. taste, smell, feel) as strongly as when fully awake (or even more so). Now you understand, why it is essential to engage the frontal cortex when practicing the WBTB method.

Myths:

#1. While dreaming lucidly, you may never wake up again

911. I want to report a suicide. How did the person commit it? Sleeping. He said he was going to jump off a roof in a dream. 

No stress, no worries. Some people say that if you are killed in a dream, your brain may go through a trauma and never wake the body up again because it considers itself dead. Death in a dream will never make it impossible for you to wake up because it is technically irrational given the essential functions of the brain. If you are killed in a dream, you may wake up immediately, after a few seconds, or whatever your subconscious mind comes up with.

#2. OOBE (out of body experience)

Absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence. By definition - OOBE is a state in which the "astral body" is separated from the physical body and can travel outside of it throughout the universe. Millions were spent during the Cold War to study this phenomenon in the Gateway Project. To this day, the research is classified. The question is - why? Mainstream scientists claim that out-of-body experiences are simply an alternative state of mind (it has been proven that brain activity is typically more intense during OOBE than during lucid dreaming). Scientists at Monroe's Institute have conducted dozens of studies on the experience, but none have found anything mystical about it. Publicly available research suggests that it is just another state of mind, and that the astral body may not travel through the real world.

But what about NDE? People who have near-death experiences (NDE) have no brain activity and are clinically dead, yet they report having complex experiences that are more real than real. Science is struggling to investigate non-physical phenomena, and we will have to wait another decade before science comes up with more noteworthy and reliable studies.

#3. Because of dreaming lucidly, the brain recovers much worse than in an unconscious dream (due to higher activity).

No. Based on the currently available data, no researchers have reported any negative effects on brain and body regeneration from having a lucid dream. In fact, people who experience lucid dreams often wake up feeling refreshed and in a better mood than usual.

#4. Only some people can experience lucid dreams. Not everyone is capable of having one.

No. Anyone can have a lucid dream, as this skill is like any other. For some people it comes naturally, while for others it takes regular practice to have them on a daily basis. According to studies, all people have experienced lucid dreams at least once in their lives; however, the key is the ability to recall them. If we don't pay attention to our dreams, we will forget them as soon as we wake up.

#5. Some dreams may be prophetic.

Indeed. Some of our dreams can come true, and this is not a mystical ability. The dream world is the training ground for our subconscious mind, while dreams reflect our fears, worries, and emotions. Through dreams, our subconscious mind processes a great deal of information and prepares our conscious mind for various possible future events. Many of them may come true.

#6. It is possible to enter the second level of a lucid dream in the movie Inception.

Yes/No. It is not possible to achieve a similar effect with real-time interruptions. When you fall asleep during a lucid dream, you may either wake up or experience a false awakening. This means that you may believe you are awake, but you are still dreaming. That is why I often suggest performing reality tests. This is why I often suggest doing reality tests. But why did I write "yes"? In a lucid dream, you become limitless and your perception functions differently than in real life. Some dreams may seem to last a whole day, while you were dreaming for only a few minutes. This is because our brain considers many dream actions to be "certain things," even though the dream is not real. For example, you might be driving a car and suddenly find yourself outside the car walking toward a building, but you are 100% sure that you got out of the car after it stopped (even though you did not experience this in detail). This makes it possible to make the course of events much smoother and "experience more in less time".

#7. You never remember the beginning of your dream.

False. Even if during your dream you suddenly ask yourself, "How did I get there?" and you don't remember, it doesn't mean that you don't remember the beginning of your dream. You can easily recognize it when, for example, you enter a dream using the WILD method (Wake-Induced-Lucid Dream; highly ineffective if you've just started your adventure). Then you will know exactly when you fall asleep and where your dream began.

If you know of any other myths about dreams and lucid dreaming, share them in the comments. Let's bust them!