While we sleep, our imaginations conjure up narratives and visuals that we refer to as dreams. They have the potential to be fascinating, fun, romantic, unsettling, and even weird at times. Dreaming might have some useful effects, including assisting the brain in processing the data it has accumulated throughout the day.
Controlling the stories of sleep
When you are asleep but aware that you are dreaming, you are said to be having lucid dreams.
You are conscious of the fact that the activities that are running through your head are not actually taking place. However, the dream seems extremely genuine and realistic. You could even be able to guide how the story develops, just like you would if you were directing a movie while you were sleeping.
According to certain studies, approximately half of all people have had at least one experience with a lucid dream. However, it seems likely that they do not occur very frequently; in fact, only a few times a year at the very most.
During rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is a stage of very deep sleep characterized by eye movement, faster breathing, and increased brain activity, lucid dreams occur with the greatest frequency. It takes roughly 90 minutes after you fall asleep until you reach REM sleep on average. On average, it lasts ten minutes.
The case of Michael Rosen
In the year 2020, the novelist Michael Rosen was diagnosed with Covid-19 and spent the next 40 days in an artificially induced coma in the hospital. In the aftermath of the event, he had a peculiar and detailed dream in which he was standing on the edge of a dangerous cliff at Land’s End in Cornwall. He attempted to escape to safety by squeezing through a hole in the wall but was unable to do so.
In the moment following the dream, he is able to recall feeling for the first time that it was so genuine, that he had ‘been there’ on the cliff and that his wife, Emma, had assisted him. It felt very much as if it had already taken place. This has remained ingrained in his mind.
Sometimes, he finds himself thinking that there truly was a moment when he was trapped on the top of a cliff on the wrong side of a dry-stone wall with the sea hundreds of feet below, and that there was a hole through which he might escape that Emma was pushing him through. Other times, he realizes that he is just making things up in his head.
It perfectly shows how dreams may portray waking reality in a weird and symbolic way, but also inspire and comfort. Rosen’s reminder of the support that helped him survive a near-death encounter.
Evidence of therapeutic effects
*Reduce anxiety: PTSD and anxiety caused by nightmares have been the primary subjects of scientific study. However, anecdotal research suggests that lucid dreaming might also help with anxiety brought on by other sources. Some believe that they were able to face their fears by learning to control their dreams.
*Conquer bad dreams: Lucid dreaming permits dreamer control, which may help. If a dreamer understands they’re dreaming, they can recognize the nightmare as fake. Imagery rehearsal treatment uses lucid dreaming. A therapist lets you rewrite a nightmare with a happier ending in IRT.
*Actives creativity: On the other hand, lucid dreaming is appealing as an unusual kind of entertainment because it is quite similar in nature to the immersive experience that one can have from virtual reality. In a lucid dream, a person with experience may be able to “go on an adventure” and interact with people and things in ways that they are unable to do in real life.
