Lucid Dreaming
Hack your dreams. Fly, fight dragons, or just finally finish that project.
Lucid dreaming is becoming aware that you're dreaming while still asleep, and then controlling the dream. Fly over cities, talk to your subconscious, or practice skills. It takes some training, but the first time you realize you're in a dream and choose to fly, nothing else compares.
How to start
- 1Start a dream journal. Write whatever you remember immediately after waking, even fragments.
- 2Do 'reality checks' throughout the day: count your fingers, read text twice, push a finger through your palm.
- 3Before sleep, repeat: 'I will realize I'm dreaming.' This is the MILD technique.
- 4Set an alarm for 5 hours after sleep, stay up 20 minutes, then go back to sleep (WBTB method).
- 5When you finally become lucid: stay calm. Excitement wakes you up.
What you'll need
- Dream journal or phone notesEssentialFree
- Alarm clockEssentialFree
Where to learn more
Plot twists
Ways to spice this up when the basics get boring.
- Ask a dream character what they represent. The answers are wild.
- Try to read a book in a dream. Text changes every time you look away.
- Practice a real-world skill in a lucid dream, musicians actually do this.
- Visit the same dream location repeatedly and map it out in a journal.
The dream journal doubles as a mindfulness habit. And once you get your first lucid dream, the dopamine rush is unmatched, your brain literally rewards itself.
Studies at the University of Bern showed that lucid dreamers can communicate with researchers in real-time using pre-arranged eye movement signals while still asleep.
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