How to control your dreams

Sometimes we wake up at night, breathing heavily and still frightened by the nightmare we had. Then we wish we could control our dreams. They do not follow the rules of reality – imagine what you could experience! A meeting with a unicorn, being able to fly, a dive deep into the ocean…  
Some people are indeed able to notice when they are dreaming and at the same time to influence the content of their dream. This type of dreaming is called lucid dreaming. Read on to find out more about dreams in general and how lucid dreaming works. You can also find some tips on how to have a lucid dream yourself. 
 
Throughout human history, many philosophers and scientists have been fascinated by dreams. Dreams have been said to be able to predict the future – although this is not scientifically proven – or to have healing powers. Many have agreed that dreams reflect reality. 
But how does dreaming actually work? 
Sleep is a fundamental need. Everyone needs to rest by sleeping – but you also process your memory during sleep.  
You go through different stages of sleep. They form the sleep cycle, which repeats a few times during sleep: First is deep sleep. During this phase, you find yourself in non-REM sleep. This abbreviation means “non-rapid eye movement sleep” – your heart beat slows down and it is difficult to wake up. This is followed by REM sleep. During this phase, dreams are most common – and so are lucid dreams. 

The reason why humans and many animals dream is not yet scientifically proven. However, there are some theories: perhaps your brain needs dreams to process strong emotions and your experiences during the day. Another theory is that your brain needs dreams to grow. Research on dreams is very difficult because a dreaming person cannot record their dreams – you have to rely on measuring brain waves and observing the person as they sleep. So you might notice how the eyes move or the person makes a fist. But there is no direct way to study dreams. 
 
So how do you control your dreams? It is estimated that about half of all adults have had a lucid dream at least once – so the chances of having one are quite high! According to some scientists  
brain activity is different during lucid dreams. The dreamer is aware that they are dreaming and can sometimes take control of their dream. Scientists have even been able to communicate with dreaming people. 
Because of this, some people argue that lucid dreams are no longer real dreams – they are more like a mixture of sleep and consciousness. So lucid dreaming might not be very healthy: you would be interrupting your important normal sleep every time, and you might be messing up reality and dreams. 
On the other hand, lucid dreaming is thought to have many benefits. They are sometimes used to treat anxiety and nightmares. Some artists use their ability to control their dreams to express creativity or find new inspiration. Some even practice playing the guitar in their lucid dreams. 

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You can find a lot of complicated-sounding tips on how to lucid dream on the internet. However, many of the methods can be easily tried at home. Please note that you should always keep your physical and mental health in mind when trying them out. If you have any doubts, talk to your doctor – maybe lucid dreaming is just not for you. 

  1. The first thing you could try is to create a dream journal. Writing down your dreams every morning can help you remember your future dreams and make you more aware of your dreams in general. 
  2. During the day, try to check reality from time to time. For example, you can do this by looking at your hand and counting the fingers. If you repeat this a lot, it might happen in your dream. The hand may look very strangely shaped – then you know it is a dream. 
  3. Another method is to wake up several times during the night – but this is a really exhausting method, so I personally would not recommend it. 
  4. Try to concentrate on something you want to experience in your dream and, if possible, have a similar real experience just before going to bed. For example, you could eat a piece of cake and tell yourself that you will be eating a piece of cake in your dream and then realize that you are dreaming. 

All in all, lucid dreaming can be a fascinating experience. Even if you won’t be able to practise playing an instrument in your dream or influence your dream in any other way, you may have the possibility to be aware of your dream about flying or something else you’ve always wanted to do. I wish you many fascinating lucid dream experiences! 

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