Frontiers in Neuroscience
January 24, 2020
Nirit Soffer-Dudek
45 citations
Lucid dreaming—being aware that one is dreaming while still asleep—offers a unique experimental window into consciousness that is distinct from both waking and non-lucid dreaming. The article argues that studying lucid dreaming can advance understanding of consciousness by allowing direct communication between dreamers and researchers. This approach enables real-time investigation of neural correlates of conscious states, self-awareness, and volition during sleep. The authors suggest that lucid dreaming research may bridge gaps between subjective experience and objective measurement, potentially informing theories of consciousness and clinical applications for nightmares and psychiatric disorders.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 22, 2018
Liat Aviram, Nirit Soffer-Dudek
44 citations
Lucid dreaming—awareness of dreaming while asleep—has been linked to both well-being and psychopathology, possibly because previous studies conflated dream control with lucidity. A new questionnaire (FILD) assessed four dimensions of lucid dreaming: frequency, intensity (control, activity, certainty), emotional valence, and use of induction techniques. Among 187 undergraduates, lucid dream frequency alone showed no connection to psychopathology, but higher intensity and positive emotions were linked to fewer symptoms. In contrast, deliberately trying to induce lucid dreams was associated with more psychopathology and sleep problems, and predicted increases in dissociation and schizotypy symptoms over two months. Lucid dreaming is not inherently beneficial; its effects depend on specific characteristics, and deliberate induction may carry risks.
Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.)
October 30, 2021
Eli Somer, Etzel Cardeña, Ramiro Figueiredo Catelan et al.
19 citations
Reality shifting (RS) is a mental activity that gained popularity after the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily among post-millennials. Practitioners report using relaxation, focused attention, and autosuggestion to feel they transcend their physical surroundings and enter alternate, often fictional, universes—such as those from Harry Potter. Online forums have over 40,000 members, and RS-related clips have been viewed over 1.7 billion times. Some shifters report a strong sense of presence in these realities, with some believing the alternate world is concretely real. The paper describes RS's phenomenology from online reports, compares it to hypnosis, tulpamancy, dissociation, maladaptive daydreaming, and lucid dreaming, and proposes a theoretical model of interactive factors. It concludes RS is an important, uninvestigated phenomenon and suggests future research.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev
January 14, 2025
Sofia Tzioridou, Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Jorge Cañas-Martín et al.
5 citations
Lucid dreaming, where the dreamer becomes aware of being in a dream and often gains control over it, can occur spontaneously or be induced by behavioral, cognitive, or technological methods. This review examines evidence linking lucid dreaming to conditions such as nightmare disorder, depression, anxiety, psychosis, and dissociative states, and discusses possible neurobiological bases for these associations. It also explores contemplative sleep practices like Dream/Sleep Yoga and Yoga Nidrâ that train lucid states during sleep. Potential drawbacks of lucid dreaming interventions are outlined, along with impacts on individuals without clinical conditions, contributing to understanding its therapeutic possibilities and implications.
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences
August 26, 2024
Nirit Soffer-Dudek
2 citations
Dreaming involves a continuous, reciprocal influence between visual images and verbal or abstract thoughts, rather than a simple bottom-up flow from images to thoughts. The dream environment is internally generated, making dreams more like imagination than perception. During wakefulness, a similar dreamlike dynamic of image-thought associations with reduced agentive control over images may occur, varying with individual differences in fantasy proneness, suggestibility, dissociative absorption, or imagination tendencies. This distinction between dreamlike associations and general mind-wandering may be relevant for understanding psychopathology, as some individuals may experience intrusive or alluring visual images that interact with verbal thoughts, as seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder, dissociative disorders, or maladaptive daydreaming. Clinicians should attend to clients' spontaneous visual imagery and how a visual thinking style may impact mental health.
Journal of personality
April 1, 2019
Nirit Soffer-Dudek, Doron Todder, Leah Shelef et al.
Dissociative absorption—a tendency to become deeply immersed in an experience while losing awareness of one's surroundings—is linked to reduced electrical connectivity in the brain. In 84 healthy Israeli soldiers, resting-state EEG showed that those with higher dissociative absorption had decreased coherence (a measure of connectivity) between frontal and occipital regions, and between central and parietal regions. These effects were strongest in the left hemisphere and in slow-wave brain rhythms (theta and delta). The findings suggest that dissociative absorption reflects less integrated cortical activity, offering insight into the neural basis of consciousness and personality.
Journal of Research on Adolescence
December 1, 2013
Nirit Soffer-Dudek, Avi Sadeh
Unusual dreams become less common as children move through early adolescence, and dream recall declines among girls. Internalizing symptoms—such as anxiety or depression—predict later increases in both dream recall and unusual dreams. In turn, unusual dreams predict worsening behavior problems, including both internalizing and externalizing difficulties. Tracking dream patterns in early adolescence could help identify hidden psychological distress.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
August 1, 2011
Nirit Soffer-Dudek, Golan Shahar
Among young adults, daily stress brings about general sleep-related experiences such as nightmares, falling dreams, and hypnagogic hallucinations, but only for those with high levels of dissociation. Trait dissociation predicted within-subject increases in these experiences when daily stress was high. The effect may be explained by flawed sleep-wake transitions, which have previously been linked to dissociation and sleep-related experiences.
Journal of Traumatic Stress
February 1, 2011
Nirit Soffer-Dudek, Reut Wertheim, Golan Shahar
Among 79 Israeli young adults, having lucid dreams—being aware of dreaming—appeared to buffer the psychological impact of terrorism exposure. For those with few lucid dreams, indirect exposure via media and perceived stress predicted increased distress over three years. This protective effect was not seen in frequent lucid dreamers. The findings suggest that lucid dreaming may help regulate emotional responses to trauma.
Psychiatry
January 1, 2010
Nirit Soffer-Dudek, Golan Shahar
In the week after a military operation in Israel, 91 people reported their sleep experiences, psychological distress, and exposure to terror. General sleep-related experiences—such as vivid dreams, nightmares, and hallucinations when falling asleep—were more common among those who followed the events through media, and this link was explained by psychological distress. Unexpectedly, people who were physically closer to the attacks reported fewer such sleep experiences. The authors propose that sleep disturbances may reflect a tendency to ruminate, or difficulty letting go of thoughts both during the day and at night.
Consciousness and Cognition
December 1, 2009
Nirit Soffer-Dudek, Golan Shahar
Sleep-related experiences, such as nightmares, lucid dreams, and problem-solving dreams, are distinct from other altered-consciousness tendencies like dissociation and transliminality. Transliminality—a trait involving heightened sensitivity to subconscious material—predicted both general sleep-related experiences and lucid dreaming over time. Psychological distress and increased life stress predicted a rise in general sleep-related experiences over a three-month period. The findings suggest that transliminality contributes to individual differences in sleep experiences, while general sleep experiences result from psychological distress and life stress.