Journal of Sports Sciences
April 7, 2015
Tadas Stumbrys, Daniel Erlacher, Michael Schredl
60 citations
Rehearsing a finger-tapping sequence during a lucid dream improves next-morning performance as much as physical or mental practice while awake. In an online experiment with 68 participants split into four groups, those who practiced in a lucid dream, physically, or mentally all significantly improved from evening pre-test to morning post-test, while the no-practice control group did not. Subjective sleep quality was unaffected by nighttime practice. The results confirm earlier work showing that motor practice in lucid dreams can enhance subsequent performance, with effects comparable to waking practice.
Journal of Sports Sciences
March 1, 2025
Jianjun Zhang, Jinxiu Sun, Yuchuan Zhou et al.
15 citations
A meta-analysis of 32 randomized controlled trials involving 1,108 elite athletes found that mindfulness training significantly improves mindfulness, psychological resilience, flow state, and reduces sports anxiety, sports depression, and psychological fatigue, but does not significantly affect subjective well-being. The analysis identified that a 7-week intervention with sessions over 60 minutes once per week was most effective for mindfulness. Different mindfulness programs (MAC, MAIC, MBSP, MT, MBSR) showed varying benefits for specific outcomes, such as MAC for resilience and MBSR for depression. The findings suggest that mindfulness training positively impacts elite athletes' psychological state, with optimal methods and durations depending on the targeted outcome.
Journal of Sports Sciences
August 1, 2024
Clarita Bonamino, Christopher Watling, Remco Polman
Lucid dreaming is common among adolescents: 67.4% have experienced it at least once, 30.0% once a month or more, and 12.9% at least once a week. Frequency and uses of lucid dreaming are similar between adolescent athletes and non-athletes. Among those who practiced sports or dance during a lucid dream, 57.1% reported improved waking self-efficacy, while 42.9% reported improved sport performance. There is no evidence that chronotype influences lucid dreaming or that lucid dreaming harms adolescent sleep. Athletes and controls had similar sleep durations, daytime sleepiness, and sleep disturbances, but athletes reported higher sleep quality. Although average sleep met minimum recommendations, a large proportion of adolescents did not get enough sleep, especially on weeknights (47.4% of 14-17 year olds; 20.0% of 18-21 year olds).
Journal of Sports Sciences
December 1, 2017
Melanie Schädlich, Daniel Erlacher, Michael Schredl
Practicing a motor skill inside a lucid dream can improve real-world performance, but only when distractions during the dream are minimal. In a sleep-laboratory pilot study, participants threw darts in the evening and again in the morning. One group physically practiced, one practiced only in lucid dreams, and a control group did not practice. Lucid dreamers who reported few distractions improved their dart-throwing accuracy by 18%, a significant gain comparable to physical practice. Those who experienced many distractions showed no improvement. The findings suggest lucid dream practice may be useful for athletes who can maintain focus within the dream, though the results are preliminary and require qualitative investigation of the dream experience.