Dream lucidity positively correlates with reality monitoring.
Moo-Rung Loo, Shih-Kuen Cheng
Consciousness and Cognition October 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103414 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Two experiments: correlational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 140 |
| Population | College students |
| Duration | 7 days |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Memory characteristics Reality monitoring Trait lucidity |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | Individuals with high dream lucidity show a superior ability to discriminate between externally and internally generated events that are susceptible to reality monitoring errors. |
Abstract
Dream lucidity, the awareness of consciousness in dreams, is linked to functions that support reality monitoring in differentiating between internally and externally generated memories. However, lucid dreams have been argued to result from thin reality-fantasy boundaries that lead to reality monitoring errors. To examine the relationship between dream lucidity and reality monitoring, we recruited 31 college students to rate their dream lucidity for 7 days and then complete a reality monitoring test in Experiment 1, observing a positive correlation between dream lucidity and reality monitoring. In Experiment 2, 109 participants rated dream lucidity and the memory characteristics of perceived and imagined events. Dream lucidity was negatively correlated with differences in sensory details between the memories of perceived and imagined events. The findings indicate that individuals with high dream lucidity have a superior ability to discriminate between externally and internally generated events that are susceptible to reality monitoring errors.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during Rem Sleep Selected subjects proficient in lucid dreaming | 1981 | Experimental study | n = 5 |
| Lucid Dreaming and Alpha Activity: A Preliminary Report Good dream recallers | 1982 | Experimental study | n = 10 |
| Lucid dreaming during NREM sleep: Two case reports | 2012 | Sleep laboratory study | |
| Time for actions in lucid dreams: effects of task modality, length, and complexity Proficient lucid dreamers | 2014 | Experimental study | n = 21 |
| Combining presleep cognitive training and REM-sleep stimulation in a laboratory morning nap for lucid dream induction. Participants who came to the laboratory for a nap session at 7:30 am or 11:00 am,... | 2020 | Controlled laboratory experiment |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- A beautiful loop: An active inference theory of consciousness. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews September 1, 2025
- Converging theories on dreaming: Between Freud, predictive processing, and psychedelic research Frontiers in Human Neuroscience February 16, 2023
- Lucid and Liminal Dreaming for Creative Writing: Interdisciplinary Investigations and Experiments 2025
- The roles of recollection and familiarity in the positive association between dream lucidity and reality monitoring: Evidence from ERPs and EEG. Consciousness and Cognition November 1, 2025
Cites 20
- Are There Levels of Consciousness? Trends in Cognitive Sciences April 22, 2016
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Sleep June 29, 2012
- Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during Rem Sleep Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1981
- The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews March 14, 2019
and 15 more in the library