Is There a Link Between Frequency of Dreams, Lucid Dreams, and Subjective Sleep Quality?
Nicolas Ribeiro, Yannick Gounden, Véronique Quaglino
Frontiers in Psychology 2020 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01290 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 955 |
| Population | French students and general population |
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Consciousness Frequency Lucid Prevalence |
| Citations | 17 |
| Key findings | The frequency of lucid dreaming and related dream experiences does not predict sleep quality, as any predictive model significance was due only to gender. |
Abstract
A lucid dream is a dream in which one is conscious of dreaming and can possibly control the dream or passively observe its unfolding. Frequencies of lucid dreaming (LD), dream with awareness, and dream with actual control were previously investigated in a French student population. As a student population usually differs on oneiric and sleep characteristics (such as sleep quality) from the general population, more investigations were needed. Additionally, it is yet unresolved if LD is related to one's overall sleep quality. This study aims at describing and comparing dream experience frequencies (dream, lucid dreams, awareness, and control) and sleep quality assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) among students (n = 274) and in a general population sample (n = 681). It also aims at evaluating if dream experience frequencies can predict sleep quality across these two samples. Predictive models of PSQI score controlling for age and gender were not significant in the student group while they were all marginally predictive for the general population. However, none of these models showed that the frequency of dream experiences could actually help predict the quality of sleep as the significance of the model was carried over only by the gender variable. These results are discussed in line with previous studies on LD frequencies. Several methodological adjustments for future study are proposed.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams | 2014 | Online survey | n = 684 |
| Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults | 2011 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 919 |
| Lucid dreaming: an age‐dependent brain dissociation Students aged 6-19 years | 2012 | Survey | |
| Terror and bliss? Commonalities and distinctions between sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming, and their associations with waking life experiences Adults aged 18–82 years | 2016 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 1,928 |
| Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy Patients diagnosed with narcolepsy and healthy control subjects | 2015 | Cross-sectional study | n = 979 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- Benefits and concerns of seeking and experiencing lucid dreams: benefits are tied to successful induction and dream control. SLEEP Advances 2022
- 'I love you': the first phrase detected from dreams. Sleep Science 2022
- Exploring the range of reported dream lucidity Philosophy and the Mind Sciences April 15, 2021
- The Effects of Lucid Dreaming and Nightmares on Sleep Quality and Mental Health Outcomes. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 2025
- The clinical neuroscience of lucid dreaming. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews January 14, 2025
and 7 more in the library
Cites 21
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Perceptual and Motor Skills February 1, 2011
- Terror and bliss? Commonalities and distinctions between sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming, and their associations with waking life experiences Journal of Sleep Research July 27, 2016
- New perspectives for the study of lucid dreaming: From brain stimulation to philosophical theories of self-consciousness heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2010
- Are Lucid Dreams Good for Us? Are We Asking the Right Question? A Call for Caution in Lucid Dream Research Frontiers in Neuroscience January 24, 2020
and 16 more in the library