Lucid Dreaming: Intensity, But Not Frequency, Is Inversely Related to Psychopathology
Liat Aviram, Nirit Soffer-Dudek
Frontiers in Psychology March 22, 2018 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00384 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional and prospective-longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 187 |
| Population | Undergraduate students |
| Duration | 2-month follow-up, 14-day dream diary |
| Topics | Anxiety Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Psychopathology Dream Developmental psychology Clinical psychology Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 44 |
| Key findings | Lucid dreaming frequency was unrelated to psychopathology, but deliberate induction predicted increases in dissociation and schizotypy symptoms over two months. |
Abstract
Lucid Dreaming (LD) is awareness that one is dreaming, during the dream state. However, some define and assess LD relying also on controlling dream events, although control is present only in a subset of lucid dreams. LD has been claimed to represent well-being, and has even been used as a therapeutic agent. Conversely, LD is associated with mixed sleep-wake states, which are related to bizarre cognitions, stress, and psychopathology, and have been construed as arousal permeating and disrupting sleep. We propose that previous conflicting findings regarding relations between LD and both psychopathology and well-being, stem from the non-differentiated assessment of frequency and control. The present study aimed to develop an expansive measure of several LD characteristics (the Frequency and Intensity Lucid Dream questionnaire; FILD), and explore their relations with symptomatology. Undergraduate students (N = 187) self-reported trait LD, psychopathology (depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, dissociation, and schizotypy), stress, and sleep problems; Two months later, a subsample (n = 78) reported psychopathology again, and also completed a dream diary each morning for 14 days. Preliminary evidence supports the reliability and validity of the FILD. Items converged into four domains: frequency, intensity (e.g., control, activity, certainty of dreaming), emotional valence, and the use of induction techniques. We report an optimal frequency cutoff score to identify those likely to experience LD within a two-week period. Whereas LD frequency was unrelated to psychopathology, LD intensity, and positive LD emotions, were inversely associated with several psychopathological symptoms. Use of deliberate induction techniques was positively associated with psychopathology and sleep problems. Additionally, we demonstrated directionality by employing a prospective-longitudinal design, showing that deliberate LD induction predicted an increase in dissociation and schizotypy symptoms across two months. We conclude that lucidity should not be considered as necessarily suggestive of well-being; LD may be positive or negative, depending on lucidity characteristics. Additionally, deliberate LD induction may harbor negative long-term risk.
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 35
- The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews March 14, 2019
- 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
- Increased lucid dream frequency in long-term meditators but not following MBSR training. Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice March 1, 2019
- Virtual reality training of lucid dreaming. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences February 1, 2021
- Dream lucidity is associated with positive waking mood. Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2020
and 30 more in the library
Cites 25
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during Rem Sleep Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1981
- Lucid Dreaming Treatment for Nightmares: A Pilot Study Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2006
- Lucid Dreaming as a Treatment for Recurrent Nightmares Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics February 18, 2010
- The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey The American Journal of Psychology April 21, 2014
and 20 more in the library