Skip to content

The Incidence of Lucid Dreaming within a Japanese University Student Sample

heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2008 DOI: 10.11588/ijodr.2008.2.79 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Peer reviewed
Sample size 153
Population Japanese university students
Topics Dreaming Lucid dreaming
Citations 20
Key findings 47% of Japanese university students reported at least one lucid dream, and 19% were frequent lucid dreamers, with prevalence lower than in other countries.

Abstract

The present study investigated the incidence of lucid dreaming within a Japanese university student sample. From 153 Japanese students 47% reported experiencing a lucid dream at least once and 19% were frequent lucid dreamers (frequency equal or higher than once a month). Dream recall frequency was significantly related to lucid dream frequency. In the Japanese sample the incidence of lucid dreaming was not related to that of nightmares after controlling for dream recall frequency. Compared to other countries, the Japanese sample showed significantly lower prevalence rates. This result might be explained by differences in the verification process of lucid dreaming (e.g., definition) and participants (e.g., psychology students). Representative samples are needed to gain a clearer picture of cross-cultural differences. The results, thus, indicated that lucid dreaming is a known phenomenon in Japan. Due to the long cultural history of dreams and dreaming in Japan it would be interesting to investigate groups with strong relationships with those roots (e.g., monks) to learn more about a possible lucid dream culture, comparable to Tibetan Buddhism (e.g., dream yoga).

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on lucid dreaming, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... 2009 Observational study n = 6
Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Experienced lucid dreamers 2012 Observational cohort n = 4
Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep. Individuals during REM sleep, including frequent lucid dreamers, a novice, and a... 2021 Observational study n = 36
Lucid Dreaming in Narcolepsy Consecutive patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls 2015 Case-control study n = 106
Metacognitive Mechanisms Underlying Lucid Dreaming Human participants split into high- and low-lucidity groups based on reported dream... 2015 Observational cohort

Citations in the library

Cited by 11

and 6 more in the library

Cites 7

and 2 more in the library

Related reading

Explore topics

Dreaming Lucid dreaming Buddhism