Stability of Lucid Dream Frequency and Lucid Dreaming Skills Over a 7-Year Period
Michael Schredl, Anja S. Göritz
Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1177/02762366251349518 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,267 |
| Population | Persons who participated in a study on lucid dreaming skills |
| Duration | 7-year follow-up |
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Key findings | The LUSK questionnaire reliably measures inter-individual differences in lucid dreaming skills, but its scores are less stable over seven years than lucid dream frequency. |
Abstract
The basic definition of lucid dreaming is that the dreamer knows that s/he is dreaming while still dreaming. However, the skills within the lucid dream, e.g., regarding dream control, vary considerably from dreamer to dreamer. The present study tested the psychometric properties of the Lucid Dreaming Skills Questionnaire (LUSK) in a sample of 1267 persons. The findings indicate that the LUSK questionnaire can reliably measure inter-individual differences in lucid dreaming skills. A subsample of persons ( N = 374) participated in both studies, the 2017 study and the 2024. The LUSK score was not as stable as lucid dream frequency over the 7-years period. Persons who dedicated time to lucid dreams reported higher lucid dream frequencies in general. Specifically, persons who were involved in lucid dreaming during the 7-years period had a higher increase in lucid dream frequency as those who were not – indicating that lucid dream induction can also work outside standardized research settings.
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
Cites 16
- Lucid Dreaming as a Learnable Skill: A Case Study Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1980
- The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey The American Journal of Psychology April 21, 2014
- Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50 years of research Consciousness and Cognition June 20, 2016
- Testing the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in lucid dreaming: A tDCS study Consciousness and Cognition September 8, 2013
- A systematic review of new empirical data on lucid dream induction techniques. Journal of Sleep Research June 1, 2023
and 11 more in the library