General knowledge about lucid dreaming and lucid dream induction techniques: An online study
Annabelle Neuhäusler, Michael Schredl, Anja S. Göritz
November 1, 2018 DOI: 10.11588/ijodr.2018.2.50491 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,380 |
| Population | Online survey participants, with a subsample of 716 asked about induction techniques |
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Key findings | One quarter of participants had heard of lucid dreaming. Knowledge was positively correlated with female gender and higher education and negatively with age. Reality checks, critical questions, hypnosis, and supplements were the most commonly known techniques; except for hypnosis, these were also the most applied. The total number of known techniques correlated negatively with age, but no significant differences were found for the number applied. |
Abstract
A variety of induction techniques have been proposed to increase lucid dream frequency. An online survey was performed asking about knowledge of lucid dreaming and lucid dream induction techniques. The initial sample size was N=1380 with a subsample of N=716 who were asked questions concerning lucid dream induction techniques. The findings indicate that one quarter of all participants had heard of lucid dreaming once or several times via literature, the Internet or friends. An increase in age was negatively correlated to previous knowledge of lucid dreaming whereas female gender and higher education showed a positive correlation to knowledge about lucid dreaming via literature and friends. The lucid dream induction techniques of reality checks, critical questions, hypnosis and supplements are most commonly known to the subsample of the survey participants. Except for hypnosis these techniques are also the most often applied. The total number of techniques that are known correlated negatively with age, but not with gender or education. No significant differences, however, were found for the total number of techniques that were applied. It would be very interesting to study whether the reported application of these induction techniques – carried out in the home setting by the individual alone – had beneficial effects on lucid dream frequency as the efficacy of most induction techniques were only studied within formal research projects.
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 6
- Is It a Good Idea to Cultivate Lucid Dreaming? Frontiers in Psychology November 15, 2019
- Key Concepts in Dream Research: Cognition and Consciousness Are Inherently Linked, but Do No Not Control “Control”! Frontiers in Human Neuroscience July 17, 2020
- Validation of the Spanish Version of the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams Scale. Frontiers in Psychology 2021
- Lucid dreaming practice as a sport performance enhancement and self-developmental tool in adolescents Queensland University of Technology 2023
- Stability of Lucid Dream Frequency and Lucid Dreaming Skills Over a 7-Year Period Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 2025
and 1 more in the library