The relationship between lucid dream frequency and sleep quality: Two cross-sectional studies
Celina Schadow, Michael Schredl, Janina Rieger, Anja S. Göritz
OPUS June 7, 2018 DOI: 10.11588/ijodr.2018.2.48341 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,824 |
| Population | Students and population-based adults |
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Sleep quality Population Trait Openness to experience Developmental psychology Cognitive psychology Cognition Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key findings | Lucid dream frequency was significantly associated with poor sleep quality, but this association disappeared after controlling for nightmare frequency, suggesting nightmares may mediate the relationship. The authors propose that sleep quality is not directly impaired by lucid dreaming itself. |
Abstract
Lucid dreams are dreams that involve awareness of dreaming while dreaming. As lucid dreaming is accompanied by heightened cortical activation, e.g., in the prefrontal cortex, it was speculated whether lucid dreaming interferes with the restorative function of sleep. Two cross-sectional studies have found inhomogeneous results regarding the relationship between lucid dream frequency and subjective sleep quality. The present studies included a student sample (N = 444) and a population-based sample (N =1380). Regression analyses revealed a significant relationship between lucid dream frequency and poor sleep quality (this relationship was weaker in the student sample) which disappeared when nightmare frequency was statistically controlled. One possible interpretation of the findings is that lucid dreamers seem to have more nightmares and, therefore, poorer sleep quality, i.e., sleep quality is not directly impaired by having a lucid dream. However, alternative causal explanations are equally plausible, e.g., trait variables like the openness to experience might relate to all these variables. Future research should examine this relationship by comparing within-subject differences in sleep quality between nights with and without the occurrence of a lucid dream using a diary paradigm. Whether intensive practice of lucid dream induction techniques, e.g., the wake-up-back-to-bed technique, might have negative effects on sleep quality cannot yet be answered.
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 17
- 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
- Is It a Good Idea to Cultivate Lucid Dreaming? Frontiers in Psychology November 15, 2019
- Benefits and concerns of seeking and experiencing lucid dreams: benefits are tied to successful induction and dream control. SLEEP Advances 2022
- Lucid Dreaming and the Feeling of Being Refreshed in the Morning: A Diary Study. Clocks & Sleep March 1, 2020
- Is There a Link Between Frequency of Dreams, Lucid Dreams, and Subjective Sleep Quality? Frontiers in Psychology 2020
and 12 more in the library