The technique works because imagining performing a motor action activates almost the same neural structures as actually performing it – and the same goes for dreamed actions. Using mental imagery to rehearse motor skills has been shown to improve the performance of sportspeople, medical practitioners and musicians, as well as aiding the rehabilitation of hand control and other motor tasks, for example after nervous system damage. Lucid dreaming also offers opportunities to improve motor skills through visualisation. Lucid dreams can help relieve the trauma of recurring nightmares. They hope that lucid dreaming will provide valuable insight into how consciousness is formed, as well as being of practical use in many settings. Scientists are interested in how to influence the brain to enter into these states – and not just for the fun of it. Researchers also observe an increase in gamma waves, synchronised firing by groups of neurons at a frequency implicated with conscious awareness and executive functions such as voluntary action and decision-making. The frontotemporal cortex, which controls our higher cognitive abilities and is inhibited during normal dreams, shows higher activation during lucid dreams. Two key changes in the brain appear responsible for these states. Nearly a quarter of us report lucid dreaming once a month or more.

More than half of us have at least once in their lifetime experienced awareness of dreaming in the moment and, in some cases, the ability to direct a dream like a sleepy Steven Spielberg. Reduced critical thinking, little to no access to our true memories and heightened impulsivity and emotions during normal dream states often make for head-scratching moments when our eyes first open in the morning.īut dreams don’t always play out this way. Dreams can often be confusing and blurry experiences.

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