Lucid dreaming: definition, history, and techniques studied

A lucid dream is a dream in which you know you are dreaming, and whose course you can sometimes steer.

Awareness
REM sleep
Learning

The essentials

Lucid dreaming at a glance

For you, lucidity is a common experience that can be learned a little, without ever forcing sleep or promising to master everything.

Free tool: Interpret my dream
Also read: Precognitive dreams

Interpret my dream

Knowing that you are dreaming

In a lucid dream, a thought arises: “I am dreaming.” The scene goes on, but you live it differently: some people observe, others change the setting, fly, or talk to the figures in the dream. Lucidity can last a few seconds and be lost on waking, or hold for several minutes. A meta-analysis of 34 studies, covering more than 24,000 people, estimates that about one person in two has had at least one, and that about a quarter of those people have one every month.

From Hervey de Saint-Denys to LaBerge

In 1867, the Marquis d’Hervey de Saint-Denys published, without an author’s name, Les Rêves et les moyens de les diriger, the fruit of decades of observing his own nights. The expression “lucid dream” comes from the Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden, in 1913. Laboratory proof came in 1975: at Hull, Keith Hearne recorded prearranged eye movements made by Alan Worsley in the middle of REM sleep. Stephen LaBerge obtained the same result at Stanford and published it in 1981. In 2021, four teams even asked simple questions of people in lucid dreams, who answered with eye or facial movements.

The techniques studied

Several methods have been compared. The reality test consists of asking yourself several times a day whether you are dreaming, checking a detail: rereading a text, looking at your hands. The MILD technique, described by LaBerge, consists of repeating to yourself, as you fall back asleep, that you will recognize the next dream. In a 2017 Australian study of 169 people, combining these two practices with a short awakening late in the night produced the most lucid dreams, especially among people who already remembered their dreams well.

What lucidity does not promise

The lucid dream opens onto neither the future nor another world: it remains a dream, lived with more awareness. Control is often partial, and a restless night is not worth it. If your attempts interrupt your sleep, if you sometimes confuse dream and reality, or if paralyzed awakenings frighten you, it is better to stop and talk to a sleep professional.

Facts and sources

The Marquis d’Hervey de Saint-Denys anonymously published Les Rêves et les moyens de les diriger in 1867, an account of several decades of dreams in which he knew he was dreaming. [Hervey de Saint-Denys], Les Rêves et les moyens de les diriger; observations pratiques, Paris, Amyot, 1867 (archive.org); Wikipedia (en), “Marie-Jean-Léon, Marquis d’Hervey de Saint Denys”
The Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden coined the phrase “lucid dream” in 1913. F. van Eeden, “A Study of Dreams,” Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 26, 1913; Wikipedia (en), “Lucid dream”
On April 12, 1975, at the University of Hull, Keith Hearne recorded agreed-upon eye movements made by Alan Worsley during a lucid dream in REM sleep; Stephen LaBerge obtained the same result at Stanford, published in 1981. K. M. T. Hearne, Lucid Dreams: An Electro-physiological and Psychological Study, thesis, University of Liverpool, 1978; S. LaBerge, L. Nagel, W. Dement, V. Zarcone, “Lucid dreaming verified by volitional communication during REM sleep,” Perceptual and Motor Skills, 52 (3), 1981, pp. 727–732
A meta-analysis of 34 studies (24,282 people) estimates that about 55% of people have had at least one lucid dream; about 23% of them have at least one a month. D. T. Saunders et al., “Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50 years of research,” Consciousness and Cognition, 43, 2016, pp. 197–215; Wikipedia (en), “Lucid dream”
In 2021, four laboratories communicated in real time with people in a lucid dream: they heard simple questions and answered with eye or facial movements. K. R. Konkoly et al., “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep,” Current Biology, 31 (7), 2021, pp. 1417–1427
In an Australian study of 169 people, combining reality testing, waking late in the night, and the MILD technique (repeating to yourself, as you fall back asleep, that you will recognize the dream) produced the most lucid dreams. D. J. Aspy, P. H. Delfabbro, M. Proeve, P. Mohr, “Reality testing and the mnemonic induction of lucid dreams,” Dreaming, 27 (3), 2017, pp. 206–231; MILD technique: S. LaBerge, 1980

A dream is read as a mirror of what you are living, never as an omen: no reading here predicts anything at all.

Lucid dreaming: your questions

Is lucid dreaming dangerous?

For most people, it is an ordinary experience with no consequences. The risks come mainly from methods that break up sleep, and from a possible confusion between dream and reality in some vulnerable people. If your nights get worse or the experience worries you, stop the exercises and talk to a professional.

How do you know if you had a lucid dream?

The clearest sign is having thought, during the dream, “this is a dream.” Many people live it briefly, often just before waking. Writing down your dreams each morning helps you spot these moments, which easily go unnoticed.

Can you control everything in a lucid dream?

Rarely. Accounts describe a partial influence instead: changing direction, flying, asking a question of a dream figure. The setting often resists, and too strong an emotion wakes you. Lucidity is lived more than it is commanded.