Scientists Reveal How to Control Your Dreams and Lower Stress and Anxiety

Curiosities
2 years ago

If you’ve ever seen the movie Inception, you’re probably familiar with lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is when a person is aware they’re dreaming. It’s a kind of hybrid state between sleeping and being awake. And it looks like scientist found a way to use this state for good purposes.

Bright Side got curious about how conscious sleeping can help us deal with stress, anxiety and some other psychological problems. Check out what we’ve found!

There are similarities in brain activity between lucid dreaming and psychosis. So basically when you see a dream, you feel the same way as a person who has a psychological disorder would. Sounds weird, right? This knowledge led scientists to conclude that controlling dreams can be very therapeutic.

Generally speaking, scientists claim that:

  • People suffering from nightmares can sometimes be trained to dream lucidly, so they can wake up consciously.
  • You can build your own dreams to be what you want them to be. Just imagine how it would be to experience beautiful moments as if they’re real! The physical body is affected by the actions of the lucid dreaming and gets positive emotions that help to treat stress and anxiety.
  • Moreover, artists can get their inspiration from dreams. We all remember Mendeleev and his table of chemical elements that he saw while sleeping.

You can transfer yourself to a beautiful island with unicorns, fly, or become a superstar. You are the boss of your dreams. Being mindful while sleeping helps to feel happier and can lower stress and anxiety.

You might be curious about how to start lucid dreaming — we sure are! The process is called dream incubation. You need to rehearse a scene in your mind during the day so that at night it will appear in your dreams.

If you want to solve a certain problem in a dream, you should think about it before going to bed. Let it be the last thing in your mind before falling asleep. For example, if it’s a personal problem, you should think of the person you’re having a conflict with. If you’re an artist who lost their muse, imagine a blank canvas. During sleeping, your unconscious mind will try to find a solution.

Also, it is good to keep a dream diary. Write your dreams down immediately after you wake up, so you don’t forget them later. Slowly, you will find common signs between all of your dreams.

Each night, right before falling asleep, repeat, “I will be aware that I’m dreaming.” It will help you to drift out of consciousness.

Technologies work very fast and scientists have even created a lucid dreamer device for us! It is based on electrical stimulation to the head and they say it’s 100% safe.

Research has proven that dreams help us to process our emotions and fears. Once you’re open to the unconscious mind, you can find peace within yourself, heal psychological trauma, and as a result, lower stress and anxiety.

Have you ever experienced lucid dreaming? Would you like to control your dreams? Please write your comments below!

Please note: This article was updated in August 2022 to correct source material and factual inaccuracies.
Illustrated by Anastasiya Pavlova for Bright Side

Comments

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Every night I hope I won't see any dreams, because then I will be sure I had a deep healthy sleep and will be rested.
I would prefer this over controlling my dreams.

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I would like to try lucid dreams. Isn't it fun? You can try anything you want, be anywhere you want. Sounds awesome to me.

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agree with Emily. Will you have enough rest if you try lucid dreams?
Sleeping is for resting your mind and body, first of all.

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Everynight I used to woke up with bad dreams from past 8 months
sometimes I used to scream and sometimes it’s Intrupting my breathe.... don’t know what to do??.... kindly guide

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I guess you should go to a doctor, or maybe visit a psychologist and talk about things that bother you and interrupt your sleep.
Professionals should help you better than us :)

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