Scientists Are Researching a Device That Can Induce Lucid Dreams on Demand::The startup behind Halo is aiming for a future where a wearable headband can give people the experience of awakening in a lucid dream.

  • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    If anyone is interested, you can train yourself to dream lucidly. There’s a bunch of techniques, but they are mostly pretty similar. What worked for me:

    Make a habit of (lightly) pinching your nostrils closed, and attempting to breath in through them. Do this whenever you think of it throughout the day. Might take a few weeks before you are consistently doing this habit. If you do it and find that you are able to take a breath, you are dreaming!

    The other part is at bed time. While laying in bed, focus on your sense of touch for 10 full breaths, then your sense of hearing for 10 full breaths, then the same for your other senses. Repeat until you fall asleep. This is intended to keep your mind focused on your body as you transition into the dream state.

    The best time for actually lucid dreaming is if/when you wake up very early in the morning, and then go back to sleep.

    Overall, this is a pretty fucking cool thing that you can do, for free, and you can train yourself to do it regularly. Do whatever you want-- sex, talk with dead loved ones, fly, practice dreaded interactions…

    • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Random reality tests (nose pinching & breathing as described above) through the day works as you might randomly do it in the dream, but what I find works better is finding patterns in your dreams where something isn’t right, and do tests against that while awake.

      E.g

      • light switches rarely work for me in dreams, so start doing reality checks when you flip a light switch.
      • I always have problems with my phone in my dreams, so whenever my phone is acting up do a check

      It can be anything though, maybe you drive your car a lot in your dreams so every time you get into your car you do a check.

      You can find the patterns more easily by increasing your dream recall which can be done by keeping a dream journal.

      When I was doing frequent checks and keeping a journal, at my peak, I was having lucid dreams 3-4 nights a week, and each night I’d have 3-4 lucid dreams. I’ve stopped journaling, and only really do reality checks if something really weird happens nowadays, and I’m still lucid dreaming 1-2 times a month now. The length of my lucid dreams are much shorter now as well though.

      • MrShankles@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        In one of my first lucid dreams, I was hanging out with a bunch of friends and noticed that they were a hodgepodge of people I knew, but who wouldn’t know each other. And suddenly I realized, “this is a dream”.

        I proceeded to walk out onto the balcony and fly away… because flying was absolutely the first thing I wanted to try. Flew around, checked out some different planets, and then subtly slipped back into dreaming, losing control once again.

        Lucid dreaming happens to me occasionally and I love it every time. And I always choose to fly lol, I can’t help myself

      • RBWells@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I cannot read in dreams or make numbers work. But the funniest way my mind told me I was dreaming was stairs, outdoor stairway. I was trying to go down the stairs but kept ending up at the top again. So I took them 2 at a time, then 3 at a time, then jumped halfway down, then jumped top to bottom and only THEN realized I was dreaming.

    • Ad4mWayn3@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Well, I definitely need to get some sleep right now, read sex and dead loved ones too close and my mind skipped a word… That was not fun to think of.

      • WetBeardHairs@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        I try not to kink shame. But incestuous necrophilia is pretty hard to not tut.

        On another note, I wonder what kind of costume a person with that kink would wear.

          • LUHG@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Yeh totally agree for normal sleep. It’s a nice feeling to be superman for a while though.

      • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I never woke up tired because of lucid dreaming, but the effort to dream journal was a lot, and I eventually got tired of doing it as it eventually felt more like a chore. Once I stopped doing it the frequency of my lucid dreams dropped dramatically.

      • LeadSoldier@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        100% is for me and my friend who tried it. I know how to lucid dream but I haven’t done it in 10 years because it is exhausting. I’ve never met anybody who actually knows how to lucid dream who hasn’t stopped for the same reason. You never hear of anybody doing it constantly.

        For those interested, I just summoned something to read in my dreams. Magically operating a newspaper wasn’t enough to clue me in but not being able to read it was what made me become lucid. It took about 2 weeks of practice before I was getting more aware in my dreams.

  • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    No thanks. I like sleeping while I’m sleeping. You introduce controlled lucid dreaming and soon enough I’ll have a second job at dream McDonalds to pay for my dream space underwear.

    • BluesF@feddit.uk
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      1 year ago

      Hmmm, yes … “Scientists are researching a device” aka “this device does not exist nor does the technology required to build it”

      • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
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        1 year ago

        You could also say that scientists are currently working on general purpose AI, cold fusion, nanobots, space elevator, warp drive, teleportation and the Dyson sphere. Just because something is centuries or millennia away, doesn’t mean we can’t research it today.

  • CaptainEffort@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Damn that’d be nice. I’ve only had one lucid dream but every time I’ve tried to get one again I’ve landed myself in sleep paralysis.

    • deepdive@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Wait until you experience your first astral projection ! But yeah, when I tried it a second time I also fell into sleep paralysis… Scary shit !

    • gearheart@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Sleep apnea is the general cause of sleep paralysis. It’s good idea to check if you happen to have a chance. :)

      • soloner@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I think they’re referring to staying conscious and meditating towards sleep to keep lucidity during the transition. It’s a technique.

        • PeachMan@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Yes, and the fact that they keep finding sleep paralysis instead of a lucid dream is a little concerning, so this person is recommending they talk to a professional about it.

          • KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            1 year ago

            If you’re meditating your way towards a lucid dream, and end up in sleep paralysis, it’s not because of sleep apnea. And if it was, you’d know since the intent is to be aware through the whole process into the dream.

            • MrShankles@reddthat.com
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              1 year ago

              I wanna say it’s due to “delta waves” being produced by the brain. We believe it’s a part of the sleep cycle that may help protect us from physically “acting out” our dreams.