I never remember my dreams or if I do, it must have been a nightmare. I’ll dream every now and then but not like I used to…I used to have a reoccurring dream that my teeth were just crumbling out of my mouth. Horrible right? I don’t have those anymore! Researchers in Australia recently tested three different techniques to bring on “lucid dreaming.” That’s when you realize you’re in a dream but don’t wake up . . . and you can even CONTROL what’s happening.
If that’s something you WANT, here are the three techniques they tried.
1. “Reality testing.” Basically just look around several times a day, and actively wonder if you’re dreaming or not. Obviously you WON’T be. But the goal is to make it a habit, so hopefully you’ll start doing it while you ARE dreaming.
2. A technique called “wake back to bed.” Set an alarm to wake you up in five hours. Then stay awake for a few minutes before you fall back asleep. Lucid dreams tend to happen in the last few hours of sleep. So that’s why five hours is best.
3. The “MILD” technique. It’s the one that worked best. “MILD” stands for “mnemonic induction of lucid dreams.” It’s the same as the last one, but with one extra step.
When you wake up after five hours, you have to IMAGINE you’re in a dream, and keep repeating this phrase: “The next time I’m dreaming, I’ll REMEMBER that I’m dreaming.”
If you can get back to sleep quickly, there’s a good chance it’ll work. In the study, 46% of people who fell asleep within five minutes were able to lucid dream.
