Premium Essay

Lucid Dreams Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 1083
Pages 5
Research suggests that the majority of of dreams occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a recurring cycle of high activity in Stage III and Stage IV sleep. Every thirty minutes at the onset of Stage III sleep, a 90 minute period of REM sleep begins, a phenomenon known as REM rebound. [1] REM is a period of sleep in which the nervous system matures rapidly[2]; infants spend half their sleep in the REM state. [3] During REM sleep, the eyes move at rapid speeds beneath the eyelids, and the body is paralyzed, while in non-REM (nREM), it is not. It has been studied that dreams, while rare, can also occur in nREM sleep; they are often short and involve thought from everyday life when compared to REM dreams using a bizarreness scale. While there is much evidence supporting that dreams happen during REM sleep, there is no definite conclusion yet that REM correlates with dreaming. …show more content…
This is characterized by an awareness of dreaming, so that the dreamer knows they are in a dream. During lucid dreams, not only is the dreamer aware of the dream state, they can also sometimes control aspects of the dream.[4] Lucid dreams have not been studied extensively in the past, and it is unclear whether it can be considered a type of dreaming. Lucidity is a learnable skill which progressively becomes easier with practice, similar to skills like meditation or playing an instrument. The parts of the brain in association with lucid dreaming grow larger over time, signaling that lucid dreaming affects neural plasticity.[5] Common methods used to induce lucid dreaming include awakenings during REM sleep in order to create awareness before returning to sleep and mnemonically induced lucid dreaming

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Lucid Dream Research Paper

...A few months ago, on a Sunday night before school, I had a dream in which I knew I was asleep, otherwise known as a lucid dream. I could consciously control what I was doing, so that made it all the more real. I could also remember it in vivido detail. When I usually get these dreams, they are happy, but this dream was about to haunt my subconscious world for a few nights. I was alone, standing outside of my house in the rain at night and I was thinking to myself I needed to get inside in order to wake up from my dream. When I reached the front door I placed my knuckles onto the door's small window about to knock. I knew that what I was about to do would get me a little bit closer to waking myself up. The moment I knocked on the door, the banging...

Words: 900 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Lucid Dreams

...Lucid Dreams 1 Lucid Dreams a State of Consciousness Alberto De La Rosa University of Texas at El Paso Lucid Dreams 2 Everyone has had a dream in their life, but have you ever had one in which you where fully conscious of what was happening. From others and personal experience, in this dream state you can control or influence your dream however you want. In this subconscious state you know the meaning of the dream and where you are physically in the real world. This is the place were you can truly do whatever your heart desires. This research paper is going to talk about the history, scientific research, and one of the big questions; can one control a lucid dream or increase your chances of having one? According to Voss eight out of ten people have had a dream in which they were conscious when they were dreaming at least once in their life. This state is referred to as lucid dreaming, conscious dreaming, or dreams of clarity (Klartraume) (Holzinger, 216). According to Tholey, “Dreams of clarity (Klartraume) are those dreams in which the dreamer has complete consciousness and awareness about the fact that one is dreaming and can therefore interfere or influence,...

Words: 1155 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Lucid Dreaming

... Basic Research Skills Dr. King Lucid Dreaming Holzinger (2009), suggests that dreams have been a major importance to cultures throughout the ages. Native Americans viewed dreams as portals to the spirit world, paths to prophecy and quests. A common phenomenon states, there is an experience in which one is aware that one is dreaming and is able to control what happens in the dream. This experience is known as lucid dreaming. Aristotle may have been the first to write about lucid dreaming, although he did not have a term for it (Holzinger B. , 2009). And some Tibetan Buddhists have been practicing something like lucid dreaming for a long time. In Tibetan Buddhism, it was practiced as a form of yoga, called dream yoga, from the eighth century. The goal of dream yoga is to examine your consciousness and bring you to a constant state of awareness. A big part of the belief system of Buddhism is recognizing the world for what it is, free from deception. A lucid dreamer recognizes the dream world for what it is, a dream (Holzinger B. , 2009). A Dutch psychiatrist named Frederik van Eeden came up with the term for lucid dreams in 1913. He claimed that there are nine well-defined types of dreams in all, including ordinary, symbolic and vivid dreams. He recorded several of his own lucid dreams, and his thoughts during them and upon awakening. He remarked that they often involved flying (Holzinger B. , 2009). Lucid dreaming is normally...

Words: 3143 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Dreams Term Paper

...RESEARCH PAPER - DREAMS About a month ago the two of us brainstormed a few ideas for our first Psychology project. After a weighing the pros and cons of our options, we decided to research dreams and dreaming. We were hoping to learn some information over the vague topic of dreams such as the biology, the causes of dreams, and possibly some of the meanings behind certain dreams. Not only that, but we were interested in the different varieties of dreams people had and why they had them. From the beginning, we had hoped to answer some seemingly basic questions such as “What is a dream?” “What are some different types of dreams people experience?” and “Why would someone experience a certain type of dream?” After many hours and much research, we feel that we were rather successful in answering these and many more questions regarding the topic. So what IS a dream? Well, according to Sigmund Freud, dreams are the, “royal road to the unconscious.” Coming into this project with little to no experience on the topic, it was more than difficult to comprehend why it was that important. “They’re only dreams,” we would say, but after extensive research and reading, it is much easier to follow where Freud was coming from. You see, dreams are not simple; you have to admire the intricacy of a dream interweaving thoughts, ideas, and experiences a person has had in his/her lifetime. The process of dreaming itself connects different parts of the mind that may not be able to find each other...

Words: 1800 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Dreams

...dreaming. What are dreams? This question has fascinated the human race throughout history. From the Ancient Greeks and Romans, to Sigmund Freud in the late 1800’s, till now, people have queried what the mystical stories that play out in the sleeping mind are and why we have them. The Sumerians in Mesopotamia left evidence of dreams dating back to 3100 BC. According to these stories, gods and kings, like the 7th century BC scholar-king Assurbanipal, paid close attention to dreams. In his archive of clay tablets, some accounts of the story of the legendary king Gilgamesh were found (Seligman). The Mesopotamians believed that the soul, or some part of it, moves out from the body of the sleeping person and actually visits the places and people the dreamer sees in their sleep. Sometimes the god of dreams is said to carry the dreamer. Babylonians and Assyrians divided dreams into "good," which were sent by the gods, and "bad," sent by demons. They also believed that their dreams were omens and prophecies. In ancient Egypt, as far back as 2000 BC, the Egyptians wrote down their dreams on papyrus. People with vivid and significant dreams were thought blessed and were considered special. Ancient Egyptians believed that dreams were like oracles, bringing messages from the gods. They thought that the best way to receive divine revelation was through dreaming and so they would induce dreams. Egyptians would go to sanctuaries and sleep on special "dream beds" in hope of receiving...

Words: 2630 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Nightmare

...school and extra curricular activities that at the end of the day, they look forward to relaxation and sleeping which is fundamental to their health and well being. The main focus in this research paper is to examine the nature of a certain kind of dreaming in a stage of sleep, also known as a nightmare. Nightmare may professed a state of distress that once awaken a person may suffer despair, anxiety, and great sadness because of the strong emotional reaction. Nightmare is a kind of dream that occurs during the rapid eye movement stage of sleep. Dreaming itself can have wavering natures such as melancholic, adventurous, frightening, exciting, and sexual. Sigmund Freud who is most known for his psychoanalytical theory study about dreams, interpreted that dreaming is a ‘royal road to the unconscious’ or also known as the will-fulfillments (Sigmund Frued). Describing the will-fulfillments as it dreams the defense mechanism is lessened so that some of the subjugated material comes through to awareness without any bias. In other words, dreams implement vital functions for the unconscious mind and operate as a valuable clue to how the unconscious mind works. In retrospect, going in-depth into dreaming brings the subject of nightmare. Experiencing a nightmare can be hostile and disturbing that the dream may enclose situations of threat, distress, and physical or psychological terror. Interestingly, nightmare frequency, which is most associated with cognitive was determined to be strongly...

Words: 973 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Out Of Body Experience Essay

...world, dark world, life beyond Earth etc,. To prove the experiences that are within the body is possible, but to explain experiences out of the body seems impossible. This research paper focuses on Out Of Body Experiences in relation to Sleep Paralysis. Out Of Body Experiences a.k.a. OOBE An out-of-body experience (OOBE) is an experience that involves a feeling of floating outside one's body and, in some cases, the feeling of perceiving one's physical body as if from a place outside one's body (autoscopy). In 1943 G. N. M. Tyrrell introduced the term ‘out of the body experiences’ in his book Apparitions. Later this term was adopted by researchers such as Celia Green and Robert Monroe as an alternative to belief-centric labels such as "astral projection", "soul travel", or "spirit walking". Body experiences something that is not happening on physical level, but spiritual level. These experiences can be spontaneous and induced....

Words: 1935 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Annotated Bibliography: Psychology of Dreaming

...Walter Professor Liao English 104 – 33 12 March 2013 Research Proposal: The Psychology of Dreams For my research project, I am investigating the abstract world of dreams and the theories behind those dreams. Why we dream what we dream, and how, and where dreams come from. There have been many different theories on where dreams come from and how to interpret the dreams of different people. I will be exploring the similarities and differences of those theories along with speculating which theories are the most accurate, taking into consideration recent research on the psychology of dreams and dream interpretation. My main focus will be the world-renowned psychologist, Sigmund Freud. His theories on dreams and the interpretation of dreams are the most widely known and socially accepted theories, but are those theories the most accurate? That is what my research paper will be discussing and examining. This paper will be objective, simply providing the facts about dreams and the different theories regarding dreams and the interpretation of them. I will go in depth with why we dream what we dream, some of the most common dreams that people have, and what the most popular theories are behind the psychology of dreams. My purpose of this paper is to inform my audience of the theories behind dreams and where they come from. I will provide information on the different interpretations of common dreams, the history of dreams, and the basics of the sleeping cycle. My readers are my...

Words: 3132 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Dreams

...Dreams: What are dreams and what do they mean? Shanice Monteith The University of West Florida Abstract Dreams that take place while we sleep are one of the most fascinating aspects of human consciousness and are common among all of us. We all ask the same question, what is a dream? A researcher by the name of Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams gives us a good insight about dreams. His theory is one of the best-known models of dream interpretation. There are also other types of theories that suggest to us what a dream is. Some say that dreams are simply random firing of memory neurons. Others say differently. I will try to show both sides of this controversy. This paper will examine what a dream is and what people interpret a dream to mean. It should also give you a broader perspective of dreams, go into detail of different theories regarding dreams and give you more insight of such a fascinating but complicated topic. There is also the case of nightmares which will be discussed briefly and why they occur when we dream. What are dreams and what do they mean There have numerous studies on what is a dream. A lot of controversy has happened because of this. Some people say it could be just simply random firing of memory neurons as stated earlier but not everyone thinks the same way. Others say there is a lot of detail that could go into finding out more about this topic so they begin to do more research to come up with different ideas about such a debating issue...

Words: 2233 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Lol What

...Christian H. Godefroy is a specialist in positive thinking and autosuggestion. He has given training seminars to over 6,000 senior company personnel around the world on self-confidence, communication and relaxation. Today he concentrates on publishing books about personal and professional success and about health and runs his own highly successful publishing companies in France and Switzerland. You can reach him at: mailto:webmaster@mind-powers.com Copyright © 2001 Christian H. Godefroy All Rights Reserved. Duplication in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of the author. Excerpts may be published for review purposes with appropriate citation and reference. This work is protected under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. Unlawful duplication is punishable by severe civil and criminal penalties. Table of Contents Forward ..................................................................................... 2 About the author... .................................................................. 2 Introduction ............................................................................. 5 Part One: Sophrology ........................................................... 18 Hypnosis ..................................................................................................... 19 Sophrology.................................................................................................... 4 Suggestion...

Words: 73560 - Pages: 295

Free Essay

Legalization of Marijuana

...jobs it could create, the tax profits it would bring to the government, or even the medical miracles surfacing around the nation. Marijuana is safe, safer in fact than most other prescribed medications to treat the same symptoms. This plant is growing vastly in the medical field and replacing many addictive narcotics prescribed by doctors. Medical marijuana is available in several different forms. It can be smoked, vaporized, ingested in a pill form or an edible version can be added to foods such as brownies, cookies and chocolate bars. While more than 17.6 million Americans are addicted to alcohol according to the NIAAA, only 9% of heavy pot users are at risk of becoming addicted. Unlike alcohol, you can’t overdose on cannabis and early research shows there are very few long-term effects of smoking pot. Studies show that for some users, perhaps as many as 10 per cent, cannabis leads to psychological dependence, but there is little evidence that it carries a risk of true addiction. Unlike for nicotine, alcohol and hard drugs, there is no definite withdrawal syndrome, the sign of true addiction, when use of marijuana has stopped. Also unlike cigarette smokers, most users do not take the drug on a daily basis, and usually abandon it in their twenties or thirties. Some would say that medical marijuana is not a safe and could even be considered a gateway drug to other abused substances. A recent study group has informed readers the youth of this generation now perceives marijuana use...

Words: 1618 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Butt

...1 The Foundations of International Society 2013-2014 Part I: Politics 2 (International Relations I) Paper organiser: Professor Christopher Hill (POLIS): Room 105, Alison Richard Building Email: cjh68@cam.ac.uk Lecturers: Professor Hill (CH), Dr Elisabetta Brighi (EB), Dr Aaron Rapport (AR) and Dr Stefano Recchia (SR). Aims and Objectives The course aims to introduce students to the subject of International Relations (IR), whose main focus is the nature of politics at the international level. Students will acquire the empirical and conceptual foundations needed to understand a world political system which cannot be accurately described as either pure anarchy or a coherent form of ‘global governance’. The starting point is the notion of ‘international society’, which refers to the set of institutions and common procedures generated by states over the last three and a half centuries in their attempts to achieve some minimal form of co-existence, but which has gradually evolved to include many non-state actors and different levels of activity – diplomatic, economic and cultural, as well as that of military competition. By the end of the course you should be able to have an informed discussion about: the historical origins of the present system; what is distinctive about international politics as opposed to politics inside the state; and the main challenges which confront humanity in the twenty-first century. You will also acquire a basic familiarity with the main theories needed...

Words: 12326 - Pages: 50

Free Essay

Java

...МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ, МОЛОДІ ТА СПОРТУ УКРАЇНИ НАЦІОНАЛЬНИЙ УНІВЕРСИТЕТ «ЛЬВІВСЬКА ПОЛІТЕХНІКА» Л.В.Бордюк ЖАНРИ НАУКОВОГО СТИЛЮ МЕТОДИЧНІ ВКАЗІВКИ до виконання практичних робіт для студентів спеціальностей 8(7).02030303 «Прикладна лінгвістика» Затверджено на засіданні кафедри прикладної лінгвістики Протокол № 7 від 20.02.2013 р. Львів – 2013 Жанри наукового стилю: Методичні вказівки до виконання практичних робіт для студентів спеціальностей 8(7).02030303 «Прикладна лінгвістика». /Укл.Л.В.Бордюк – Львів: Видавництво «Львівська політехніка», 2013. - 40 с. Укладач Бордюк Л.В., канд.філол.наук, доц. Відповідальний за випуск Левченко О.П., д-р філол.наук, проф. Рецензенти Маркелова С.П., канд.філол.наук, доц. Романишин Н.І., канд.філол.наук, доц. Процес здобуття університетської освіти містить навчальну та науково-дослідну складові...

Words: 9936 - Pages: 40

Free Essay

Technology

...This book captured my heart it taught me a lot   Probably the greatest book I've read. Brought me to tearssss.   "learn how to die and you will learn how to live."... i could never forget this quote from mitch's professor.. this story was posted in our book way back when i was third year highschool.... it's full of lesson.. it values life.   From childhood to senility, the very people who made beautiful contribution in our lives always seem to have special place in our hearts, minds & souls.   This movie/book was one of our projects. As a teenager, I really had no interest to read this kinds of books but after a few more chapters, I realized that this book contains lots of valuable lessons. It changed the way I see things. It also made me realize that life is very important so we should not waste it but instead make it a very happy one. We should also spend our lives with our loved ones because we dont know how long we will be with them. I relly love this book/move. ily Morrie!!!!!!!!   I'm so happy that finally I got a copy of Mitch Albom's book, Tuesdays with Morrie. I have been wanting to have it. This is the best book I've ever read. I've shed a lot of tears, laughed out loud and pondered about the reality and wisdom shared by an intelligent, compassionate, loving and very kind old man. I love you Morrie Schwartz. Forever I will cherish your words.   The movie as well as the book inspired me a lot. This was the 3rd time i read an inspirational...

Words: 19539 - Pages: 79

Free Essay

Carl Jung

...burial ground for frightening experiences which nevertheless come back to haunt us. Frankly, it doesn't sound like anything I'd like to make conscious! A younger colleague of his, Carl Jung, was to make the exploration of this "inner space" his life's work. He went equipped with a background in Freudian theory, of course, and with an apparently inexhaustible knowledge of mythology, religion, and philosophy. Jung was especially knowledgeable in the symbolism of complex mystical traditions such as Gnosticism, Alchemy, Kabala, and similar traditions in Hinduism and Buddhism. If anyone could make sense of the unconscious and its habit of revealing itself only in symbolic form, it would be Carl Jung. He had, in addition, a capacity for very lucid...

Words: 7916 - Pages: 32