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Thread: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

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    United States Avalon Member onevoice's Avatar
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    Default A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    The following is an intriguing science article about a new way to combine a drug and a technique to enhance lucid dreams. More than half of the participants reported having lucid dreams:



    Would you try it?

    PETER DOCKRILL 21 AUG 2018
    They're incredible. Amazing. Magical. But perhaps the most fantastic thing about lucid dreams – in which the dreamer becomes aware they're dreaming – is how realistic they seem.

    Sadly, only about half of us ever experience lucid dreams in our lives, and efforts to trigger the phenomenon have delivered mixed results. But now, new research looks to offer the most effective way of inducing lucid dreaming yet.

    Building on their own previous research, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Lucidity Institute in Hawaii wanted to investigate how chemicals called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEls) might promote lucid dreaming.

    The neurotransmitter acetylcholine is thought to help modulate REM sleep, and AChEls help this compound to aggregate in the brain, by inhibiting an enzyme (called acetylcholinesterase) that inactivates acetylcholine.

    As it happens, a common drug used to treat memory decline in Alzheimer's disease – known as galantamine – is a fast-acting AChEI with only mild side effects, so researchers recruited 121 participants to see what effect the drug had on their ability to have and recall lucid dreams.

    It's worth pointing out these volunteers weren't just everyday people, but enthusiasts with an established interest in lucid dreams, who also had undertaken training with lucid dream induction protocols (including what is known as the MILD technique).

    When this cognitive training was combined with galantamine, lucid stuff started to happen.

    Over three consecutive nights, participants took increasing doses of the drug, starting with a placebo, then 4 mg, then 8 mg on the final night.

    Each night, participants woke 4.5 hours after lights out, practised their dream induction techniques, ingested their capsule, and returned to sleep.

    The combination of the induction technique paired with the Alzheimer's medication looks to indeed help trigger lucid dreams, and the higher dosage delivered a stronger result.

    While taking the 'active' placebo (0 mg of galantamine but still using the MILD technique), 14 percent of participants reported a lucid dream, but this increased to 27 percent when 4 mg was consumed, and rose to 42 percent with an 8 mg dose.

    "This combined protocol resulted in a total of 69 out of 121 participants (57 percent) successfully having a lucid dream on at least one out of two nights on an active dose of galantamine," the researchers write in their paper.

    "This protocol is one of the most effective methods for inducing lucid dreams known to-date, and holds promise for making lucid dreaming available to a wider population."

    That's important, because in addition to helping people enjoy fantastic dreams where they can help control what happens, the research could also help explain the links between lucid dreams and consciousness, and help people to confront their fears and process trauma while safely asleep.

    "This new method finally has the success rate we need to be able to properly do research on lucid dreaming," psychologist Denholm Aspy from the University of Adelaide in Australia, who wasn't involved in the study, explained to New Scientist.

    Until more is known about the safety of this technique, nobody should be experimenting with galantamine on their own. But once more research is done, these findings may ultimately beckon an almost limitless world of imaginary fun and adventure.

    "As I ran my hand along a brick wall… I could feel the coarse texture and the outline of individual bricks," said one of the team, cognitive neuroscientist Benjamin Baird from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, recalling his own experience of galantamine.

    "It's like going into the holodeck in Star Trek where you can have any imaginable experience you choose."

    The findings are reported in PLOS One.

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    Glad to hear the 'don't try this at home', this sounds like some promising research.

    I don't know about other's but I never feel pain in my dreams - is that even possible I wonder? I looked it up and says this is rare, but I am still dubious about pain coming from a dream. Let's assume it's possible though. SO DANGEROUS!

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    Some of the most excruciating pain I've ever felt was in my dreams... I'm here to tell you, it's definitely possible.

    That said, I've also experienced pure, transcendental bliss, that makes all the potential discomfort well worth it, for me, in my book!
    Last edited by Bowie Boiii; 21st August 2018 at 23:22.

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    Quote Posted by petra (here)
    I don't know about other's but I never feel pain in my dreams - is that even possible I wonder? I looked it up and says this is rare, but I am still dubious about pain coming from a dream. Let's assume it's possible though. SO DANGEROUS!
    That's interesting. I've never felt pain in my dreams either, despite being shot in the face and stabbed and everything else. (No, this isn't normally what I dream about though.)

    Bowie Boi says he has and I believe it.

    I would love to see lucid dreaming become more mainstream. It's an incredibly powerful tool.

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    I have dreams already. some lucid, some not.

    I see no reason for scientists to try to show me a method of dreaming.

    Sounds intrusive to me.

    Smells like fish. Cannot trust this method at all.

    Just my take.

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    I guess I've been using the MILD technique for years, didn't know it was called that. Another thing that works for me is to set your alarm for about 2 hours before you normally get up. When it goes off get out of bed for a few minutes then before going back to sleep tell yourself over and over that you will be lucid in your dreams. Not 100% effective but I've had a fairly high success rate. I try to OOB but the most I've achieved is lucid dreaming, which is fantastic. I tend to think that the dream state is a "private bubble" of consciousness and the larger consensual conscious is attainable through this state but I've yet to get there. Also, I don't think taking drugs as in this study is advisable. I consume a fairly high amount of alcohol (runs in the family lol) and find it to be absolutely a detriment to this undertaking. I take a month or so off the beer every now and then and find my success rate is higher.
    Last edited by Retief; 22nd August 2018 at 01:10.

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    The generalization "by scientists" is always unreliable and most likely click bait.

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    I understand where Bowie is coming from. In my teenage years, being heavily interested in meditation and OOBE's, I would find myself lucid in many of my dreams. In one such instance, I was attacked by a very dark mass with very humanoid features, but distinctly not human. Whatever it was, I was overpowered, and it "sat" on top of me whereupon it proceeded to stab me repeatedly in my chest area. This snapped me out of my lucid dream state, and I awoke in a semi-conscious state in my bed at my parent's house with this creature, to my horror, still on my chest, and still stabbing. The pain was unforgettable and excruciating. Lucid dreaming is a definitely a powerful tool, and I wonder if it can act as a gateway to other non-physical realms. Perhaps it should be attempted and experienced with caution.
    "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." -D. Thomas

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    Thank you for the article and the info. This is an interesting area of research. Galantamine, the AChEls inhibitor mentioned in the study, also binds to the nicotinic receptors in the brain. It takes about an hour to reach maximum efficacy (so fall asleep fast!).

    Galantamine was also studied by the US Army as a successful way of treating pesticide and nerve agent exposure.

    I wonder if the detoxification of the Galantamine is what clears the cobwebs which increases lucidity during dreaming?

    A fascinating area of study, though one which does require caution

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    Quote Posted by Siphonemis (here)
    I understand where Bowie is coming from. In my teenage years, being heavily interested in meditation and OOBE's, I would find myself lucid in many of my dreams. In one such instance, I was attacked by a very dark mass with very humanoid features, but distinctly not human. Whatever it was, I was overpowered, and it "sat" on top of me whereupon it proceeded to stab me repeatedly in my chest area. This snapped me out of my lucid dream state, and I awoke in a semi-conscious state in my bed at my parent's house with this creature, to my horror, still on my chest, and still stabbing. The pain was unforgettable and excruciating. Lucid dreaming is a definitely a powerful tool, and I wonder if it can act as a gateway to other non-physical realms. Perhaps it should be attempted and experienced with caution.
    Yuck. OK, so in this case it really sounds like the pain originated from the dream...

    I've never experienced a dream continue into waking... that is amazing and thanks for sharing.

    I have had words/phrases "poked into my head" upon waking though, while I'm still in sleepy state. The worst so far was pretty scary and I actually heard the word "DAMN" boom inside my head. Definitely unforgettable. The impression I got was that something failed somewhere, and that's why I heard the D word.

    I don't remember the dream at ALL, and I'm even a little bit thankful for that. This is something I'd definitely prefer to leave to the experts

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    Many months ago had a lucid dream where I was in a strange looking bathroom. All of a sudden a disembodied Head came into view and floated in mid-air at about my head level. It was watching me, studying me. And I in turned watched it. Momentarily another person walked into the bathroom, and then the Head attached/merged to that person. At that point I became alarmed and started shouting. At that point, my wife woke me up as I was actually shouting. I felt that if I didn't do something, the Head would have tried to attack me as well. Perhaps the Head "popped" in from another dimension, but definitely was not benevolent.

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    I have always been able to lucid dream and it wasn't until I was studying sleep at University that I realized this was not the 'normal' way to dream. I find this article very interesting but I do wonder if it would have any detrimental effects if your body is not flowing through its sleep cycles naturally. Whenever I lucid dream (in my case dream at all) I also sleep talk/shout and I always feel like I have had less rest and have not had a good night sleep.

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    Default Re: A New Method For Having Lucid Dreams Has Been Discovered by Scientists

    Quote Posted by petra (here)
    Quote Posted by Siphonemis (here)
    I understand where Bowie is coming from. In my teenage years, being heavily interested in meditation and OOBE's, I would find myself lucid in many of my dreams. In one such instance, I was attacked by a very dark mass with very humanoid features, but distinctly not human. Whatever it was, I was overpowered, and it "sat" on top of me whereupon it proceeded to stab me repeatedly in my chest area. This snapped me out of my lucid dream state, and I awoke in a semi-conscious state in my bed at my parent's house with this creature, to my horror, still on my chest, and still stabbing. The pain was unforgettable and excruciating. Lucid dreaming is a definitely a powerful tool, and I wonder if it can act as a gateway to other non-physical realms. Perhaps it should be attempted and experienced with caution.
    Yuck. OK, so in this case it really sounds like the pain originated from the dream...
    That sounds like more than a dream. That sounds like straight-up demonic activity. The "gateway to other non-physical realms" sounds probable.

    Or from a Jungian perspective, I suppose it could also be interpreted as a part of Siphonemis' own subconscious, something repressed which came violently to the forefront. Maybe it's all a matter of perspective considering that Jung looked way beyond the ego to our relationship with the universe as a whole, and an expression and manifestation of the collective.


    Quote Posted by Jodie139 (here)
    Whenever I lucid dream (in my case dream at all) I also sleep talk/shout and I always feel like I have had less rest and have not had a good night sleep.
    I don't feel well-rested afterwards either. Something about our souls seems to re-integrate into a deeper level of existence during sleep, and when we retain our ego consciousness in order to lucid dream it seems to interrupt this regenerative process.

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