The practice of lucid dreaming is becoming increasingly popular. People all over the world are trying to learn this skill, but not everyone is successful at mastering it. Therefore, some people might envy those who fall into lucid dreams naturally. But what can such a predisposition mean?
To find out, Russian researcher from REMspace, Michael Raduga, analyzed the data from a 2019 survey based on interviews with almost a thousand random passers-by on the streets of Moscow. Respondents talked about their sleep patterns, as well as experiences of phase states: lucid dreams, sleep paralysis, etc.
The results showed that the frequency of spontaneous phase state induction correlates with excessive sleep duration, that is, anything over nine hours. M. Raduga notes that this is also one of the main symptoms of idiopathic hypersomnia, a sleep disorder that afflicts sufferers with increased drowsiness. In other words, if a person spontaneously experiences lucid dreams, perhaps it might be an indirect sign of illness, rather than a reason for envy.
Phase states may occur not because of idiopathic hypersomnia directly, but as a result of its side effects. For example, people sleep longer due to illness, which leads them to spend more time in the REM sleep phase, thus making their chances of experiencing lucid dreams increase. The fact is, that the probability of entering any phase state increases with every deviation from what is considered normal sleep duration (7–9 hours).
These findings require additional research. At the same time, they relate to spontaneous phase experiences only. The study does not take into account experienced practitioners who can achieve the same result intentionally.
Do you still envy people who have lucid dreams without even trying?
The preprint of the article was published in February 2023 on PsyArXiv.
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