What if you could lie on the couch, close your eyes, imagine having an active workout at the gym, and get the same benefits as you would by working out in reality? Several experiments confirm that mental exercises performed in the mind activate the same motor systems in the brain as physical practice. For example, arm movements in dreams correlate with the activation of the sensorimotor cortex, and cardiovascular responses correspond to exercises in dreams. Eye movements also match real movements and are used in laboratories to confirm the phenomenon of lucid dreaming (LD).
Austrian researchers Severin Ableidinger and Brigitte Holzinger conducted a detailed interview with a lucid dreamer-athlete, a martial arts instructor who combined regular daytime training with LD practice for several years. The authors specify that this is just one person, and his account is subjective. Still, the interview presents an interesting idea to practitioners and serves as a starting point for more comprehensive scientific experiments.
The martial arts instructor did not aim to improve his motor skills, so he believes that LD practice did not affect them. Instead, he wanted to find new “answers” to attacks, new movements, and techniques. He created a very simple LD training gym without any environment or background. The place didn’t matter; what mattered was the sparring partner.
He rarely participated in the process and instead observed from the sidelines. He chose which movements and techniques to use today. One dream character was the attacker, and another had to respond by blocking, evading, and so on. Sometimes, he manipulated the dream, slowing down or even stopping the action to carefully examine the details. He compared this to playing chess without clocks, allowing the person with the board in front of them to think through the next move without rushing.
Through LD practice, he discovered a vast number of new techniques that were “not present in his consciousness.” He not only found unconventional solutions to sports challenges but also increased his self-confidence. These training sessions were emotional and significant for him—he compared them to having a “candlelight dinner with the soul.”
Have you noticed whether actions in lucid dreams affect your physical body?
The preprint of the article was published in September 2023 on Preprints.org.
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