If someone regularly achieves lucidity in their dreams and expertly controls the space and narrative within, will they always be able to? German scientists Michael Schredl (a dedicated researcher in this area) and Anja Göritz conducted two surveys—one in 2017 and one seven years later, in 2024. In both instances, there were over a thousand participants, and 374 respondents completed both questionnaires. The questions focused on the frequency of lucid dreams and the participants’ ability to control them.
The outcomes show that the frequency of lucid dreams is more stable over time than the skills to control them. That is, over the years, a person may achieve lucidity with the same regularity, but their ability to control the dream plot may decrease. Thus, practice is very important. People who constantly train and use different methods enter lucid dreams more often than those who do not, and they are the ones who show progress in the number of lucid dreams. This confirms that lucidity in a dream can be trained. Another pattern emerged—namely, the more lucid dreams a person has, the higher their level of control and management within them.
Anyone who has ever experienced a lucid dream begins to explore this topic more deeply in search of new experiences. But it’s important to remember that if you stop training, lucid dreams will become less frequent over time. The authors made another interesting observation: men generally maintain their ability to control a lucid dream better than women.
Have you been practicing lucid dreams for a long time? Have the frequency of these dreams and your level of control over them changed?
The article was published in June 2025 in Imagination, Cognition and Personality.
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