The treatment of nightmares with the help of lucid dreams (one of the phase states, which also includes out-of-body experiences, sleep paralysis, etc.) has long been studied by researchers. Barngrover, Zendels, and Peach, authors from the USA, decided to elaborate on this issue.
Contrary to hypotheses, their results showed that lucid dream (LD) practitioners suffer from more nightmares. It would seem that this should detrimentally affect their quality of sleep. However, the effect was mitigated by their awareness in the dream and control of their actions. There were also those who showed a low or medium level of mindfulness – in such situations, awareness in the nightmare actually increased the person’s distress. A high level of mindfulness, on the other hand, helped to reduce the intensity of the nightmare and improve the quality of sleep.
It is no secret that nightmares have a harmful effect on human health and life. As the researchers note, lucid dreaming can mitigate this negative influence. However, only people with high mindfulness skills, who are able to control their actions in the nightmare, benefit from LD.
The results obtained, as the authors add, can serve as a basis for non-medical approaches to the treatment of nightmares.
How does your LD practice affect nightmares? Does it affect their frequency or intensity?
The article was published in December 2021 in the journal Dreaming.
