There are a huge number of scientific papers on the topic of lucid dreams (LD). However, as noted by Palestinian authors, Firas H. Bazzari and Amjad H. Bazzari, the subject has scarcely been studied among the populations of the Arab Middle East. Past research has found that cultural differences affect dreams in general, including LD. Compared to Western civilization, dreams are taken much more seriously in the East—people take them into account both in their personal lives and when making decisions.
Following the generally accepted estimation that students experience lucid dreams more often, the authors decided to focus on this group and sent out an online survey through university websites. They found an overall 71% prevalence of LD, and a quarter of the participants turned out to be frequent lucid dreamers.
At the same time, only approximately a third of respondents knew about the LD phenomenon. Knowledge about lucid dreams and their frequency can be considered dependent variables. Participants who knew about lucid dreams had a 2.71 times higher chance of experiencing LD. On the other hand, demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, employment, smoking, and physical activity did not appear to have an impact.
As for sleep habits, only the factor of night awakenings proved important. Participants who reported two or more awakenings per night were more likely to experience LD. All other factors, including the time and duration of sleep, and the frequency and quality of daytime sleep, did not demonstrate significance.
As the authors add, the main cultural factor influencing the occurrence of LD, as presumed, is the attitude towards dreams. The survey results show that belief in the significance of dreams is associated with a higher frequency of both ordinary and lucid dreams.
Do you believe in the significance of ordinary dreams? Does this affect your LD practice?
The article was published in the April 2022 issue of the International Journal of Dream Research.
