A research team at Swansea University in the UK, led by Abigail Stocks, came to this conclusion based on findings from a new study. The scientists asked 20 participants to practice lucid dreaming techniques and keep a diary for one week. In the diary, the participants noted the quality of their sleep, as well as the emotional content and level of lucidity experienced in their dreams.
The scientists then assessed the level of dream lucidity for each participant with the aim of examining whether the level of dream control affected the participants’ emotions and waking mood. The results showed that high levels of lucidity in the phase state had a positive effect both on the dreams themselves and on the participants’ waking mood after. Meanwhile, the quality of sleep itself did not affect these factors.
While the results are encouraging, further research will help to better elucidate the therapeutic effects of the phase state. This will require studying the abovementioned correlation over a longer period of time. Although beginners are often intimidated by the phase, the positive mood that usually follows lucid dreams is familiar to most experienced practitioners. And now, thanks to Abigail Stocks et. al., this phenomenon has been established as a scientific fact.
The study was published in the scientific journal Consciousness and Cognition in August 2020.
