Around 2–8% of people experience regular nightmares. It seems that children and adolescents suffer from them more often, as the prevalence among minors is estimated to be between 5% and 50%. Lucid dreaming (LD) therapy as a cure for nightmares has been studied by researchers on numerous occasions. A group of scientists from France—Ouchene, El Habchi, Demina, Petit, and Trojak—have recently reviewed the existing research.
Lucid dreams are, as is well known, dreams in which the sleeper realizes they are dreaming. There is no universally accepted definition of LD therapy, but the authors describe it as any technique aimed at achieving lucidity in dreams for therapeutic purposes.
Initially, LD therapy experiments were conducted on very specific participants. For example, on veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or on narcoleptics (who often experience nightmares).
The French team found eleven studies on this topic. Ten of them found that a positive effect from LD therapy had been obtained: even if participants did not achieve full lucidity, the frequency of nightmares decreased (generally by up to 50%). Only one experiment failed to find significant changes in people’s condition.
What does the therapy entail? First, of course, one must become aware in a dream through whichever method. However, the level of control in the LD can vary. For therapeutic purposes, a lucid dreamer must be able to change the plot to influence the content of the dream or part of it in order to create a situation that reduces stress and brings therapeutic benefits.
Have you ever changed the plot of a nightmare through lucidity?
The article was published in March 2023 in the journal L’Encéphale.
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