Michael Schredl is a German researcher, scientific manager of the sleep laboratory at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim. He is the editor of the International Journal of Dream Research and a consulting editor for Dreaming. Both scientific journals publish articles on the topic of dreams, including lucid dreams (LD). Schredl is also a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and its regional representative in Germany.
Interestingly, Schredl’s first specialty was electrical engineering. While studying the subject, Schredl became interested in psychology. As the researcher said in an interview published on the website of the Heidelberg University, he began to study the subject of dreams with a book by Erich Fromm because he could not remember his dreams. Then he bought a second book with practical tips for improving dream memory and has been keeping a dream journal ever since.
Michael Schredl is the author of more than 500 articles, including the largest number of publications on the topic of LD in peer-reviewed scientific journals. His latest studies focus on the prevalence of lucid dreaming among athletes, the impact of the coronavirus on LD frequency, and dream recall ability. By examining the psychological characteristics that contribute to becoming aware in dreams, he discovered that traits such as openness to new experiences, attentiveness, sensitivity, extraversion, and a certain degree of self-centeredness are important for successful lucid dreaming practice. The habit of meditation also has a positive influence.
This year, the scientist has conducted a new experiment in collaboration with colleagues to test the effectiveness of hypnosis for inducing lucid dreams. Participants practiced an automatic reality check after hearing the phrase “You are dreaming.” The results indicate that although hypnosis doesn’t seem to have a significant influence, auditory stimulation is effective. In just three nights, novices in the field of lucid dreaming were able to master this practice.
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The scientist’s works are available on ResearchGate.
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