Simple techniques for lucid dreaming don’t work for most people, and it’s almost impossible to experience your first lucid dream using them. This conclusion was drawn by Michael Schredl, a long-time researcher on this topic of lucid dreaming from Germany. He conducted an experiment in which 81 participants kept a dream journal for four weeks and practiced either reality testing or autosuggestion (affirmations before sleep). Neither method significantly increased the frequency of lucid dreams.
The main factor for success was not the technique used but rather each participant’s personal experience. The more often a person had lucid dreams before the study, the more likely they were to have them during the experiment. Motivation also played an important role. So, it’s worth finding out what motivates experienced lucid dreamers. In addition, simple techniques may not be effective enough, and it is better to combine different methods—for example, adding wake-back-to-bed or using hypnagogic hallucinations in the morning—to achieve sustainable results.
The main question remains: can anyone be taught lucid dreaming? The study showed that novices who have never had a lucid dream very rarely manage to enter a lucid dream through simple techniques. Perhaps they need a more powerful combination of techniques or an individual approach to open the door to this world.
What technique did you use to enter your first lucid dream?
Article published in June 2025 in the International Journal of Dream Research.
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