HOW TO HAVE LUCID DREAMS IN 7 EASY STEPS - ARTE - 2025

The lucid dreams are those who are aware you are dreaming and you're able to control your behavior and other aspects of sleep. However, the quality of lucidity can vary considerably.

When lucidity is at a high level, you can experience that sleep occurs in your mind, that there is no danger, that you are asleep in bed and that you will soon wake up. When you have little lucidity, you will have some suspicion that you are dreaming, perhaps you will be able to fly or alter what you do, but you will not be aware that you cannot suffer physical damage or that you are in bed.

Really few people have them naturally, being necessary that you train and want to have them intentionally. In my case, I only had them after a couple of months of putting into practice the techniques that I am going to explain in this article.

The exciting experience of lucid dreams

This topic is usually something "rare" for people who have not heard of it before, although if you have reached this article it is because you will be interested in knowing what they are or how to have them, so you will already have a certain predisposition.

However, keep an open mind, and if you still do not believe it, you can consult the scientific research in the links that I leave at the end of the article.

In fact, about 5 years ago a boy told me that he "flew in dreams." I had not heard of lucidity and it seemed to me that he was a little crazy… Of course, the boy was not interested in giving me any scientific or rational explanation, although I don't think he had one either.

Without a doubt, dreaming lucidly is something impressive, nothing compared to anything that can be experienced in reality. I had a time, a couple of years ago, when I was looking forward to the night just to have them.

When you manage to have a completely lucid one, the reality seems that it does not attract so much attention, although I think it is the same as when starting any new hobby or activity. At first it attracts a lot of attention, although later it becomes normal.

In these dreams you can do almost anything you want when you have gotten a certain practice. You can fly, practice your favorite sport, talk to someone, cook…

Is lucid dreaming the same as being in control of the dream?

Not really, you may have a lucid dream and have little control over its content and you may also have great control without knowing that you are dreaming.

Of course, being lucid will greatly increase the chances that you can influence events or acts like flying or playing a sport.

Something that seems very curious to me is that the ability you have in your dreams to transform objects, scenes or behaviors will also depend on your confidence. Very close to reality. If you have a high confidence that you can control your dreams, it is more likely that you can control them.

Can everyone have lucid dreams?

It is a skill that must be developed, like learning to play tennis. Only a large minority of people have an innate ability to have them, but others can develop it. A very important skill is the ability to remember dreams.

How to have lucid dreams step by step

Dreams

To have this kind of dreams it is necessary to dedicate some time and energy to it. If you are stressed, you are working and doing things all day and you do not have quiet moments, it will be more complicated.

This is because if you are starting out, you will need to question your own reality. That is, if for example you are cooking, you will have to ask yourself, is this a dream? How do I know it is reality? And, of course, if you are in a hurry or stressed you will not be able to do it.

As in all learning in life, learning this skill requires motivation and effort. Without them you will not persevere, something you will need to do because you will need at least 1 month of continuous practice and performing these techniques to have your first lucid dream.

I comment on several previous tips:

• Start practicing them in a quiet time. Stress or overwork are not good to have.
• Get used to having free time throughout the day, even if it is 5 minutes in which you "experience reality more" and wonder if you are in a dream or is it reality.
• Avoid taking trouble to bed.
• Get up calmly, do not jump out of bed. Spend at least 10 minutes before getting up to think about the dream you had.
• Think about them: this is important because you are unlikely to have them unintentionally.
• Read about them.

It is a psychological skill that must be developed with certain habits and that improves with practice. I'm not going to tell you about all the techniques that exist, but the ones that have helped me and that I think will also serve you:

1-Get up quietly

Everyone has several periods of REM sleep each night. REM sleep is the period in which you dream and is characterized by the movement of the eyeballs.

There are people who say that they "do not dream" although they do not, but that they do not remember them. It seems that the human being is programmed to forget dreams as soon as they get up.

Therefore, if you wake up quickly and without thinking about the dream, it is likely that after a few minutes you will not remember anything.

It is necessary that when you wake up, you stay in bed for 5-10 minutes, moving as little as possible and trying to remember the dream. If you do not remember at first, keep trying and a clue may appear in your mind.

If you have problems sleeping well, I advise you this article with some tips.

2-Write a dream journal

Having the ability to remember dreams will help a lot to have lucid dreams, it is probably the most important ability.

If you don't usually remember them, get up calmly and write in a journal on which your dreams have been based. You will have to detail them as much as possible; Who were you with, when, how did you feel…

Dreams often have a number of repeating characteristics. You may always have them with a number of people. It is those signs that will help you recognize that you are in a dream.

For example, if in your diary you observe that you often dream of tigers, in a dream in which you are with a tiger, you will be more likely to recognize that you are dreaming.

In short it is extremely that you remember your dreams to:

Recognize signs that you are in a dream.

Remembering lucid dreams: It is possible that you have a lucid dream and that you do not even remember that you had it.

3-Identify signs in dreams

In your journal, you may have been able to recognize some signs that occur constantly. It may be that you always dream in the same place, that you are always with the same people…

In dreams, you will have to recognize these signals so that the moment of lucidity arrives.

In turn, he actually reflects on those signals, which may be impossible in the real world.

4-Question reality

In Origin, the protagonists have a Totem with which they check if they are in reality or not. You will not need a totem, but you will need to question yourself at different times of the day if you are in a dream or not.

This may seem strange to you, but it is basic. It is strange, but in dreams you believe that you are in reality, for your brain everything is real and you don't even question it. Then you get up and say "of course it was a dream." But in the dream you did not know.

When you are in reality, you have sensations very similar to those of dreams, except that in dreams the physical and temporal laws do not exist.

For example, I would set an alarm for myself three times a day to ask myself if I was dreaming or not; at 11:00, 17:00 and 21:00.

You can do it:

• Trying to do something you do in dreams. For example, try to fly (trying to get up, not throwing yourself from somewhere).
• Read a paragraph: normally in dreams the letters fade or are illegible. Take a book and read a short paragraph, look away and read it again. If it remains the same, you are in reality.
• Simply reflecting on reality and thinking why you are awake.

5-Practice Mindfulness and meditation

Both practices will allow you to be calmer and more aware of reality and "now."

Techniques

Technique 1

This technique is commented by Stephen Laberge, the leading international expert on this subject. You can do it at any time of the day when you have a few minutes.

1-Take a reality test

Look at a text or the numbers on a clock. She looks away and looks again. If everything is stable and rational, you are probably not dreaming. Go to step 2.

2-Imagine that you are surrounded by a dream

Visualize as vividly as you can that you are dreaming. Imagine that what you are seeing, hearing and feeling is a dream. Imagine instabilities in your environment: words changing, objects transforming, floating above the ground. Go to step 3.

3-Visualize that you are doing an activity in a dream

Think of something that you would like to do in your lucid dream (play something, fly…) and visualize that you are dreaming doing that activity

MILD technique

It has also been developed by Stephen Laberge and you can practice it before sleeping or when you wake up and go back to sleep.

1-Have the intention of having a lucid dream and remembering it when you wake up.

2-Focus on your intention

Focus on your intention to remember and acknowledge that you are in a dream. Affirm yourself: "When I dream, I will remember that I am in a dream" repeatedly.

3-Visualize how you become lucid

As you focus on your intention to remember that you are dreaming, imagine waking up from the dream. Imagine that you recognize that you are dreaming. For example: imagine that you are dreaming, that you see a sign and then recognize that you are in a dream.

4-Repeat points 3 and 4. It is important that while you fall asleep the last thing you have in mind is your intention to recognize that you are dreaming. If not, repeat points 2 and 3 again.

Prevent rapid termination of lucid dreaming

If you have little practice, you will probably wake up shortly after being lucid. With practice you will spend more and more time, although the best way to prevent too quick "exits" is to remain calm: if you get too excited or afraid you are very likely to wake up. Just relax and try to enjoy yourself.

Benefits

Control your mood after waking up

There is a particular benefit of these dreams that I find very curious and that can greatly benefit those who have it. When we wake up, it is often in a low, sad, heavy mood and we don't know why, we just start the day in that mood.

Well, on many occasions when I have had a dream that we say "was not very nice", I have woke up with that state of mind, but being aware that it was caused by a "bad dream", I have been able to change it. However, if you wake up sad but you don't know why or what it was because of a dream, it is more difficult to change that state.

Dreams influence our reality and vice versa. This seems extremely important to me considering that the vast majority of people are unable to control their dreams or even remember them. Therefore lucidity can be a way to improve our life.

Practice

Did you know that if you play tennis in dreams, the same brain areas are activated as if you play in reality?

Therefore, a lucid dream can be used to practice a skill that you want to improve in real life. This option seems incredible to me and I think more needs to be investigated about it.

Examples of applications can be: confronting fears, playing sports, speaking in public, practicing social skills…

Prevent recurring nightmares

There are several scientific studies that have supported that lucid dreams are good for people with nightmares, since by being able to control the content of dreams, they can direct the threatening situations of them.

Creativity and problem solving

In REM sleep (the stage in which you dream) the brain is very active and does not receive impulses from the outside, thus increasing creativity and the possibility of finding original solutions to problems.

Health

Some people have lucid dreams to overcome phobias, overcome grief, decrease anxiety, or improve self-esteem.

Adventure

Another great advantage of these dreams is the ability to have adventures such as flying or going to extraordinary places.

Can they have negative consequences?

The vast majority of lucid dreams are positive, and lucidity can control negative dreams and control nightmares. Perhaps the only people who shouldn't have lucid dreams are those who are unable to distinguish between reality and their imagination.

A recurring concern is whether dying in a dream can lead to death in reality, but it is not. Many people who claim to have died in a dream have no consequence on their health. In fact, deaths in dreams can be interesting experiences about life.

Although it is often believed that dreams are messages from our subconscious, research has shown that this is not the case. Rather, they are models of our world. When dreaming, our bodies become paralyzed and the brain builds a model based on our motivations and expectations.

References

1. The future of lucid dreaming treatment. Josefin Gavie & Antti Revonsuo. School of Humanities and Informatics, University of Skövde, Sweden. Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Turku, Finland.