Dream Hacking: Lucid Dreaming 101

Lucid dreaming is a phenomenon which has been popularised by movies such as the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise; Vanilla Sky; Inception; and Waking Life. We are also witnessing a newly emerging empirical focus on the workings of the dreaming brain and consciousness by neuroscientists and psychologists, which gives scientific credibility and validity to the concept. Lucid dreaming basically means that you become aware that you are dreaming whilst in the dream state, and advanced lucid dreamers often have the power of controlling their dreams, making it an incredibly fun and empowering experience which has been reported by dreamers all over the globe, regardless of their cultural background; religious or spiritual beliefs; or worldview. However, lucid dreaming remains a shrouded mystery to many people who either haven't ever experienced it, or just don't know how to recognise when they are lucid dreaming. As a 'natural lucid dreamer' (someone who has experienced spontaneous lucid dreaming since childhood) and a oneironaut (a 'dream explorer'), I have learnt and developed some tips and techniques which allow anyone to induce and experience the wonder of a lucid dream! I am now going to pass these on to Buzzfeed readers in the hope I might inspire some of you to become part of the elusive, yet universal lucid dreaming community!

Tallulah La Ghash

1.

Remember your Dreams

This is the most fundamental part of improving your chances of lucid dreaming - if you can't remember your dreams, how are you ever going to know if you have a lucid dream in the first place? We all dream (as do many other mammalian animals), but it's common to hear that many of us don't remember our nightly dreams in any detail. This might be because the individual just doesn't place any importance on dreams.

This is the first place to start; show an interest in dreaming by telling yourself each night before you sleep that you will remember your dreams when you wake up. Repeat a mantra in your head as you relax until you naturally fall asleep; this technique of mental programming works best when you are tired and likely to fall asleep fairly swiftly. In approximately two weeks you should be able to remember several dreams a week, perhaps even one per night, and with prolonged practice may result in you recalling several dreams per night - i.e. one per each period of REM sleep (more about that later!)

When you wake up, the most important thing is to instantly recall any dream or dream fragments before you become distracted by something else in the waking world, such as your bed partner, sounds, intrusive thoughts etc. Some research suggests that dreams perform an essential psychological function while we sleep, but there is no necessity for our dreams to take up space in our memories for them to do their job, so we tend to forget them unless they are especially vivid or the dreamer is prone to experiencing high dream awareness (for example, those suffering sleep and dream disturbances as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder). Due to the fleeting nature of dream memories, any tend to fade or disappear soon after waking. To improve your dream recall, lay in the same position you wake up in, close your eyes and focus on anything you can remember from your dreams - even if only colours, words or emotions. Consolidate and fix the memory by repeating these dream memories over and over in your mind for a few moments until you feel confident that if asked, you could give a verbal description of the dream.

2.

Tallulah La Ghash

Keep a Dream Journal

The second technique also targets improved dream recall. Keep a dream journal. This might be a nice notebook, a scrap of paper or a text file on your mobile phone. The important thing is to keep it beside your bed within easy reach. After you have woken up and performed the first step above, write down your dream memories in as much detail as possible, using sketches if helpful, to record everything you remember. It is also useful to give your dream a title and date.

I record all of my dreams online on a public blog (which can at times be embarrassing!) and I now have over 500 recorded in the past three years. In my more thorough practice of dream journalling, I also note any 'dreamsigns' (the bizarre elements of a dream which - when applying waking logic - should make it obvious this was a dream and not reality); influences on my dream from the waking day (what Freud termed 'day residue' - themes, people, images, sounds, thoughts, symbols etc which we witnessed or somehow experienced in our waking lives on the day(s) before they resurfaced in the dream); recurring dream themes; and waking thoughts and emotions, as I find paying attention to all these elements of my dream help me induce lucid dreams as well as improve my general recall of extremely complex and vivid dreams.

3.

Hack your Brain (or Learn Cognitive Methods for Lucid Dreaming!)

Of all the lucid dreaming induction techniques, learning cognitive methods has proven to yield the best results in both anecdotal studies and laboratory-based empirical research. It might sound daunting, but it's simple, straightforward and often has speedy results, with the added bonus of potentially improving your waking cognition and memory functions! So, how do you learn cognitive methods for hacking your brain?

First, relaxation and meditation! I told you this was going to be simple, right? Before you sleep at night, perform some meditation by laying in a comfortable sleeping position and loosening all of your muscles, while keeping your eyes closed and your mind free of all thoughts, except those I am about to describe.

Focus only on the concept of dreaming; the fact you will remember your dream(s) upon waking; and a desire to be aware you are dreaming (i.e. lucid). These 'intentions' are a form of mantra of affirmation which mentally programme a desire to dream, and hopefully, become consciously aware of the fact you are dreaming. Another similar cognitive technique for mental programming is auto-suggestion. It sounds scary because it is often linked with hypnosis, but all it means in the lucid dream context, is suggesting to yourself that you will have a lucid dream and putting yourself in the frame of mind where you are positive that a lucid dream will occur. Many of these cognitive methods can also be performed throughout the waking day, whenever you have a peaceful environment and a chance to switch off from the waking world for a few moments.

4.

Tallulah La Ghash

Perform Reality Checks

Reality checks are a very popular technique for beginner lucid dreamers and can be used in combination with the other methods described above.

Basically, a reality check is an action which when performed in waking reality is likely to have a fixed outcome. The most common one - and the one which I use - is trying to push the fingers of my right hand through the palm of my left hand. This is impossible in waking reality. However, it is an action which might give a different, bizarre or impossible outcome if it was performed in a dream.

When performing the reality check reflect on your conscious state, i.e. 'I am awake and I know that I am'. Confirm this with the results of the reality check, i.e. 'I know I am awake because I can't push my fingers through my palm'. It sounds odd, but trust me, it's worth it - and reality checks can be easily performed in a few moments of privacy, for example when you go into the bathroom.

The trick is to perform reality checks regularly throughout your waking day and establish a habit or routine - research has shown that 15 - 20 short reality checks performed daily is sufficient for the habit to then be performed in the dream state. Why do we want to create a habit of reality checking which is so strong that we even do it in a dream?

Because when a reality check is performed in a dream - especially a vivid, memorable dream (if you have already been working on the above steps) - the fact that we have also programmed ourselves to question our state of consciousness and reality while doing the reality check means that when the inevitably weird or impossible outcome happens (i.e. our fingers slide straight through our palm like there's no substance to the flesh, or like me, your fingers look like long wooden spoons!) we hopefully trigger lucidity and become aware we must be dreaming!

5.

Wake Back to Bed

This is a strange name for a very simple, yet effective way to improve your chances of lucid dreaming. Like all of these methods, it should be practiced in combination with the other steps described in this article for best results.

Without going into a full explanation of the sleep cycle, it is enough to say that we have different stages of sleep. The two most important stages to understand for the purposes of lucid dreaming are deep sleep (the healing restorative sleep) and REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep, a lighter stage of sleep which is when dreaming occurs). If we are deprived of either of these sleep stages, due to sleep disruptions or a poor sleep routine, the brain will prioritise catching up on that stage of the cycle when you next sleep. So, if you have been deprived of deep sleep and this accumulates over a number of nights, when you finally have a long sleep, most of it will be spent catching up on deep sleep. And similarly, if you have been deprived of REM sleep (because you were catching up on priority deep sleep; or drank alcohol/smoked cannabis, both of which have been shown to inhibit REM sleep), next sleep you will get what's known as REM rebound - a particularly fruitful time for lucid dreaming! But manipulating the sleep cycle for lucid dreaming is a more complex dream hack in itself - today we are concentrating on easy, achievable steps for beginners!

The Wake Back to Bed method is most certainly one which can be done by almost anyone who has - on at least one day of the week - the opportunity to get a full night's sleep. Say the average person needs eight hours sleep to feel fully rested. We approximate that after six hours of sleep they will have had all the deep sleep they need, as research tells us that the average person requires between 4 - 6 hours of deep sleep per night. This means the remaining two hours or so of sleep are spent going in and out of REM sleep; we go though stages of REM sleep intermittently throughout a normal sleep cycle, but sleep research has shown the longest period of REM sleep occurs in the last part of sleep before waking.

The trick is to work out how long you typically sleep on a good night and then assume that approximately the first three-quarters will be used for deep sleep and the remaining quarter can be used for Wake Back to Bed. Adjust your timings based on your own sleep patter, but bear in mind Wake Back to Bed works best if the last 'quarter' of your sleep cycle (when the Wake Back to Bed is performed) is at least an hour, preferably 90 minutes.

Set your alarm clock after you have slept for approximately three-quarters of your sleep cycle, or the point at which you have calculated (the night before) that you would have had enough deep sleep - so, for me, I sleep for eight hours and I wake up after six. The wake up should happen when you are tired enough to want to sleep more, but able to stay awake for 10 minutes and be able to mentally function. Calculating the time to perform Wake Back to Bed may take some trial and error in the beginning.

When you have woken up, you can use the bathroom, have a drink - it doesn't matter what you do for the next 10 minutes, as long as during this time of wakefulness you start to do your cognitive methods - thinking about lucid dreaming, setting intentions with auto-suggestion and repeating your mantra/affirmations. It is also advisable to perform a reality check. After 10 minutes or so, go back to sleep for 60 - 90 minutes. The psychology behind this? You will almost certainly go straight into REM sleep, but the most fresh memory/thought will be the concept of, and desire to, lucid dream. Your mental programming will have been the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep. And because this is only a short sleep, you will wake up immediately following the dream, making it more likely you will remember it clearly.

Another good thing about this method? The same principles apply when you take an afternoon nap. If your nap is at least 45 minutes long (but this varies, as some people report the ability to dream immediately upon falling asleep), and you were tired enough, but not so sleep deprived that you will go into a deep sleep, then once again you are in optimal lucid dreaming territory. Most of my lucid dreams, whether induced using these tried and tested techniques, or spontaneously occurring, have taken place during an afternoon nap.

6.

Lucid Nutrition

Nutrition and good health are also key to lucid dreaming. Some oneironauts take supplements to enhance the vividness and lucidity of their dreams; I however, believe that if you follow these steps, it is unnecessary to take over-the-counter and sold-online supplements if you maintain a healthy, balanced diet rich in vitamins. It is also worth noting that different laws apply to the sale and use of certain supplements without prescription - what may be perfectly legal and accessible on the high street in some jurisdictions, may be subject to controlled use in other countries. Also, it is highly advisable to seek medical advice before introducing any supplement, naturally derived or otherwise, as they can have varying side effects.

Research has shown that foods high in Vitamin B6 may cause an increase in vivid dreaming (and of course, the chances of becoming lucid). Foods high in B6 include sunflower seeds, pistachio nuts, tuna, poultry, pork and red meats (especially liver), avocados, bananas and spinach amongst others.

It has also been shown that nutrients which increase serotonin and melatonin (known as the 'sleep chemical') production also have a beneficial effect on dreaming. To ensure you are making the most of your lucid dreaming diet, concentrate on consuming foods which are high in tryptophan (that's the chemical which makes you feel sleepy after eating certain foods). Recommended foods are: seeds and nuts of all varieties, poultry and red meats, seaweed, soya products, eggs, cheese, beans and legumes, bran and oats and fish (including shellfish).

It is also worth noting that natural melatonin production is most effective when you have had enough exposure to daylight during your waking hours; and go to sleep in a room which is completely dark without the distraction of digital light. Additionally, getting regular exercise is also recommended, as studies have shown that athletes are more prone to lucid dreaming as physical exhaustion is linked to higher reported occurrences.

So, those are my basic steps for those who wish to learn how to lucid dream! Of course, this is just the start of an adventure in dreaming; many beginners are put off by the fact that they don't get instant results, but what we are essentially learning how to do is hack the brain: that doesn't sound like it's possible overnight, right?

Don't be discouraged by the fact it might take you between two weeks and a month to have your first lucid dream after attempting these techniques on a daily basis; in fact, your path towards lucid dreaming will be a fantastical experience, dotted with dreams more vivid, complex and exciting than ever before which is #dreamgoals in itself!

In time I will be providing you with more tips, techniques and advice for hacking your dreams; remember lucid dreaming is a lifelong journey, not a destination, and by experimenting with lucidity and dream control you can make your nightly sleeps the place where your wildest fantasies and desires can be realised!

In the meantime if you want to check out my dream research and writing and read my own online Dream Journal, please visit my blog, Viva La Ghash! where you will also find links to my social media and Youtube channel.