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Sleep Disorders
When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me,
'Did you sleep good?' I said 'No, I made a few mistakes.'
~Steven Wright
Sleep disorders are not linked with lucid dreaming - I hope that puts your mind at rest! However, as explorers of the dreamworld, it is often useful to understand more about the sleeping brain and how it works.
The more you know about sleep cycles, the nature of REM sleep, and the degrees of consciousness, the better. The following articles aim to reveal more about the nature of consciousness while we sleep.
False Awakenings
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False awakenings happen when you dream of waking up and assume you are awake. This 'dream within a dream' can be a very convincing illusion, since your brain fills in all the missing details. You may go about your daily routine and even be on your way to work before realizing you are dreaming!
Although not technically sleep disorders, false awakenings can happen to anyone during REM sleep and are a great way to induce a lucid dream. |
Escaping From Nightmares
Lucid dreaming helps a lot in escaping from nightmares. I find I am more likely to become lucid in a nightmare - probably because the emotions are more intense and I am more conscious.
Becoming lucid in a nightmare gives you the opportunity to look beyond fear and change the course of the dream. Or you can consciously wake yourself up. Knowing how to control your dreams is an extremely valuable skill. |
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Sleep Paralysis
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Every night when you enter the REM state, your muscles become paralyzed to stop you acting out your dreams. But sometimes you can wake up before this function wears off. This curious sleep disorder is known as sleep paralysis.
Studies show that we will all experience sleep paralysis at least once in our lives. Some people suffer from it frequently, plus vivid hallucinations. |
Discover the most common triggers for sleep paralysis and easy ways to overcome the fear factor and turn it into a lucid dream!
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is the opposite of sleep paralysis, in that the muscles are roaming freely. It usually occurs during the deeper stages of sleep - called Slow Wave Sleep - when we are not in REM sleep (and therefore not paralyzed or dreaming).
Sleepwalking occurs in 1 in 5 people and has been used as a defense for murder on dozens of occasions. But can we really kill in our sleep? |
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There are many more sleep disorders that affect people regularly, from night terrors to insomnia. I will cover more conditions over time, but for now I will focus on the core subject of this website - how to have lucid dreams.
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