Sleep Disorders: The Causes and Cures of Sleep Problems
Learning to lucid dream does not generally increase your risk of developing certain sleep disorders. There are some unusual phenomena you might encounter (such as false awakenings and sleep paralysis) but nothing to seriously worry about (such as insomnia, sleepwalking or night terrors).
This section is here to help you understand more about the sleeping brain. Often, it's only when mechanisms break down that we can start to understand more about the system. With that in mind, learning more about sleep disorders is a worthwhile pursuit for oneironauts as we strive to achieve more lucid dreams.
Here you will also learn more about the stages of sleep, the in-between states of consciousness and hypnagogia, and even how to stop nightmares.
How Long Can You Survive Without Sleep?
It's less than you think. Find out about the debilitating effects of sleep deprivation and how one 1950s experiment changed its volunteer forever.
Escaping From Nightmares
How I become lucid in nightmares: to confront the source of my fear, to learn and grow emotionally, and to extinguish dark dreams at the root cause.
Lucid Nightmares
What are lucid nightmares and what causes them? How are they different from lucid dreams or regular nightmares? Learn about this enlightening sleep state.
False Awakenings
Explore the bizarre nature of false awakenings, or the dream-within-a-dream, and the close relationship they have with lucid dreams.
Sleep Paralysis
Is sleep paralysis stopping you from getting a good night's sleep? Find out how to stop sleep paralysis and use it as a gateway to lucid dreams.
Sleep Paralysis Visions
What is sleep paralysis? Guest author Ryan Hurd elucidates this sleep disorder shrouded in mystery - and poses it as a gateway to lucid dreams and OBEs.
Sleep Paralysis Kit Review
Sleep Paralysis Kit by Ryan Hurd is a breakthrough guide to sleep paralysis nightmares, lucid dreams and out of body experiences.
Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking
Explore sleepwalking, sleep talking and other parasomnias. Is sleepwalking murder real? Read about the case of Kenneth Parks' automatism trial.
Night Terrors
How to stop night terrors in children and adults. Learn about the causes of sleep terrors and how to cure this sleep disorder of intense fear at night using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Fatal Familial Insomnia
Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI): The Family That Couldn't Sleep. Discover the tragic fatal insomnia sleep disorder caused by genetic prion disease.
The Man Who Never Slept
About Fatal Familial Insomnia and other accounts of total insomnia including the stories of Michael Corke, John Alan Jordan and Ngoc Thai.
How to Sleep Better
Learn how to sleep better with these top 10 tips for getting more shuteye. Knock sleep deprivation on the head and get better sleep every night.
How to Get a Better Night's Sleep Infographic
Learn how to sleep better with these top 10 tips for getting more shuteye. Knock sleep deprivation on the head and get better sleep every night.
About the author
Rebecca Turner is a science writer, illustrator, explorer of consciousness - and founder of World of Lucid Dreaming. She is currently studying for a biology degree in Auckland and blogging at her site Science Me.
The Anatomy of a Dreaming Supplement
A lot has happened in the last 5 months. But how did we go from business as usual to changing the face of the entire lucid dreaming supplements industry? It’s a story that I think will interest you – and you might even learn a thing or two in the process. When I was first taken on-board as Chief Lucidity Officer in 2016, one of the first things I was tasked with was taking a good look at our operations and giving things a bit of an overhaul.
How a Lucid Dreaming Community Was Born
Gather round. I’ve a story to tell. It’s a story of tragedy, re-birth and fresh beginnings... But fear not, it has a happy ending! Our forum had some pretty impressive stats at its peak: 60,171 posts, 134 people online at once and over 10,000 registered users.
How to remember your dreams
To lucid dream, I recommend being able to remember at least one vivid dream per night. That will boost your self awareness in dreams (making lucidity more likely) and also means you can actually remember your lucid dreams. Which is nice. Here are four detailed tips on how to remember your dreams more frequently. And if you don't think you dream at all - trust me, you almost certainly do. It takes an extraordinarily rare sleep disorder to deprive someone of dream sleep.
What Do Lucid Dreams Feel Like?
Years ago, before I had my first lucid dream, I had a very specific idea about what a lucid dream would feel like. I thought it would be intense and magical and a little bit spooky. This turned out to be a pretty accurate representation. Becoming aware in the dreamstate is like entering another world. One where physical laws can be manipulated (there is no spoon, Neo) and your fantasies can come true in an instant. There's definitely something magical about that - and it's as if the lucid dream world is a living, breathing organism that can react to your very thoughts.
How to have amazing lucid dreams
Experts agree that everyone is capable of having lucid dreams. Dreaming itself is a normal function of the mind. We all dream every night, even if we don't remember. And we all achieve conscious awareness while awake every single day. So what does it mean to combine these states? Why, the amazing ability to have conscious - or lucid - dreams. Sounds simple, doesn't it? So why do I keep hearing from people who say they can't achieve their first lucid dream?
Mugwort: Dream Sage of the Chumash Indians
It is estimated that these wise and wily Indians have been using mugwort in their healing and ritual practices for 13,000 years, where it is known as the ‘dream sage’. They use the herb to promote good dreams, which they consider an essential aspect of normal human functioning! But that’s not all...
