Abstract
During sleep, humans experience the offline images and sensations that we call dreams, which are typically emotional and lacking in rational judgment of their bizarreness. However, during lucid dreaming (LD), subjects know that they are dreaming, and may control oneiric content. Dreaming and LD features have been studied in North Americans, Europeans and Asians, but not among Brazilians, the largest population in Latin America. Here we investigated dreams and LD characteristics in a Brazilian sample (n = 3,427; median age = 25 years) through an online survey. The subjects reported recalling dreams at least once a week (76%), and that dreams typically depicted actions (93%), known people (92%), sounds/voices (78%), and colored images (76%). The oneiric content was associated with plans for the upcoming days (37%), memories of the previous day (13%), or unrelated to the dreamer (30%). Nightmares usually depicted anxiety/fear (65%), being stalked (48%), or other unpleasant sensations (47%). These data corroborate Freudian notion of day residue in dreams, and suggest that dreams and nightmares are simulations of life situations that are related to our psychobiological integrity. Regarding LD, we observed that 77% of the subjects experienced LD at least once in life (44% up to 10 episodes ever), and for 48% LD subjectively lasted less than 1 min. LD frequency correlated weakly with dream recall frequency (r = 0.20, p < 0.01), and LD control was rare (29%). LD occurrence was facilitated when subjects did not need to wake up early (38%), a situation that increases rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) duration, or when subjects were under stress (30%), which increases REMS transitions into waking. These results indicate that LD is relatively ubiquitous but rare, unstable, difficult to control, and facilitated by increases in REMS duration and transitions to wake state. Together with LD incidence in USA, Europe and Asia, our data from Latin America strengthen the notion that LD is a general phenomenon of the human species.
Highlights
Dreams are characterized by sensory, perceptual and cognitive experiences during sleep, usually presenting a strong emotional imprint, and being interpreted as if they were real, i.e., without concern about their bizarreness (Hobson et al, 2000)
During lucid dreaming (LD), subjects know they are dreaming during the dream, and may control oneiric content (Laberge et al, 1981a; Laberge, 1988), an exception to the rule that dreaming is necessarily an experience concurring with no rational judgment
SUBJECTS 3,909 voluntaries responded to the survey, but we excluded those who answered less than 90% of the dream questionnaire
Summary
Dreams are characterized by sensory, perceptual and cognitive experiences during sleep, usually presenting a strong emotional imprint, and being interpreted as if they were real, i.e., without concern about their bizarreness (Hobson et al, 2000). . .the reintegration of the psychic functions is so complete that the sleeper remembers day-life and his own condition, reaches a state of perfect awareness, and is able to direct his attention, and to attempt different acts of free volition”. Voss et al (2013) compared lucid and non-lucid dreams and created a scale based on factors involved in becoming lucid during dreaming: insight, control over thoughts and actions, logical thoughts, access to the mnemonic elements of waking life, and positive emotions
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