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Why Your Morning Routine Matters

Written by Molly Mills

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“Mom. Mom. MOMMY!” You jolt awake to see the face of your toddler standing an inch from your face, staring at you like the kid from The Shining. You get jabbed with bony knees and elbows as they clamor over you to cuddle up. You close your eyes thinking maybe you can catch a few more ZZZs, only to feel chubby fingers (how are they already sticky?!) prying your eyelids open and asking for breakfast. The baby starts to cry from the other room. You stumble out of bed, splash some water on your face, try and shoo the toddler out of the bathroom for a moment of privacy; there’s banging on the door, the baby’s still crying.

Somehow, your partner is still snoring. You resentfully shake them awake. Get the toddler juice. Feed the baby. Make breakfast. Get everyone dressed. Arguments and power struggles pop up along the way. You’re running late. Grab something to pack for lunches. You’re officially going to be late. Finally, get out the door. Carseats, buckle up. Only 10 minutes late…not too bad. Forgot something. Turn around. Okay…20 minutes late. The morning frantically rushed by yet again and nobody is happy.

Morning Routing diaryThis hectic morning may sound like something from a sitcom, but, unfortunately, it is all too relatable. Many people struggle with feeling frantic in the mornings with no morning routine. When your day starts out with you rushing around and, let’s be honest, yelling, you can’t help but feel that you brewed a fresh pot of failure along with your coffee. The rest of your day is thrown off, as you’re playing catch-up, then eventually you fall into bed at the end of the day feeling exhausted and still frantic, which affects your sleep, which affects the following day yet again, and so on.

An interview in Forbes states that extremely successful people such as Oprah and Bill Gates are sticklers when it comes to following their morning routines. So the question is: what makes up a good morning routine and how do I get into one?

Steps to a Successful Routine

A morning routine can positively affect your mental health, so it is certainly worth the effort to establish one; the first step to establishing your routine is deciding your biggest stressors in the morning rush and forming a habit to combat that stressor. Some ideas might include: preparing breakfast and packing lunches the night before, putting backpacks/work bags by the door, or setting out clothes the night before. Now that that particular stressor is eliminated, there is more free time in the morning to give to yourself. So what do you do with that freed-up time?

In the same Forbes interview linked above, Benjamin Spall, author of My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired, states that the best morning routines are ones with simple steps that people can faithfully follow every morning. According to Good Therapy, some ideas to work into your morning routine include:

  1. Let light in
  2. Make your bed
  3. Hydrate
  4. Nourish
  5. Gratitude
  6. Make a list
  7. Physical activity

There are additional ideas in the Good Therapy article, but let’s dive deeper into some of the ideas listed above.

The Reason Behind the Morning Habit

Laptop open notebook on bedWe know that blue light from screens can negatively impact our sleep, and similarly, light will help wake your brain up first thing in the morning. Many successful people actually leave their phones on airplane mode in a separate room throughout the night and into the morning, allowing more natural light to simultaneously wake them up and help them feel calmer. So put the smartphone away at night; you’ll sleep better and wake earlier. When you wake, instead of reading your negative news feed first thing in the morning, try reading a book by an open window. A good night’s sleep followed by a relaxing morning is practically a good day guarantee!

Starting your day off by completing a task, such as making your bed and making a to-do list for the day will help you feel successful before the day has even begun. This will lead to feeling like you can, in fact, take on the day ahead and accomplish even more tasks! In the same vein, having a moment of gratitude and/or meditation will allow that gratitude to carry throughout the day, resulting in more calm and less negative emotions.

Good morning. Breakfast on white bed sheets.Breakfast is often touted as the “most important meal of the day,” but it is also skipped by so many. John Hopkins Medicine states the importance of breakfast with many convincing points, such as helping with weight management, digestion, blood sugar, and boosting your brainpower throughout the day. A well-rounded diet, which should include breakfast, is also conducive to a good night’s sleep. A good night’s sleep leads to a better morning, and the cycle continues, either for better or worse.

As mentioned above, preparing sets you up for success; some ideas for preparing breakfast are: setting the non-perishables like cereal out on the table along with dishes, making hot breakfasts such as a breakfast casserole ahead of time to simply heat and eat, and keeping quick breakfasts like boiled eggs and yogurt in the fridge to easily grab. By preparing breakfasts the night before, you can have brain power throughout the day, help your sleep, then, consequently start the following day off well!

Physical activity is a great way to start the day because exercise, even just a few minutes, releases endorphins that will cause you to feel happy and calm. I would much rather start my day happy and calm than frazzled and frustrated! If your morning routine is short because you have to get to work or school early, try incorporating some stretching, and/or a few pushups and jumping jacks to get your blood flowing and your muscles awake. You will head into your day feeling energized and accomplished. Similarly, sleep and exercise go hand in hand. You will exercise better if you sleep better, and you will sleep better if you exercise regularly. After a good night of sleep, you will wake up ready to take on the day!

The Chicken or the Egg

It’s a classic question: which came first? The same conundrum happens with regards to morning routine versus nighttime routine. The morning routine sets your day up for success, and quality food as fuel, exercise, and limiting technology sets up your nighttime routine for success; you get good rest, wake up ready to exercise, and tackle the day, and the cycle of health continues. In conclusion, having both morning and nighttime routines will greatly impact not only your physical health but your mental health as well.

Your Complete Guide to Lucid Dreaming

Written by Alex

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You may have heard the stories of lucid dreaming. Perhaps you have a friend who raves about it. There’s certainly no shortage of articles and YouTube videos waxing poetic about this near-magic experience.

But… is it really possible to control your dreams?

In short, yes it is.

Dreaming to fly

Far from fiction, lucid dreaming is real and possible to achieve. Like any artistic or athletic feat, it is an ability that must be cultivated over time. It requires practice and dedication to achieve success, though the rewards can be immense.

Learning to achieve this requires a bit of background on the science of dreaming, as well as a brief understanding of the sleep cycle. It also requires regular practice and adherence to a strict sleeping routine.

But, if you learn to master the art of lucid dreaming, you will gain access to one of the most interesting realms of human consciousness. Blending reality with fantasy, and control with imagination. Read on to learn about the basics of lucid dreaming, and how to go about experiencing it for yourself.

The Basics: What Is Lucid Dreaming?

While we will go into a short description of the science of lucid dreaming in this article, you can also check out our more in-depth piece on the subject here. If you are really interested in mastering the art we recommend checking out both.

Lucid dreaming, in a nutshell, refers to the sensation of being able to control your dreams. More precisely, the National Sleep Foundation defines it as, “extremely vivid reveries where the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming.” The key is that the person has an awareness that what they are experiencing is a dream, though they retain agency to control their actions and thoughts inside of that world.

The science of why this happens is still murky, to be sure. Our most vivid dreams take place during the REM stage of the sleep cycle, which is characterized by intense brain activity and body paralysis. Lucid dreaming occurs during this stage as well—though studies indicate that human brain activity during a lucid state looks much different than it does during a typical dream. This lucidity is created by, or perhaps leads to, brain activity that has qualities of both sleep and wakefulness.

What Can I Expect When Lucid Dreaming?

Lucid dreaming is a strange experience. Over half of all adults have experienced lucid dreaming, so you may already be familiar with the sensation. But if you are not, you can expect an interesting mix of the fantastical and the mundane.

As mentioned before, lucid dreaming is a kind of skill that can be cultivated over time. The more you do it, the more control you will likely feel over what occurs and what you are able to do in your dream. Many people think they are quite scary, especially at first. It can feel like an all-too-real nightmare that you can’t quite wake from.

practicing magic while learning lucid dreamingBut the more you practice having them, the more comfortable you will be within them. People who are experts in the state claim they are able to experience things like flying, meeting famous people or dead relatives. Even traveling to places they’ve never before seen. The main takeaway is that you will likely be able to control your body, and the environment around you too if you practice the craft enough.

Please note, however, that lucid dreaming looks different for everyone. It might terrify some while others find it joyous. It all depends on you, and what you are comfortable with.

The Steps

With all these things in mind, here are a few tips that experts say will allow you to experience lucid dreaming, and even get better at it as time goes by. We’ve broken this section up into the steps you can take to prepare while you’re awake. And what things you can do while you are dreaming.

While you’re awake:

  • Keep a dream journal: Write down anything you can recall, as soon as you wake up. This will help you to recognize the patterns and sensations that reoccur during your subconscious. The technique works because the more you can recognize these things, the better chance you will have of becoming aware you are dreaming which helps guide you to a state of lucidity.
  • Keep a regular sleep schedule: The more you are able to stick to a set time for going to bed and waking up, the better chance you have of maintaining the healthy sleep cycles necessary for entering the REM state and thereby giving yourself a better chance to dream and be cognizant of the fact that you are dreaming.
  • Meditate before bed: Relaxation is important for good sleep, as well as dreaming. Meditation before bed will help you to relax the mind enough for sleep and provides you with the added benefit of relieving some of the anxiety that might contribute to nightmares or sleep anxiety.
  • Count, repeat and visualize: As you lie in bed ready to sleep, count down from 100 while repeating the phrase “I’m having a dream,” in your head. It sounds corny, but the more you remember to acknowledge that you are dreaming, the likelier you will. Visualizing the type of dream you want to have is helpful as well.
  • Wake up and go back to bed: You can also set an alarm to go off during the middle of the night, about 4-6 hours after you’ve gone to bed. When you wake up, get back in bed and repeat the visualization step above. This will help stimulate your body by going into the REM state. This is where you have the best chance at a lucid dream.

When you think you might be dreaming:

Soaring through the clouds in your dreams

  • Learn to do “reality checks”: If you’ve seen the film Inception, you might be familiar with this exercise. This means coming up with a way to see if what you are experiencing is reality or… something else. It can be as simple as staring at your hand to make sure it looks the way it should. Or as complicated as throwing a ball up in the air to check that physics conforms to regular life on earth.
    In Inception, Leo DiCaprio spins a top to check whether it falls over, as it would in real life. You might look weird doing this in your day-to-day life. However, as time goes on the habit will stick and you are likely to perform these checks in your dreams.

Technology and Screens: How They Affect Our Sleep

Written by Alex

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Between our phone screens, e-readers, smartwatches and laptop computers, technology is an inescapable part of modern life—seemingly always with us. It connects us to each other and keeps us up to date and entertained.

Man sitting with a phone screen and computer getting tiredBut how does technology, and the screens that come with it, affect our sleep?

Our devices are designed to be constantly accessible, by our side day and night. We have all stayed up late having digital conversations with friends or binge-watching our favorite show. If you sleep with your smartphone near your bed, you may have woken up to an alert early in the morning or right after falling asleep. Or maybe the season finale of that show left your heart racing, just in time for bed.

A growing body of research shows that our attachment to technology, and all the reasons we love it, can have negative effects on sleep in more ways than one. So how should we interact with our screens in order to get the best night’s sleep? And what activities should we avoid? Read on to learn more about how our screens can impact sleep, and how to get the best rest after a plugged-in day.

How screens affect sleep

To understand how technology influences sleep, it’s important to understand that they do so both physiologically and psychologically. That is, screens have been shown to alter both internal brain chemistry and how we feel when we are trying to fall asleep. Put simply, screen-based technology stimulates our bodies and minds, sometimes just as we are preparing to sleep.

One important way that screens can impact our sleep is by altering the circadian rhythm, or the body’s internal clock. The circadian rhythm is a complex network of hormones and nerves that helps the body know when it is time to sleep, among other functions. To work properly, it depends on stimuli like sounds and light. Artificial light, like the kind from screens, can damage that natural process. Artificial light can also damage sleep patterns known as the sleep cycle. By disrupting natural cycles that the brain experiences during sleep, light can damage sleep quality.

The bright backlights of many modern screens emit LED blue light. Blue light is a short wavelength of visible light that has been shown to harm sleep when viewed in the evening. That’s because blue light from screens mimics the effect of natural blue light from the sun in the body, which can disrupt the circadian rhythm. A 2011 study showed that artificial blue light can increase the suppression of melatonin, a hormone that is an important regulator of the circadian rhythm, in the blood. Inadequate melatonin in the body around bedtime can damage sleep. Another scientific survey found that blue light from screens, and its impact on melatonin, influenced sleep in the following ways:

  • Increased in alertness and reduced sleepiness, delaying bedtime and keeping you up
  • Reducing phase two REM sleep quality, leading to a less restful night’s sleep
  • Delayed sleep onset, making it more difficult to fall asleep once you’re in bed

The psychological effects of technology

laptop blue light in bed keep man awakeOn the psychological side, our attachment to technology can have negative impacts as well. Our sleep can be interrupted by loud alerts, which we are anxious to check. An inability to unplug can cause stress that harms your overall quality during the night. Or, the feelings that entertainment, like shows or games, can elicit may cause emotional excitement, delaying sleep even longer. Attachment to recreational technology like television or video games can even become an addiction that keeps you up well into the night.

The scientific survey referenced above describes the potential negative behavioral and psychological effects of screen use, specifically on children and adolescents:

  • Behavioral bedtime delay as individuals postpone bedtime to consume media
  • Exciting, thrilling or violent content can increase heart rates and delay sleep onset
  • Though it is unproven, there is growing concern among scientists that internet and video game addiction—uncontrollable or excessive technology habits especially related to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs)—can harm sleep

Screens can make it difficult to sleep in more ways than one, so managing our relationship with them is important, and may take some time to put into effect. Still, it is possible, necessary even, to think hard about the ways that you can limit screen time. Read on to learn more about creating healthy screen habits for adults, children and the entire family.

How to create healthy screen habits for better sleep

Technology and the screens that come with it are a huge part of our daily lives, and disconnecting can be difficult. Developing a habit of moderate screen usage is as important as any other routine. Although to some, a screen-time routine might sound far-fetched or unreasonable, an intentional effort to commit to a screen-time routine, like any other healthy habit, can lead to tangible improvements in sleep over time. Generally, screens (yes, even TVs) should be kept out of the bedroom, especially for children.

Mom, dad and daughter reading storybook together while lying on bed.Any routine should be clearly communicated to other members of the household and followed as regularly as possible. Recognizing the impact technology can have on sleep for children, in particular, can lead to lasting improvement in their overall health. So, parents should work to model good technology habits for children and monitor for age-appropriate content, when possible. The 2019 survey suggests creating a screen-time routine that includes the following steps:

  • Avoid exposure of screens and electronics at least an hour before bedtime
  • Replace nighttime screen usage with relaxing activities like reading or coloring
  • Keep all screens and devices (TVs, video games, computers, tablets, and smartphones) out of the bedroom
  • Avoid using screens as background noise: you can be affected by screen media even when you are not actively engaged.
  • Avoid violent or exciting media, which can negatively affect sleep.

man reading a book in bedAdults and families with children should consider the screen-time routine as part of a larger mental health routine. Getting quality sleep is critical for the health of adults and children, and a variety of environmental factors can impact overall health. In fact, other daytime behavior and habits like exercise and diet can influence your quality at night.

In addition to the steps above, it is possible to create a sleeping environment that is ideal for quality sleep. To relax and properly prepare for sleep, incorporate these tips into your day:

  • Set and abide by regular bedtimes
  • Create a regular bedtime sequence of events and follow it consistently
  • Maintain cool, comfortable, dark and quiet bedrooms
  • Avoid consuming sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine at night
  • Regularly exercise for at least 30 minutes, outdoors when possible, during the daylight

RELATED: 8 Tips for a Better Nights Sleep

Diet and Your Sleep Quality

Written by Alex

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Man in pajamas having breakfast in bed

The average person spends a lot of time (about 30 percent of their life) sleeping. As crazy as that may seem, the third of our time we spend resting at night is incredibly important to making sure we are healthy and happy during our time spent awake. But in the same way, all of the habits and activities we engage in during the day inevitably have a big impact on how we sleep.

Some habits can be detrimental to our sleep quality and in some cases may induce insomnia or raise blood pressure, like drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, using nicotine, or ingesting caffeine late in the day. Others, like exercise and meditation, have been shown to increase sleep quality and duration.

The big picture answer is that diet does in fact play a role. Studies show that a person’s diet impacts how they sleep in a number of ways. This is likely due to the fact that what we eat directly affects important systems related to our sleep, such as brain chemistry, circulatory systems, and overall weight.

And what about popular beliefs about eating habits that harm or help sleep, like drinking milk or avoiding meals before bed? Read on to learn more about how changed to your diet can improve, or degrade, the quality of your sleep.

How diet affects sleep

Diet influences our nights the same way most other behaviors do: by causing changes to the circadian rhythm and the sleep cycle. The circadian rhythm is the body’s internal clock. An entire part of your brain is dedicated to keeping this clock running, always working to adjust our sleep-wake cycle according to external stimuli like light or sound. Some foods affect the circadian rhythm by triggering the production of chemicals in the brain that encourage or discourage sleep. Most foods that promote better sleep work in this way.

There are two main phases of the cycle: one in which your mind is more active, known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, and a deeper sleep known as Non-REM sleep. Certain dietary habits can interrupt sleep by causing intense digestion or excess weight gain, which disrupts this cycle.

Foods that can promote sleep

Luckily for anyone interested in making changes to their eating habits to improve their sleep, studies show that a well-balanced diet is generally a good first step. A healthy diet can improve your night in two major ways: by promoting the synthesis of compounds that can improve the quality of your slumber, and by limiting the intake of foods that can interrupt it. Three chemicals, each playing a big role in the process, are significantly affected by diet:

  • Serotonin: Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate the circadian rhythm and sleep. Scientists are still working to understand all the complexities of the roles it plays, which include stimulating both wakefulness and arousal. One scientific review of over 50 years of serotonin research explains that serotonin is involved in starting, moderating, and ending these cycles.
  • Melatonin: Melatonin is a hormone that plays an important part in regulating the circadian rhythm and promoting a restful night. Evening darkness stimulates the body to produce melatonin, which continues to build up in the brain through the night. Melatonin works in part by lowering core body temperature.
  • Tryptophan: Tryptophan is a protein hormone that is the single precursor to serotonin. That means that in order to make serotonin, the body needs tryptophan. While the hormone can be produced internally, the body can also use tryptophan that is consumed in foods we eat.

Healthy Complete Breakfast served in bedSeveral foods can increase the natural production of these compounds or introduce more for the body to use. While all foods should be consumed in moderation, a 2016 scientific review found that including or substituting the following items into your diet can stimulate your body to produce the compounds it needs for a good night’s sleep:

  • Milk: Milk products contain natural tryptophan. Several studies found that drinking a glass of milk or malted beverage before bed reduced awakenings, increased sleep time and promoted higher quality sleep.
  • Kiwis/Tart Cherries: Cherries contain melatonin and kiwis contain serotonin, among other nutrients. Studies show that people who regularly consumed these fruits had less trouble going to and staying asleep, along with an overall better quality during the night. Note, however, that too much sugar could play a negative role.
  • Whole Grains: Whole grains found in whole-wheat toast and oatmeal can trigger the production of serotonin. Johns Hopkins Medicine says that eating complex carbohydrates before bed can increase serotonin levels without burdening the digestive system late at night.

Diet habits that can degrade sleep quality

poor diet of junk food can lead to bad quality of sleep

Scientists say that a sleep-promoting diet is more about having a balanced diet than eating or avoiding specific foods. That is, diets that are unbalanced in favor of a specific food group, especially if those foods are known to be unhealthy for other reasons, are likely to have detrimental effects on sleep health. High fat, carbohydrate and protein diets, in particular, have been shown to have adverse effects on sleep health. And importantly, they all influence sleep in different ways, suggesting again that a balanced diet is important for quality sleep.

  • High-carbohydrate diet: Diets high in carbohydrates were correlated with less short-wave sleep. This type of deep sleep is part of the Non-REM phase. High carbohydrate diets do tend to improve REM when the brain needs more immediate energy for higher brain activity. But Non-REM is critical for the body to recuperate from the day, build muscle and bone, and boost the immune system.
  • High-fat diet: High-fat diets have an effect almost inverse to high carbohydrate diets. Diets with high fat reduce REM and increase the number of arousals a person experiences in a night. However, a diet high in fat can also improve Non-REM. REM is important for mental alertness upon waking, and arousals can interrupt a good night’s sleep. High-fat diets can also lead to excess weight gain, which is associated with several sleep disorders including obstructive apnea.
  • High-protein diet: High-protein diets, especially due to the consumption of meats, have been associated with negative sleep patterns. In a 2019 study, scientists suggest that a high protein intake can cause an amino acid imbalance in the body that disrupts its ability to synthesize serotonin from tryptophan. Protein is also difficult and time consuming for the body to digest, which can cause difficulty at night.
  • Spicy foods: Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that spicy and acidic foods should be avoided 3-4 hours before bed, as they can cause acid reflux that is worsened by lying down.

Lucid Dreaming: Fact or Fiction

Written by Andrew

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Imagine lucid dreaming (LD) a bit like this: You walk up to the edge of a cliff. Wind blows through your hair and ruffles your clothes as you peer over into the abyss. But instead of fear, you feel excitement. You bend your knees, raise your arms, and all of a sudden, you shoot up into the sky and begin flying.

Dreaming boy in a field

Somewhere between your first midair loop-de-loop and the moment when you hover directly across from a plane carrying all of your exes and elementary school teachers you have a realization…you’re not awake, in fact, you’re still in bed.

Such is the purported course of the much-discussed lucid dream—a situation where a person becomes aware that they are dreaming. Most of the time we experience dreams in the same way we experience everyday life, assuming what we see and feel is reality. But in this case, it breaks down, allowing us to navigate the strange world of our subconscious minds with some degree of awareness.

So what exactly is this experience? Are there benefits to it? Could it be dangerous?

What is Lucid Dreaming?

Lucid dreaming refers to the phenomenon in which people having dreams become subjectively aware that they are not experiencing everyday normal reality, but are in fact in a dream state. In its most simple form, a dream can be considered lucid if this awareness check is present. However, these sleepers also frequently report an ability to have control over certain aspects of their dreams, including the setting and people that appear or the actions that take place.

As fantastical as it sounds, lucid dreaming is also surprisingly common. The National Sleep Foundation reports that over half of all people say they have had at least one in their life. Like most, lucid dreams usually begin during the rapid eye movement (REM) portion of the sleep cycle, a time when our brains are extremely active.

However, scientists are still very much unsure about the exact physiological mechanisms that cause this type of dreaming.

One 2008 study examined the hypothesis that lucid dreaming might be a kind of hybrid state between wakefulness and dreaming. The experiment aimed to measure the brain activity of dreamers as they moved from normal REM state into states of lucid dreaming. Their results indicated that lucid dreaming may be a sort of hybrid state in which the brain demonstrates activity usually seen in REM sleep as well.

man happily having a lucid dreamMore recent studies have also confirmed that brain activity during lucid dreaming episodes is measurably different from what is typically seen during REM dreaming.

What are benefits to lucid dreaming?

A quick web search online will net hundreds of thousands of results focused on trumpeting wonders of this strange phenomenon. Videos on the subject rack up millions of views. Why is there so much interest in the subject?

The answer could lie in the purported benefits of the activity.

For one, there is the intangible yet most obvious benefit—a technique to potentially control everything that happens in a fantasy world. This could mean gaining the ability to fly, having romantic encounters with whomever you choose, or any other thing one could imagine. For many people, this is reason enough to attempt lucid dreaming.

Another potential benefit is that lucid dreaming may allow people who suffer from frequent nightmares to confront their fears. In combination with therapy designed to teach people how to respond to nightmare situations, becoming lucid during such an episode can allow people to break their typical response habits, and realize there is nothing to fear by confronting the imagined stressor in your imagination.

Others have pointed out that lucid dreaming could be helpful in reducing anxiety, as well as increasing motor skills. Keeping a journal or log during the night and often performing reality testing can yield better results.

Can LD be dangerous?

First and foremost, there is no evidence that dying during one of these events will result in death, despite mountains of anecdotal examples in pop culture. Falling from the sky mid-flight while sleeping may be terrifying, but you are much more likely to wake with a start when you hit the ground than you are to never wake again. Sorry, Christopher Nolan.

That being said, these types of events have been linked to some negative outcomes due to the way it seems to disrupt the normal sleep cycle. One opinion article by sleep researchers analyzed many of the most prevalent experiments on lucid dreaming and determined that there was significant evidence to, “fear an adverse effect on sleep and health of a regular use of LD induction methods or of an increased LD frequency…”

Since lucid dreaming occurs in a state outside of the normal stages of sleep, they argue, significant time spent lucid dreaming might mean people do not spend the appropriate amount of time in those regular stages while asleep. This in turn could result in sleep deprivation and lead to drop-offs in health and wellness.

Some sleepers who engage in the practice often have also reported difficulty distinguishing reality from dreaming over time, a phenomenon known as derealization. This is relatively uncommon for lucid dreamers, but can be a very dangerous condition that requires medical intervention.

lucid dreaming at night in the dark woods

Lucid dreaming has also been linked to narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that has demonstrable negative effects on health. Growing evidence suggests that narcoleptics, who are prone to suffering from disturbing nightmares, could benefit from lucid dreaming as a way to combat the trauma of such disturbing experiences. A 2015 study out of the Max-Plank-Institute of Psychiatry in Germany found that 70 percent of narcolepsy patients reported relief from nightmares when they gained this level of control during their dreams.

With these things being said, there seems to be much more enthusiasm for the potential benefits of lucid dreaming than there is caution against its negative outcomes. Like most things in life, moderation appears to be the key to success when it comes to training your mind on this technique.