Increased lucid dream frequency in long-term meditators but not following MBSR training.
Psychology of consciousness (Washington, D.C.) – March 01, 2019
Source: PubMed
Summary
Lucid dreaming occurs more frequently in long-term meditators than in those new to meditation. In a study involving over 300 participants, it was found that meditators reported higher lucid dream frequencies, with their experiences linked to traits like observational awareness. Interestingly, an 8-week mindfulness course did not increase lucid dream occurrences among participants. These findings highlight the connection between meditation, mindfulness, and enhanced awareness during both waking and dreaming states, suggesting a complex relationship that warrants further exploration.
Abstract
Strong conceptual and theoretical connections have been made between meditation practice, mindfulness and lucid dreaming. However, only a handful of empirical studies have evaluated the relationship between lucid dreaming and meditation, and conclusions remain tempered by methodological limitations. Here we evaluate the relationship between meditation, mindfulness and lucid dream frequency using several complementary methods. First, using a cross-sectional design, we evaluate differences in lucid dream frequency between long-term meditators and meditation naïve individuals. Second, we evaluate the relationship between lucid dream frequency and specific facets of trait mindfulness in both meditators and non-meditators. Third, using a blinded randomized-controlled design, we evaluate the impact of an 8-week mindfulness course on lucid dreaming frequency. Our results show that lucid dreaming is more frequent in long-term meditators compared to meditation naïve individuals. Additionally, lucid dream frequency in meditation-naïve individuals was associated with a capacity to verbalize experience, while lucid dream frequency in long-term meditators was associated with observational and decentering facets of trait mindfulness. However, an 8-week mindfulness course did not increase the frequency of lucid dreams. Together these results support a continuity between increased awareness of waking and sleeping states, provide a novel form of evidence linking meditation training to meta-awareness, and support an association between meditation practice and lucid dreaming, but leave open the specific nature of this connection.