Lucid dreaming does not impair the feeling of being refreshed in the morning. In a five-week dream diary study with 149 participants, nights with a lucid dream were followed by a higher feeling of being refreshed compared to nights with a non-lucid dream. Earlier cross-sectional studies had linked frequent lucid dreaming to poorer sleep quality, but that relationship was explained by nightmare frequency, not lucid dreaming itself. The findings indicate no negative effect of lucid dreaming on sleep's restorative function, though future research should use both objective and subjective measures of daytime tiredness.
Lucid dreaming, where dreamers are aware they are dreaming and can communicate with researchers in real time, offers a new way to study dreams. However, such research is limited because lucid dreamers are rare. In three experiments replicating an earlier method that successfully induced lucid dreams in 50% of participants, the researchers shortened the first sleep period to 4.5 hours (instead of 6), simplified morning awakenings, and tested a different induction technique. Only 26%, 0%, and 20% of participants reported lucid dreams, suggesting that earlier sleep interruption reduces success, that REM awakenings are necessary for induction, and that reality testing is less effective than the mnemonic technique.