The Incidence of Lucid Dreaming within a Japanese University Student Sample

Among 153 Japanese university students, 47% reported having had at least one lucid dream and 19% were frequent lucid dreamers (once a month or more). Dream recall frequency was significantly linked to lucid dream frequency, but after controlling for that, nightmares were not related. Prevalence rates were lower than in other countries, possibly due to differences in how lucid dreaming was defined or because participants were psychology students. The findings suggest lucid dreaming is a known phenomenon in Japan, and future research might explore groups with strong cultural ties to dreaming, such as monks.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The present study investigated the incidence of lucid dreaming within a Japanese university student sample. From 153 Japanese students 47% reported experiencing a lucid dream at least once and 19% were frequent lucid dreamers (frequency equal or higher than once a month). Dream recall frequency was significantly related to lucid dream frequency. In the Japanese sample the incidence of lucid dreaming was not related to that of nightmares after controlling for dream recall frequency. Compared to other countries, the Japanese sample showed significantly lower prevalence rates. This result might be explained by differences in the verification process of lucid dreaming (e.g., definition) and participants (e.g., psychology students). Representative samples are needed to gain a clearer picture of cross-cultural differences. The results, thus, indicated that lucid dreaming is a known phenomenon in Japan. Due to the long cultural history of dreams and dreaming in Japan it would be interesting to investigate groups with strong relationships with those roots (e.g., monks) to learn more about a possible lucid dream culture, comparable to Tibetan Buddhism (e.g., dream yoga).