Page 48 - Healthy (March - April 2020)

theCLINIC

CASE STUDY
“I tried it!”

FOR 39-YEAR-OLD HYPNOTHERAPIST AND
WRITER LEAH LARWOOD, LUCID DREAMING
OFFERED A SENSE OF FREEDOM WHEN
SHE BECAME A MOTHER, AS WELL AS
BOOSTING HER CREATIVITY
‘I’ve always had very vivid dreams, but I only realised it was a
“thing” in my late 20s, after my dad went to a lucid dreaming
workshop held by an international trainer called Charlie Morley.
Dad came back with a handout, and once I read about the
things you could do, I started dreaming about flying, exploring
different places and meeting celebrities. The first few years,
I just used it for fun, but as I approached my mid-30s, I began
to go deeper. I did some retreats and workshops with Charlie,
and did some reading around it. When I became a mum, it
was good for a bit of escapism. I’d lived in the Caribbean for a
couple of years and after my daughter was born, I’d go back to
one of the beautiful beaches in my dreams. It took the edge off
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? my sleep deprivation as it left me with a sense of having done
As the dreamer can control the outcome, some people something. I’m also writing a collection of poems at the moment,
propose it may be useful for overcoming phobias. This is which are all about lucid dreaming. Sometimes a dream is so
because the sleeper can gradually expose themselves to the vivid, it sparks an idea – it’s given me a lot of inspiration.’
things they fear in the safe environment of a dream (though More info at charliemorley.com
research is needed to back up this theory). For people with
recurring nightmares as a result of conditions including dreaming. Later, in a follow-up questionnaire, both
PTSD, gaining authority over dreams could prevent treatment groups reported experiencing fewer nightmares,
distressing outcomes. Lucid dreaming is also thought to but there were no signiicant changes in sleep quality, or the
improve your motor skills, as the same area of the brain severity of other PTSD symptoms.
(the sensorimotor cortex) is activated when you move in
a dream as when you move in real life. For this reason, it’s SPORTS PERFORMANCE
believed lucid dreaming might help athletes improve their A 2018 study analysed 16 lucid dreamers from diferent
performance, as well as having applications in rehabilitation countries. Interviews found that they reported very
for people with physical disabilities. realistic dreams, in which activities including sports could
However, lucid dreaming might not be safe for people be practised, with the relevant equipment and sparring
with mental illnesses that make it diicult to distinguish partners readily available. Thirteen of the 16 interviewees
between thoughts and real-life events, such as reported the positive efects of lucid dream practice,
schizophrenia. Also, people with ongoing sleep conditions with 10 participants indicating that it improved physical
probably shouldn’t actively try the ‘waking back to bed’ performance afterwards. Other positive efects included
method, as it might deny them the rest they need. improved conidence and lexibility. The indings seem
to suggest LDT might be helpful in improving sports
ANY SCIENCE BEHIND IT? performance. However, this research relies on truthful
It’s still relatively understudied, but scientists have been reporting from a small group of lucid dreamers, so it might
able to observe lucid dreaming by asking their subjects to not be completely accurate.
perform a pre-agreed signal while they’re dreaming lucidly
(for example, moving the eyes twice to the right and twice IMPROVING MOTOR SKILLS
to the left in quick succession). The research has observed In an online experiment, 68 participants were split into four
increased levels of activity in the frontal areas of the brain groups before performing a typing task. One group could
during lucid dreaming, compared to non-lucid REM sleep. only practise for the task by lucid dreaming. A second group
This is signiicant because these areas, typically associated was allowed to practise mentally while awake, while another
with higher-order functioning, such as logical reasoning, group was allowed to practise physically and a fourth group, Words Niam Leonard-Bedwell. Photographs Plain Picture
only usually show high levels of activity when we’re awake. who weren’t allowed to practise at all, were used as a control.
All three practise groups signiicantly improved their
TREATING PTSD performance on the task compared to the control group,
In a small study into PTSD, 23 suferers who were indicating that lucid dreaming is an efective form of
experiencing nightmares were given either individual preparation. But more research needs to be carried out
training, group training, or no training at all on lucid before we can assume any real-world applications.

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