Thread: Lucid Dreaming: Expanding Your Mind Or Hurting It?

Originally Posted by Moonbeam

1) Traits can evolve which provide no immediate physical benefit--anything that confers reproductive success, even if it is actually a disadvantage in some situations (peacock's tail for example) can evolve. What if improves you in some mental way that could make you a more attractive partner?

2) I often dream about sex (well I used to) but that never decreased my sex drive IRL; if anything, it increased it.

3) I have heard (guy talking about sleep on public radio) that it is physically possible to sleep more than you need to.

4) I can't think of any. You have to sleep, so how is being aware that you are dreaming more dangerous than just being asleep?

I don't necessarily think that LD has evolved independently of any other mental trait that we have. Who knows maybe cats and dogs can LD. I have often wondered what they must think about their dreams, if they really have recall.




Yea, I assume the harm would be psychological, if there were any. Maybe the slightly weird tends towards wanting to LD in the first place (no offense to any/all DV members I am including myself in this&#33.
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1) LDing wouldn't improve a prehistoric mans chances at getting laid. The reason I say this is simple: a woman of old didn't look for who was the most intellectual member of the group, she looked for who was strongest, or who was pack leader.
Do you think a man of the ancients would want to become stronger or try to raise his clan position if all he had to do was close his eyes and be able to sleep with any member of the group (and then some)? I'll let you decide.
(remember that raising his clan cred could possibly kill him.)

2) Dreaming about sex is different than lucid dreaming about sex on a nightly basis.
When you just dream about it its like your watching a porno, of course you get hornier.
When you lucid dream about it nightly on the other hand, your in first person, and its exactly like your awake. Its like you actually have a new sexual partner every night. The best part? its totally centered around your beliefs on whats hot, and whats not.
The example in point no. 1 applies to this one as well.

3) A radio announcer that you heard awhile back isn't the greatest source...
Speaking from experience, when I tried to get more sleep in order to LD I developed something called hypersomnia, I was drowsy all the time, I craved sleep nonstop, and often slept at least 14 hrs a night, usually up to 16.
I think anyone who tries to sleep too much will be able to.

4) Its not more dangerous, it just has nearly zero sexually appealing benefits for a guy that has to wake up every morning and hunt bison to survive.


We're talking about the question: "why don't we lucid dream on a nightly basis" (also you can reword that to say: "why does it seem like our minds keep us from LDing")

Remember, LDing isn't controlling your actions in a dream, its saying: "I'm not awake right now, I'm in a secret world that no one can see"

Originally Posted by BillyBob_001

1) LDing wouldn't improve a prehistoric mans chances at getting laid.
2) **
3) A radio announcer that you heard awhile back isn't the greatest source...
Speaking from experience, when I tried to get more sleep in order to LD I developed something called hypersomnia, I was drowsy all the time, I craved sleep nonstop, and often slept at least 14 hrs a night, usually up to 16.
I think anyone who tries to sleep too much will be able to.
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1) Evolution of traits, especially in regards to sociobiology, is much more subtle than the biggest guy always gets the girl. There are many characteristics which may improve social position, survival, reproductive success, etc. than are immediately obvious. It sounds like you are saying intelligence, ability to read other people, social skills of all sorts, actually any thing that you can't instantly see how it helps you to hunt, cannot possibly confer survival benefits and reproductive success. This is just not true; sociobiology is whole field of study within evolutionary biology, and applies to animals as well as humans. The physical arms race is important but dealing with other members of your species is very important as well. Therefore, if LD did improve intelligence or social capability in some way, and I'm not saying that is does, it could potentially improve the passing on of an individual's genes. Who knows, maybe the opposite is true and LD makes you less sociable and that's why there are so few natural LDers. I'm just saying that because you can't immediately see the survival benefit, doesn't mean that it isn't there. People spend their lives studying these things.

2) Yes, not the greatest source, but this isn't a scholarly paper I'm writing either. I heard a sleep expert from a well-known university talk for an hour about sleep disorders, it wasn't like some DJ said it. If you have the right sheltered environment, and abuse yourself in the pursuit of LD (which I have, to some extent) I think you may sleep more than you would otherwise, yet end up more tired because the sleep is disturbed. I believe that the average person, especially in the primitive conditions you are describing, would probably not end up over-sleeping just to LD.