Thread: Hi there and first questions

I believe that's the purpose of sleep, though there may be more to it. I don't think having lucids and controlling your dreams has any negative consequences on this. I personally feel better after a lucid, regardless of what I have been doing during the dream, though that might have something to do with the felling of achievement.

When we sleep we go through different phases of sleep including deep sleep (also called non rapid eye movement sleep, or NREM for short) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These two are very different. Deep NREM sleep is where our body and mind get most rest and restoration, during this phase of sleep we either do not dream or dream very little. Only very advanced lucid dreamers like Tibetan Yogis report awareness during deep sleep. Most of us are happy to leave deep sleep alone and to let the body rest during that part of sleep. During REM sleep however we dream, our eyes move, and the level of brain activity is close to waking level. This part of sleep is not very restful. This is when dreams happen, and this is when lucid dreams can happen. Lucid dreams are not any less restful than nonlucid dreams, in part because all dreams in REM are not restful.

There is some debate between people who believe that trying to control dreams is not right because the subconscious creative problem solving of issues needs all the time it can get and ashould be left alone, and people who believe that lucid dreaming is an excellent way of maximizing our use of dream time to do whatever we like.

Personally I believe that subconscious and conscious mind can do their job best if they work together, and I like both lucid dreaming and dream interpretation to try to integrate subconscious and conscious parts better. Keep in mind that most lucid dreamers still have lots of nonlucid dreams, few get so adapt at lucid dreaming as to have most dreams be lucid. Also even a lucid dream has elements that we do not control, so the subconscious may still express itself. I believe that the subconscious is strong enough so that if there is an important issue it needs to work out, this will get worked out, no matter whether one chooses to lucid dream or not. Also a lucid dream can be used to better understand one's mind, for example by asking one's dream monsters why they are chasing one. Whenever I wake up from a lucid dream, I feel more energized, revitalized, and empowered. I think lucid dreaming is a powerful positive tool.

However, not everyone feels this way, and if you would rather not lucid dream, that is your choice. I know that my aunt who was a psychiatrist before she retired and became a nun, she is opposed to messing with one's dreams, and she feels that one should leave them alone. That is her choice.

Edit: Btw, your body regulates the amount of sleep spent in REM versus NREM sleep based on need for rest. We cycle through different phases of sleep throughout the night. The longest REM sleep with the longest dreams happens toward the end of the night after we already got several hours of sleep. And that is the time when lucid dreaming is most likely to be successful.

Hey and welcome

vivid = lebendig... just so you know now.

I can just tell you about my experience and after I have had a lucid dream I never woke up tired or so. It always made my day and I was full with joy and it was such a delighting experience However if you have many lucid dreams this might change, but I can't say for sure.... I suppose that you will still get enough rest because you are still sleeping or at least resting and I don't think the difference is huge.

good luck and sweet dreams
- Benni

Thanks guys, for your answers.
Sounds great. I will definitely get my head around all the stuff about vivid dreaming. Sounds very interesting !

Actually, there is a distinction between "lucid dreaming" and "vivid dreaming". Lucid dreaming is the term used for dreams in which the dreamer is aware that it is a dream. Vivid dreaming is the opposite of blurry dreams: in vivid dreams the input through the senses is clear. While most but not all lucid dreams tend to be vivid, and in most cases when we become lucid, the dream becomes more vivid; there are many vivid dreams in which the dreamer is unaware that this is a dream, and thus not lucid.

@Joanna
Those two terms can be quite confusing because the German translation of "lucid dream" can be seen/understood as "vivid dream" as well. So of course I agree with you, Joanna I just wanted to add that this might the reason for this misunderstanding.

Oh, they are quite confusing in English as well, since for many contexts lucid and vivid are used almost synonymously. This is one of the few contexts where they are not.

Edit: Since I also know German I looked up German synonyms, and I think "lucid" is close to "einleuchtend", whereas "vivid" is close to "lebensnah". I know that this may seem like a hair-splitting distinction, but in terms of actual experience vivid dreams that are non-lucid are not nearly as satisfactory as lucid dreams.

Oh yea I totally forgot that "vivid" and "lucid" have got almost the same meaning as well... haha sorry about that. Lucid dreaming has probably coined me which is why for me there is this distinction between vivid and lucid haha...

You are right. Vivid means "lebensnah" which means "close to life" or "lively". However the other one is not so correct. Your translation for lucid ("einleuchtend") would be something like "obvious" or "plausible" in English. However the translation of "lucid" in German is more like "clear" or "distinct". Anyway.... let's just get rid of this confusion xD A lucid dream is a dream in which you know that you are dreaming and a vivid dream is a dream that feels life-like and is full of sensations. That's all we need to know, right?

Is "lebendig" the term that is actually used for "lucid dreaming" when translated to German though? It does not seem quite right - I don't know why. My German is a bit rusty, though I lived eight years in Austria and spent most of my school years there, but I have not had a chance to keep it up in the last twenty years.

Edit: How about "bewußt" for lucid?

It's not "lebendig", however vivid and lucid have a very similar meaning just as in English. That's what I was trying to say haha So it's easy to be confused if English isn't your first language.

"bewusst" could be used as lucid, however I would translate "bewusst" as conscious or aware. "bewusst" has more this awareness-touch to it whereas "lucid" in German just describes a sensation of obviousness, clearness,... Ohhh that's actually quite hard to describe...

So to sum up my german translation for "lucid" would be "klar" or "deutlich". I think "klar" suits... considering that the situation of being in a dream is "klar/ clear" for you (you know about it)