Brain

[Immortaleagle]

If dreaming is for the brain to handle all things that you have seen under the day, should'nt you let the brain do what it's doing? I mean if you have much lucid dreams don't you prevent your brain to do it's "nightwork"?

[ExoByte]

Dreaming isn't for handling what you've done during the day. Thats what sleep is for. Sleep refreshes your body and re-energizes it so its ready for the next day. Dreaming is just images thrown into our head. By Lucid Dreaming you aren't inhibiting the brain's work at all. The body is still sleeping, resting and you lose no sleep or energy through it. Your not doing anything physical when Lucid Dreaming, its all mental. Which can actually be helpful as the mind is better awake and aware. Even if Dreaming was a neccissity, there would still be no harm in Lucid Dreaming as your still not inhibiting it. Why? Because when your Lucid Dreaming, your still dreaming. So the brain still is giving you that dream that you can be aware of. (Btw, Im tired so I may have worded some of that really bad.)

[slimslowslider]

Hi Immortaleagle - and welcome to DV! We don't really know what dreaming is for - so the 'processing the day' theory, though a reasonable hypothesis, is just that... There are other theories as to the function of dreams. e.g. The psychoanalysts would say that they are partly to help us to understand ourselves, as dreaming is an opportunity for the sub/unconscious to speak. Various cultures insist on the importance of LDing for personal spiritual development. There is evidence that a lack of sleep can make you a little psychotic - and this could be due to the lack of REM (there may have been other experiments specifically looking at REM) - but unless you LD all night its unlikley to be tiring - instead, invigorating and exhillerating Even if we assume that 'normal' deaming is important for the brain, then I don't think there's much to worry about. Most LDers don't have more than a few LDs per week, and then they don't last more than a few minutes each (there are exceptions) So basically not much of reduction dream time. Certainly less than with doing shift work say. On the other hand there are many who say that an interest in dreaming, such as is sparked in the study of lucid dreams, can be beneficial. At one level dream recall is usually improved - and so potentially there is more opportunity for the conscious mind to ponder the dream messages of the un/subconscious. Then, there is the notion that with lucid dreaming one can specifically seek opportunities to learn - perhaps by addressing fears, practicing/rehearsing difficult interactions, or by asking questions of the unconscious. Some people LD to seek creative inspiration or improve a physical skill. **

[The Blue Meanie]

We don't really know what dreaming is for - so the 'processing the day' theory, though a reasonable hypothesis, is just that... There are other theories as to the function of dreams. e.g. The psychoanalysts would say that they are partly to help us to understand ourselves, as dreaming is an opportunity for the sub/unconscious to speak. Various cultures insist on the importance of LDing for personal spiritual development. [/b] I wanna chip in here with another theory of what function dreaming serves. My psychology lecturer proposed this idea to me. I believe that dreaming is the hippocampus (part of the breain responsible for the ordering of memory, amouing other things) organising, storing, ordering and kind of "filing" things in your long-term memory. Making associations between subjects, etc. I don't believe that LDing interferes with this, either - I think that dreaming is just the "spin-off" of the throwaway associations that the hippocampus is trying to make, that don't quite work. Hence why dreams often appear random and nonsensical. the more important work of the hippocampus is still occurring, "behind the scenes". Anyway, that's my opinion...

[Immortaleagle]

Is it possible to have a really long lucid dream, so that i feels like you have been dreaming for 1 hour+?

[slimslowslider]

Is it possible to have a really long lucid dream, so that i feels like you have been dreaming for 1 hour+? [/b] Its possible to have LDs that seem to last for a lifetime! Try the Search function - just about anything you could possibly want to know about lucid dreaming has been discussed at length on DV, and usually on multiple occassions! Feel free to ask questions though - sometimes a subject does need revisting!

[Immortaleagle]

Btw what happends if you kill your dream guide? do it come back?

[ExoByte]

Every thing that is in your head, is in your head. So if you "destroy" something, you can bring it back if you want.