LUCID DREAMERS SHOW GREATER INSIGHT IN WAKING LIFE
People who are aware
they are asleep when they are dreaming have better than average problem-solving
abilities, new research has discovered.
Experts from the
University of Lincoln, UK, say that those who experience 'lucid dreaming' -- a
phenomenon where someone who is asleep can recognise that they are dreaming --
can solve problems in the waking world better than those who remain unaware of
the dream until they wake up.
The concept of lucid
dreaming was explored in the 2010 film Inception, where the dreamers were able
to spot incongruities within their dream. It is thought some people are able to
do this because of a higher level of insight, meaning their brains detect they
are in a dream because events would not make sense otherwise.
This cognitive
ability translates to the waking world when it comes to finding the solution to
a problem by spotting hidden connections or inconsistencies, researchers say.
The research by Dr
Patrick Bourke, Senior Lecturer at the Lincoln School of Psychology, is the
first empirical study demonstrating the relationship between lucid dreaming and
insight.
He said: "It is
believed that for dreamers to become lucid while asleep, they must see past the
overwhelming reality of their dream state, and recognise that they are
dreaming.
"The same
cognitive ability was found to be demonstrated while awake by a person's
ability to think in a different way when it comes to solving problems."
The study examined
68 participants aged between 18 and 25 who had experienced different levels of
lucid dreaming, from never to several times a month. They were asked to solve
30 problems designed to test insight. Each problem consisted of three words and
a solution word.
Each of the three
words could be combined with the solution word to create a new compound word.
For example with the words 'sand', 'mile' and 'age', the linking word would be
'stone'.
Results showed that
frequent lucid dreamers solved 25 per cent more of the insight problems than
the non-lucid dreamers.
Dr Bourke was
assisted with the study by student Hannah Shaw who has since graduated.
The research, called
"Spontaneous Lucid Dreaming and Waking Insight," was published in the
American Psychological Association's journal, Dreaming.
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