This is the third in a row of sleep-related articles I've written recently. I've previously written one on dreams, and one on nightmares. Hailee also wrote a very interesting article on sleep paralysis. 

This week we're going to take a look at lucid dreaming. A lucid dream is different from a regular dream in the way that the dreamer is actually aware of dreaming.

Lucid dreaming was first given its name by the Dutch psychiatrist and author Frederik van Eeden. Yet, the earliest known references to lucid dreaming date all the way back to ancient Greek writing. Aristotle wrote about the phenomenon as "often when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream". 

The first step to lucid dreaming is, to no surprise, recognizing that you are dreaming. When the dreamer recognizes this, they may become able to exert control over dream narrative, characters and environment. In other words, the dreamer may become able to make decisions that alter what happens in the dream.

While most who have studied the subject agree that lucid dreams occur as a part of rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep), some skeptics question if lucid dreams are a state of sleep at all. Some believe that lucid dreams are in fact brief awakenings that interrupt sleep. 

Studies suggest that lucid dreaming can benefit people who suffer from frequent nightmares. A pilot study performed in 2006 showed that lucid dreaming therapy successfully reduced nightmare frequency. However, this treatment consisted of several aspects - and it is not clear how much of the success the lucid dreaming training was responsible for.

With a quick Google search, you can easily access a lot of different techniques for mastering lucid dreaming at home. However, it's important to be careful - as some of these techniques are rumored to cause sleep paralysis as a side effect.

Have you ever experienced lucid dreaming?

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