Before attempting to answer the question as to whether lucid dreaming is dangerous or not, it is necessary to explain what it is.
In regular dreams, dreamers are not aware that they are dreaming, no matter how ridiculous or weird the dream appears.
In a lucid dream, you understand that you are actually dreaming, and are able to control participation within the dream to some degree. Lucid dreamers can also manipulate imaginary experiences in the dream.
Can dream control become dangerous? Perhaps you wonder if you could die in a lucid dream.
Life Daily understands your concerns, so we have put together the following information to help you:
When is Lucid Dreaming Safe?
Generally speaking, dream control, as well as lucid dreaming, is safe. However, it is sometimes possible that it may slightly increase the chance of sleep paralysis – a state of complete muscle weakness, where your mind has awakened but your brain is still sleeping.
What is Sleep Paralysis?
Sleep paralysis is a common human condition. It stops us from acting out our dreams as we sleep. After falling asleep, the brain’s signal to muscles to move is blocked, so we can’t lift our physical body and start walking just because we’re dreaming about it.
When learning how to control dreams using certain dream control techniques, you can shape dreams according to your expectations. However, there are some people who are so afraid of sleep paralysis and the hallucinations it can create that this puts them off lucid dreaming altogether.
Can You Fight Sleep Paralysis?
With sleep paralysis it’s the panic that causes harm, not the perception of paralysis itself. If you appear to stop breathing in the dream, the untrained mind panics, causing the heart rate to jump up – and you wake up.
To cope with this, take the following steps:
Step # 1. Relax you body and mind.
Step # 2. Focus on your little finger or try to wiggle your toes.
Step #3. Focus on deep breathing and try to move your mouth.
Do not fight against it – this will make things worse! Eventually, your brain will recognize your body parts being awake, and you will return to full wakefulness. Sleep paralysis is a normal process in lucid dreaming, and it won’t cause you any damage.
What if I have nightmares?
Some people experience lucid nightmares and find the experience of lucid dreaming frightening, or even extremely disturbing. Lucid dreaming should never be mixed with psychiatric disorders.
Although nightmares can cause big stress in such cases, they are not the cause death, as is sometimes claimed. The heartbeat barely goes up. Only people who already have heart conditions can reach abnormal levels, in which case they need medication or other forms of treatment.
When Not To Lucid Dream?
The safest way to learn how to control dreams is to practice it in the state of mental balance. If you are extensively neurotic, suffer from any kind of mental condition, or you lost your stability after a traumatic event or a strong regrettable experience, do not attempt lucid dreaming.
This is because lucid dreaming might induce hypnagogic hallucinations (a state between sleep and dream, where you can experience visions, voices, insights or sensations which are not real).
Can Children have Lucid dreams?
Just like adults, lucid dreaming might not be suitable for children suffering from any kind of mental condition (such as PTSD, schizophrenia, anxiety, etc.).
Children tend to have more nightmares than adults. However, you can teach them how to control dreams to change their nightmare into a positive dream or generally reduce frequency of nightmares with lucid dreaming techniques.
Is Lucid Dreaming Dangerous?
For an average healthy individual, lucid dreaming is safe. You just try to have a balanced mind, sleep well, and don’t let others impose their personal fears on you!
Dream control can only become dangerous if you become addicted to it. The safeguard is that you have a limited amount of REM sleeping phase available for lucid dreaming.
Finally, if you are not prepared to find out what is inside your own head, then maybe you should not try lucid dreaming at all.
Now do you think lucid dreams are dangerous?
Do you have lucid dreams? If not, would you be willing to try?
Share your thoughts with our readers by using our comments feed below.
