Lucid Dreaming Treatment for Nightmares: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of the cognitive-restructuring technique ‘lucid dreaming treatment’ (LDT) on chronic nightmares. Becoming lucid (realizing that one is dreaming) during a nightmare allows one to alter the nightmare storyline during the nightmare itself. Methods: After having filled out a sleep and a posttraumatic stress disorder questionnaire, 23 nightmare sufferers were randomly divided into 3 groups; 8 participants received one 2-hour individual LDT session, 8 participants received one 2-hour group LDT session, and 7 participants were placed on the waiting list. LDT consisted of exposure, mastery, and lucidity exercises. Participants filled out the same questionnaires 12 weeks after the intervention (follow-up). Results: At follow-up the nightmare frequency of both treatment groups had decreased. There were no significant changes in sleep quality and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity. Lucidity was not necessary for a reduction in nightmare frequency. Conclusions: LDT seems effective in reducing nightmare frequency, although the primary therapeutic component (i.e. exposure, mastery, or lucidity) remains unclear.

A Survey Focusing on Lucid Dreaming, Metacognition, and Dream Anxiety in Medical Students

“…Several factors might explain why females have more dream anxiety compared with males, including higher rate of dream recall frequency in females, greater vulnerability to depression, more frequent childhood trauma history, and lower androgen levels, all of which have been reported to attenuate sympathetically mediated components of the integrated central stress response (25,27,28,29,30). People who suffer from nightmares can become lucid in their dreams by performing daily exercises (31). Thus, the induction of LD might be a new therapeutic technique as a conciliatory interaction with threatening dream figures aiming to reduce dream anxiety levels, which has recently been revealed to reduce nightmare frequency as an add-on treatment to Gestalt therapy (11).…”

Induction of lucid dreams: A systematic review of evidence

“…LaBerge & Rheingold, 1990). Lucid dreaming, for example, was successfully applied in nightmare treatment: several case studies (Abramovitch, 1995;Brylowski, 1990;Spoormaker, van den Bout, & Meijer, 2003;Zadra & Pihl, 1997) and a controlled trial (Spoormaker & van den Bout, 2006) demonstrated that the development of lucid dreaming abilities can decrease nightmare frequency and nightmare intensity. Lucid dreaming can also be used to enhance and perfect motor performance and motor skills (Erlacher & Schredl, 2010;Tholey, 1981) or employed for creative problem solving (Stumbrys & Daniels, 2010).…”

“…while the emphasis in MILD is to remember that one is dreaming, in intention technique it is to recognise that one is dreaming. The technique was employed in four field studies; however, three of them were not specifically concerned with lucid dream induction, but used it as a means for nightmare treatment (Spoormaker, van den Bout, & Meijer, 2003;Spoormaker & van den Bout, 2006;Zadra & Pihl, 1997). The fourth one compared intention technique with other induction methods (Schlag-Gies, 1992).…”

“…About a half of nightmare sufferers who were taught lucid dreaming with the intention technique had lucid dreams within one to three months (Spoormaker, van den Bout, & Meijer, 2003;Spoormaker & van den Bout, 2006;Zadra & Pihl, 1997). The other study showed that intention technique can be successfully used for lucid dream induction; however, it seems to be somewhat less effective than reflection technique and similarly effective as autosuggestion (Schlag-Gies, 1992).…”

“…Nightmare sufferers could employ lucid dreaming techniques to decrease their nightmare frequency and intensity (Abramovitch, 1995;Brylowski, 1990;(Spoormaker & van den Bout, 2006;Spoormaker, van den Bout, & Meijer, 2003;Zadra & Pihl, 1997). Athletes could use this to improve their performance, perfect existing motor skills and acquire new ones, explore more risky actions, practice without fear of injury or negative judgements, manipulate phenomenal space and time (Erlacher & Schredl, 2010;Tholey, 1981Tholey, , 1990.…”