Lucid Dreaming: What It Is, How to Try It and the Downsides

Lucid dreaming is when you realise you're dreaming while the dream is still going. Some people get it by chance, and a growing number try to learn it on purpose. This guide covers what lucid dreaming is, how common it is, what science says about the main techniques, the possible downsides for your sleep, and how to try it without wrecking your nights.

The short answer: a lucid dream is one where you know you're dreaming, and sometimes you can steer what happens. About half of people have had at least one, but regular lucid dreams are much less common. Techniques such as reality checks and MILD (repeating an intention to notice you're dreaming) can raise the odds, especially combined with waking briefly late in the night, but none works reliably for everyone. The main cost is broken sleep, so keep it occasional and stop if it leaves you tired or unsettled.

What lucid dreaming is

A lucid dream is "the process of being aware that one is dreaming while dreaming", as a 2019 paper in Frontiers in Psychology puts it. Some dreamers can also take control of the dream's content and scenery (source).

Lucid dreams happen most often in REM sleep, the stage linked with vivid dreaming, though there are reports of them in other stages (source). See what is REM sleep and why do we dream for the background.

Researchers have confirmed lucid dreams in sleep labs in a neat way. Because your eyes can still move during REM sleep while most other muscles are switched off, volunteers agree in advance to signal with a set pattern of eye movements (left, right, left, right) once they become lucid. The signal shows up clearly on the sleep recording.

How common is it?

A 2023 review in the Journal of Clinical Medicine reports that:

• About 55% of people have had at least one lucid dream in their lifetime.
• About 23% have them roughly once a month or more.
• Control is limited. In one study cited, only 37% of people who said they were lucid dreamers reported being able to change their dreams.

The 2019 Frontiers paper gives similar figures: about half have experienced one, and only 11% report two or more a month. So if you've had one or two by accident, you're in good company. Having them often is less usual.

Techniques and what the evidence says

The largest recent test of home techniques is the International Lucid Dream Induction Study, led from the University of Adelaide. Of the 355 people who completed it, about a fifth were in Australia (source).

Technique	What you do	Evidence
Reality testing	Several times a day, check whether you're dreaming (for example, try to breathe through a closed mouth or push a finger through your palm)	Commonly used; works best as part of a combined approach
MILD	On waking from a dream, recall it, then repeat "next time I'm dreaming, I will remember I'm dreaming" while picturing yourself becoming lucid	One of the most effective in the Adelaide study
SSILD	Shift your attention in cycles between the darkness behind your eyelids, sounds and body sensations as you drift back off	About as effective as MILD in the same study
Wake back to bed	Set an alarm about 5 hours after going to bed, do a technique, then go back to sleep	Used alongside MILD or SSILD in the study
External cues or supplements	Lights, sounds or supplements during sleep	Not shown to work reliably; supplements need a GP or pharmacist's advice

In the Adelaide study, participants did reality checks at least 10 times a day and set an alarm 5 hours after going to bed to practise MILD or SSILD before going back to sleep. Lucid dream frequency rose significantly over the week, and MILD and SSILD were similarly effective. People who fell back asleep within 10 minutes of doing the technique had noticeably more success than those who took longer.

There's an important caveat. The 2019 Frontiers paper notes that reviews have found none of the induction techniques reliably and consistently produces lucid dreams. Expect a slow, patchy result, not a switch you can flip.

A simple way to try it

1. Keep a dream journal. Write down whatever you remember as soon as you wake. Better recall makes everything else easier.
2. Do reality checks through the day, especially when something odd happens. The idea is that the habit carries into your dreams.
3. Pick one or two nights a week to try wake back to bed, not every night.
4. Set a quiet alarm about 5 hours after bedtime. Stay calm and in dim light.
5. Do MILD or SSILD, then settle back to sleep as quickly as you can.
6. Sleep in or nap if needed on those days, and skip it before work, exams or driving.

Possible downsides

Lucid dreaming isn't usually a problem, but it has costs.

• Broken sleep. The 2019 Frontiers paper points out that waking mid-sleep fragments the night. It also cites a study of 1,824 people that found a link between frequent lucid dreaming and poorer sleep quality. The Adelaide study, on the other hand, found sleep quality was better on nights when people succeeded than on nights they didn't.
• Feeling detached. The 2023 review cites research suggesting deliberate lucid dream induction can increase dissociation symptoms in some people.
• Sleep paralysis. The 2023 review covers sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming together as states between waking and dreaming, and both are linked to REM sleep. See sleep paralysis.

If you live with a mental health condition, or you're prone to feeling unreal or disconnected, talk to your GP before trying it.

Lucid dreaming and nightmares

The 2023 review cites studies suggesting lucid dreaming may help reduce suffering from nightmares, anxiety and depression. That research is still developing and isn't a reason to self-treat. If nightmares are frequent or linked to trauma, see your GP, who can talk through treatment options. See nightmares: what helps.

When to see your GP

See your GP if nightmares are regular or distressing, if you feel detached from reality during the day, if you're regularly sleep deprived, or if you notice yourself acting out dreams. This guide is general information, not medical advice.

Where the Sovune Nudge fits

We make the Sovune Nudge, a silent alarm wristband, so we're not neutral. Wake back to bed needs an alarm in the middle of the night, and that's where a silent one helps.

• Silent. No speaker and no sound, so a partner sleeps through your 5-hour alarm. See wake up without waking your partner.
• Starts as a gentle tap on your wrist, so you surface without a jolt and can settle back quickly.
• Three separate alarms, so you can set a mid-night one and your normal morning one.
• No phone. Alarms are set on the band itself, with no app and no screen to wake you up further.

It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Quick answers

Is lucid dreaming dangerous? For most people it isn't, but waking mid-sleep breaks up the night, and some research links it with dissociation in some people. Keep it occasional.

How long does it take to learn? It varies a lot. In the Adelaide study, lucid dream frequency rose within a single week of practice, but success was patchy.

Can anyone lucid dream? About half of people have had at least one, but no technique works for everyone.

What's the easiest technique for beginners? Keep a dream journal, do reality checks, and try MILD after waking from a dream.

For every type of silent alarm compared, see our complete guide to vibrating alarms in Australia.

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