Introduction
Hypothesis
Despite the fact that the process of dreaming is traditionally associated with inexplicably weird imagery that usually does not fit the context of objective reality by any existing standard, dreams, in fact, can be interpreted as the process of digesting the information that has been accumulated in the course of the day and therefore, can be used as a means of enhancing learning process once the technique of lucid dreaming is integrated.
Variables
The quality of information processing and memorizing in the research participants is going to be the key dependent variable of the research. The factors that affect the quality, length and intensity of dreaming, in their turn, are going to be the main independent variables of the study.
Background
The study of dreams in general and the active phase of sleeping, I the course of which dreams occur (the so-called “rapid-eye movement” phase, or REM) have been carried out quite a few times. To be more exact, researches on REM and “auto-activation deficit” (Cruse 2935) performed by Cruse, the study of “gamma frequency rate” (Payne 753) and its effects on dreaming by Payne and the link between REM, “sleep restriction and emotions” (Dijk 233), to name just a few, shed a lot of light on the mechanics of sleep and dreaming.
However, despite the above-mentioned progress in the designated area, the phenomenon of dreaming itself has been understudied considerably. Particularly, the purpose of dreaming has not been fully identified yet; even the definition of dreaming does not imply any actual functions thereof and states merely that dreaming is ‘one of the functions of sleep onset REM sleep” (Takeuchi et al. 49). It is assumed, though, that dreaming involves digesting the data accumulated during one’s being awake.
It is traditionally assumed that dreaming cannot be deemed as conscious: “dreaming is deficient in its failure to recognize its own true condition” (Hobson 803). However, according to recent studies, dreaming can incorporate certain awareness of the process by taking an “intermediate position between REM sleep and waking” (Hobson 804). Defined as lucid dreaming (Hobson 804), the specified phenomenon may affect the process of information analysis and accumulation, which supposedly occurs during dreaming.
Rationale
Seeing that the process of dreaming as the creation of a consecutive line of imagery and events in the process of the REM stage of sleep has not been fully studied yet, it is reasonable to address the nature, purpose and functions of dreaming. Moreover, seeing that the process of dreaming is traditionally related to the process of information analysis and its further memorization, it were reasonable to suggest that, by introducing the strategy of lucid dreaming into the REM process, one were capable of processing data consciously.
Lessons to be learned
The study will supposedly shed some light on the process of learning during the REM stage in general and the lucid dream state in particular.
Methodology
Materials
In the process of the study, an efficient use of the existing resources was made. First and most obvious, the academic resources that the corresponding databases had to offer were used successfully in the research in the Literature Review section, including both the recent sources and the ones that make the foundation of the theory related to the subject matter.
Apart from scholarly resources, essential materials for the experiment were integrated into the study. Specifically, the experiment in question required that a ball should be used; therefore, a basketball and a basketball hoop were bought in order to achieve the goals of the research, the approximate expenditure amounting to $101 ($87 paid for the hoop and $14 paid for the ball). In addition, the participants were provided with pens and notepads for writing down their lucid dream experiences.
Methods
Since the study aims at determining the relationships between lucid dreams and the process of information acquisition and memorizing, at the same time quantifying the data in order to establish a distinct connection between the variables, it were reasonable to suggest that a combination of a qualitative and a quantitative approach should be used as the basis for the study. As far as the methods of qualitative research are concerned, adopting a single tool for information collection does not seem reasonable, as it may jeopardize the veracity and objectivity of the data gathered. Therefore, it is suggested that two key tools should be integrated into the research.
A general research, i.e., an overview of the literature on the topic of dreams, especially lucid dreams, and the process of information analysis, which occurs on a subconscious level during the REM phase, would have to be carried out. It were necessary to deploy both the recent sources, which shed some light on the issue of lucid dreams and the connection between learning and the REM phase of sleep, and the basic researches that serve as the foundation for the development of modern theories (e.g., the study of dreams as “sublimation” (Yu 51) by Freud, dreams as random “neural impulses” (Berger 155) by Hobson, an attempt to “consolidate” (Zhixia and Zhang 5) information learned by Zhan, etc..Finally, the phenomenon of “lucid dream” (Dresler et al. 1017) were studied more thoroughly.
In addition to a general overview of the existing literature, it would also be necessary to make an experiment with ten participants involved. The research design would involve ten participants, who would practice lucid dreaming in the course of three weeks. Seeing that rest is essential for preventing health issues, and that lucid dreaming blocks the process of resting in the course of dreaming, it was necessary to conduct a maximum of six experiments during these three weeks so that the participants had time to rest and recover from their experience. The participants would receive specific instructions that they would have to comply with for training the related skills.
Specifically, the participants would have to throw a ball as accurately as possible in order to hit a specific target within a 10-meter distance from them. Afterwards, the participants were instructed on lucid dreaming and were asked to practice ball throwing in their lucid dreams. The results of the ball throwing exercises were compared after three weeks of experiment with the help of a comparative analysis.
Results
Key Findings
The research results have shown that there is an obvious connection between lucid dreams and the learning process as far as the motor functions are concerned.
It is also quite peculiar that the results displayed by most participants improved gradually over the three weeks that the experiment occurred in. While the people tested have shown a nearly 7% improvement at the end of the second test, the third test returned another 11% improvement, whereas the final examination of the participants’ skills has shown that the people involved in the experiment developed substantial physical skills improving their precision by nearly 21% on average.
Moreover, the results of the study have shown that the participants have become much calmer and more persistent in their attempts at hitting the goal. In contrast to the first week in general and the opening test in particular, the final exercise was done in an extraordinarily calm and relaxed atmosphere, most of the participants displaying rather positive attitudes towards the process of playing the game.
It should be born in mind, though, that some of the participants had significant difficulties seeing lucid dreams. While two people involved in the study managed to reach the required state from the very first attempt, according to the records in the diaries that they were supposed to write in, others experienced major problems in having a conscious dream. Particularly, three people reported to have insomnia the first night that they tried the technique, whereas the remaining five participants confessed to having fallen asleep in the process and failing to reach the state of a conscious dream.
Data charts
The fact that lucid dreams affect the development of specific motor skills, therefore, cannot possibly be doubted. Moreover, the fact that the participants’ skills of inducing a lucid dream grew increasingly high in a direct proportion with their ball throwing skills also shows that the hypothesis voiced at the beginning of the research is correct; lucid dreaming can be used efficiently in order to improve one’s skills. It should be noted, though, that the study in question embraces motor skills only; in other words, the skills that are related to certain mental processes, such as learning to solve certain logical problems, memorizing certain data, etc., require a separate study. It can be suggested that a follow-up study of lucid dreams and their effects on developing
Data tables
Table 1. Success/Failure in reaching the condition of lucid dream in participants (Weeks 1–3).
As the tables provided above show, most people that participated in the experiment had problems with reaching the state of lucid dream. However, as Table 1 shows, by the end of Week 3, each of the participants had experienced at least one lucid dream.
Table 2. Tools used for lucid dream control (Weeks 1–3).
Additionally, the fact that few people managed to control their lucid dream once they had reached the state also deserves to be mentioned. As the table above shows, a number of participants were experimenting with tools and their combination in order to locate the strategy that would suit their needs and lead them to experiencing the state needed. According to the table, in 60% of cases, the participants employed all three methods for reaching the state of lucid dream at the end of the third week.
Graphs
According to the graphs, of all the techniques of lucid dreaming, it was the reality check that allowed the participants to have the aforementioned experience faster and more efficiently. Of all the participants, f, G, H and J have shown the greatest success in developing the required skill. Seeing that Participant F was using reality check as the key tool, and the rest of the participants employed mixed models incorporating the aforementioned tool , it is reasonable to assume that reality check allows for the most successful training of one’s skills in the lucid dream setting. Keeping a diary, in its turn, has proven to be the least efficient in the practical outcomes.
However, one must give credit to the incorporation of dream diaries into the research as well. As 70% of the participants reported, the dream diaries allowed them to identify their sleep patterns and locate the time slots that they could use for practicing lucid dreaming. For instance, as the chart provided above shows, one of the participants discovered the ability to dream in a lucid manner not in the night, but in the daytime during a nap.
The repetition of the phrase that established the participants’ awareness of them dreaming served in 20% of the cases, which is rather impressive as well.
Discussion
A closer look at the data provided above will reveal that the state of lucid dream can be attained with the help of a combination of techniques; particularly, keeping a diary incorporated with a consistent reality check created the premises for most participants to reach the state of a lucid dream. The specified results show that the state in question is quite attainable and, therefore, can be used in training people’s motor skills to the point where they reach the level of an unconscious skill. The latter, in fact, is often recognized as the highest level of proficiency in a specific domain; as soon as one starts using the skills acquired professionally in the process of regular exercises on an unconscious level, the skill is considered learned successfully according to the Four Stages of Skill Development Model (Rigdon 7).
Therefore, the hypothesis of the study can be considered proven. While dreams cannot be viewed as the actual portrayal of reality viewed through the lens of an individual, they are related closely to processing data acquired in the course of the day; consequently, by creating the environment, in which one can train their skills on a subconscious level (i.e., in lucid dreams), one is capable of improving skills in a certain area considerably.
It should be noted, though, that the study did have its limitations. Particularly, the fact that the experiment conducted in the research concerned training motor skills deserves to be mentioned as the primary limitation; in other words, it has not been proven that lucid dreaming has anything to do with improving the abilities related to analytical thinking. The specified issue may become the focus of a follow-up study.
Despite the above-mentioned discrepancy, the outcomes of the study are beyond impressive. In addition to showing that lucid dreaming affects the process of data processing and the integration of the experiences that one has had over the course of the day into the mental information database of an individual, the study has displayed clearly that the technique of lucid dreaming can be adopted once several approaches for reaching the state are utilized. The fact that dream diaries turned out to be the most helpful tool in reaching the state of lucid dream shows that the process in question, in fact, can be coordinated and that the acquisition of the necessary skills in the process of dreaming can be controlled.
Moreover, the fact that the participants displayed increased rates of skills acquisition shows that the level of proficiency in reaching the state of lucid dreaming and controlling it is related directly to the participants’ ability to acquire and train the corresponding motor skills. The fact that the participants’ first successful attempt at reaching the state of a lucid dream did not provide them with the ability to control or shape it shows that lucid dream control is in direct proportion to the ability to train the required skills in it.
The correlation between the ability to reach the state of a lucid dream and to carry out specific physical tasks, such as throwing a ball correctly, displays a connection between the mental and the muscular activity in a human brain in the process of dreaming. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that the state of a lucid dream allows for developing muscular memory. In other words, it is reasonable to assume that lucid dream can be defined as the state, in which the muscular activity resembles the one that occurs in reality.
In other words, lucid dream can be used for training specific skills, which one has not yet developed to the satisfactory level in reality. It should be born in mind, though, that, for lucid dream to be efficient, one has to practice a certain skill in reality at first; as the experiment has shown, the participants were incapable of reaching the necessary result prior to testing the lucid dream approach.
Conclusion
The adoption of the lucid dream technique allows for training the skills that are related to physical abilities successfully due to muscle activity that can be observed in the process. The study has shown that the incorporation of the lucid dream approach helped increase the skills of the participants in throwing a ball into a baseball hoop by almost 21%. In other words, the muscular activity, which can be observed in the course of lucid dreaming, helps one become more proficient in a specific physical activity by providing one an opportunity to reach the stage of an unconscious use of a specific physical skill.
Works Cited
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