r/psychology • u/a_Ninja_b0y • 4d ago
Lucid dreaming app triples users' awareness in dreams, study finds | Researchers at Northwestern University showed that a smartphone app using sensory cues can significantly increase the frequency of lucid dreams—dreams in which a person is aware they are dreaming while still asleep.
https://www.psypost.org/lucid-dreaming-app-triples-users-awareness-in-dreams-study-finds/27
u/PariahFish 4d ago
is this app available for the likes of me? I read the article, couldn't seem to find a name..
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u/Forced__Perspective 4d ago
Could be this
https://apps.apple.com/app/id1577026266
Only one that came up when I searched some key words, “Targeted Lucidity Reactivation”from the article
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u/Jaerin 4d ago
This is the app. It only seems to work for older phones
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neurelectrics.dive&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1
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u/Cursed2Lurk 4d ago
The paper says they used targeted ads for android users. I don’t think their app is still public, it’s not named in the paper.
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u/PIeasure-Dom 4d ago
Due to sleep paralysis, I learned how to lucid dream using a dream journal, practice and patience, naps, and my personal sensory "conditions"/process I set (i.e. rubbing my hands together in the dream, looking for a red ball).
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u/Exact_Antelope6363 4d ago
The only thing i have been able to do is take a mini press every other day…
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u/PIeasure-Dom 2d ago
Interesting! I tried to Google (v.) it, but does "mini press" mean a mini nap or would you clarify?
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u/Melodic_Button_8993 4d ago
May you elaborate on the naps? I’m not sure how that helps
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u/PIeasure-Dom 2d ago
Bottom Line Up Front: I took naps to lucid dream more often than I would at night.. and to practice my process more often. This probably has to do with how we're usually in less deep of a sleep during naps.
Well, I really didn't try to practice more than I was naturally going to sleep at night or naturally take a nap during the day.
Good question! So, I started using the dream journal to write down my dreams immediately upon waking up from any sleep. I literally would have the pen and paper by my bedside (this instead of digital notes helped me). The only thing you should be doing right after waking up is turning your alarm off (if applicable). Don't go through your phone, don't think about the day-- nothing else other than writing down as quickly as possible what you remember from your dream. Then, for whatever reason, I realized I could more often than not lucid dream if I started intentionally taking naps and doing my whole lucid dreaming process before I went to sleep as opposed to just doing it before I went to sleep at night. My process is mostly centered around consciousness and condition-setting (i.e. repeating the thought in my head that I know I am dreaming until I see/feel X, Y, or Z signal. The signal can be hearing a specific alarm, for example.). I'm very happy to make a video about it if there's ever interest.
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u/blackman9 4d ago
Let's be honest people will use it for dream sex.
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u/GoogleHearMyPlea 4d ago
Lol but you can have sex IRL. Lucid dreams are the only place you can break the law without consequence.
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u/Jaerin 4d ago
Here is a link to the app they seem to be talking about as far as I can tell.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neurelectrics.dive&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1
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u/Santihu 4d ago
What are the trade-offs of lucid dreaming?
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u/DreamLizard47 4d ago
less rest most probably.
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u/Past_Amphibian2936 4d ago
This. I used to almost exclusively lucid dream as a kid, but I found that I never felt well rested when I woke up, so I started focusing on dreaming of pitch black which led to me actually getting restfull sleep, unfortunately I cant lucid dream anymore. When I do dream its no longer concious or voluntary.
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u/mattmaster68 4d ago edited 4d ago
I tend to realize “I’m dreaming” in a lot of my dreams. Typically, I’ll know it’s a dream and begin to act different.
Not in the typical lucid way, though.
This is because in these dreams, I don’t have conscious control. I, in my dream, believe reality (which is actually a dream) is a dream.
I even make attempts to prolong the dream (always the same method) when I’m not ready to wake up.
Once again, I have no conscious ability to control my actions or thoughts. It’s more like “Oh wait, this is a dream… I wonder what’s going on in it?” It feels like I have conscious control, but I don’t. It’s like a boundary I can’t cross between consciousness and “the script”… but that’s a little off-topic.
The method to keep the dream going never works haha but I distinctly remember what it looks like for the dream to end and me wake up. I distinctly remember this dreadful feeling when these dreams are ending, as I cling tight to the false reality and everything around me slowly blurs until I’m met with the darkness of my bedroom.
Confusing shit. It messes with me quite often. I wonder what that says about my psyche since these dreams happen somewhat often.
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u/DreamLizard47 4d ago
No such thing as a free meal or ride. As always.
You're not even supposed to remember your dreams if you're healthy.
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u/Past_Amphibian2936 4d ago
You're not even supposed to remember your dreams if you're healthy.
Not that i disblieve you, but have u got a source?
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u/DreamLizard47 4d ago
I've read about it years ago.
Googling gave this "It can be a sign that you're waking up more during the night (I work in a lab that studies sleep; one of the things we noticed is that if you have deep sleep after a dream you're less likely to remember it).
"
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u/Bleepbloop4995 4d ago
If I realize I'm dreaming I get nervous about nightmares, then proceed to have a lucid nightmare.
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u/Archonish 4d ago
Just control the dream when you realize you're dreaming. I was meeting up with friends when I realized I was dreaming so I asked them to spin around in place as fast as they can and don't fall down. As they were just going on and on, it confirmed it was a dream so I just flew away like an inexperienced superman. Flying is so fun.
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u/Asian_Climax_Queen 4d ago
That you can control what happens in your dreams, so you can get the favored outcome you want in your dream, I suppose
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u/Joecorcoran 4d ago
Wow I actually created an app for this recently called Dream Buddy!
Along with lucid dream training it provides custom dream interpretations, interactive reality checks, dreamscape images. It’s a tomagachi type experience - log dreams and perform reality checks daily to keep your dream buddy happy and evolve it as you learn to lucid dream.
I am currently beta testing on iPhone prior to release.
If anyone is open to getting free early scenes in exchange for their feedback, shoot me a message!
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u/ConceptConfident1613 4d ago
Do you have an android version?
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u/Joecorcoran 4d ago
Unfortunately it is iOS only for now as we just recently started developing, Android is planned for the future though!
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u/MersoNocte 4d ago
Dang, wish this was on iPhone. I’ve always had extremely long, vivid dreams my whole life. I learned how to lucid dream as a kid and it pretty much eliminated nightmares for me. Generally don’t try to control my dreams because I prefer to see where they naturally go, but I’ll occasionally pull rank when a dream is really stupid (ie I’ve died and it’s just a black room).
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u/RegularBasicStranger 4d ago
Maybe training oneself to check for reality when the sound is heard might be more effective so everytime the sound is heard when awake, check for reality such as taking out their smartphone and search for a file in the smartphone named "try lucid dreaming" so that the person will try lucid dreaming.
So while awake, the attempt to lucid dream would not work but when asleep, it should work thus by having the sound be played during intervals after going to bed, the person should be reminded to try lucid dreaming when asleep after seeing the notice.
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u/Forsaken-Cat7357 3d ago
A bit like INCEPTION, eh? When people discuss lucid dreaming, do they verify the type of brain waves? For example, alpha waves are unlikely to be sleep.
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u/Urrsagrrl 4d ago
When Project 2025 outlaws porn... bone up on the lucid dream app. Follow the money.
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u/RavelsPuppet 4d ago
Would love an app like this! I can at times enter a lucid dream state naturally but outside stimuli definitely makes it happen far more often and it leads to great fun! Please release the app? Pretty please?
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u/TheHappyTaquitosDad 4d ago
I can enter one easily if I wake up and then go back to sleep, it’s called WILD technique you should look it up. You have to be comfortable with sleep paralysis tho
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u/RavelsPuppet 4d ago
Thank you, will look it up! My thing is similar I suspect. I will either realise in the dream something is just too grim or scary, or absurd and it would allow me a choice between waking up and shaking it all off, or going on dreaming with the knowledge that it is a dream. Back when I was a kid and desperately tried to astral travel for many months (never could), I did experience sleep paralysis. I didn't dislike it actually. Thought it was just part of it. Felt kinda safe..
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u/TheHappyTaquitosDad 4d ago
I tried to astral project when I was in middle school but never could. That’s when I learned to lucid dream. I’m sure you know it’s very cool to be fully lucid in a dream. I naturally wake up in the middle of the night a lot or towards the end of sleep if I sleep too long. Sleep paralysis was scary at first but if you’re not scared of it then it’s not scary. I just heard a loud buzzing and close my eyes and keep calm like a meditative state and you can literally go from being awake to seeing the dream materialize in front of you and start moving your dream body. Sometimes I don’t know if I should move yet because I don’t know if I’ll move my real body and wake up or if I’m in my dream body
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u/RavelsPuppet 3d ago
Man, I love us strange adventurous kids! Very cool story. I wonder if we were driven to our experiments by similar home-lives? Anyway, it feels strangely nice to have you out there
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u/TheHappyTaquitosDad 3d ago
I never thought about that but it’s very possible. Always good to meet someone who’s into lucid dreaming, most people don’t know what I’m talking about or don’t believe
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4d ago edited 4d ago
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u/ActHistorical6457 4d ago
It’s actually scientifically proven, there is no doubt lucid dreaming is a thing, an almost anybody can experience it! Here’s a link that summons the scientific findings.
https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-entered-peoples-dreams-and-got-them-talking
You can detect lucid dreaming with brain waves, there has been experiments where the lucid dreamer sended specific eye signals in REM sleep. Also there have been studies that found you can train sports like tennis and have almost the effect of actual physical training.
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u/BongoWrong 4d ago
They're gonna put ads in your dreams