Dreamcatcher

In a recent study Voss and colleagues decided to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming. They attempted to train 20 undergraduate students in the art of lucid dreaming via pre-sleep autosuggestions over a four month period and were able to successfully train 6. These subjects then spent a few nights at a sleep lab hooked up to an EEG machine, and half were able to experience lucid dreaming during their stay. It was found that during lucid dreaming there was a shift in EEG power, especially in the 40hz range and in the frontal regions of the brain. This may suggest that the change in brain physiology is somehow associated with the lucid dreamer's ability to self-reflect and gain volitional control; activities absent in regular REM dreaming. Basically, lucid dreaming involves features of both REM sleep and waking, categorizing it as a "hybrid state". It is hypothesized that "lucidity arises when wake-like frontal lobe activation is associated with REM-like activity in posterior structures".

Whoa. I had no idea this was such an elusive experience. As you are probably not aware of, I have long suffered from extremely graphic and violent nightmares. I have since been able (about 75% of the time) to wake myself up from these eloquent experiences by commanding consciousness and focusing on escape (fuck leiko, wake the FUCK up!). Personally, I find that sometimes waking up in an abrupt and agitated state can be far worse than sleeping through the dream itself. It may feel like a complete collapse, but at least you wake up knowing it was merely a fabrication. Snapping out of a terrifying situation without having experienced it, can lead to a lingering feeling of despair that may prove to be hard to shake.