A History of Sleep and Dreaming

The history of sleep and dreaming goes back to the BC era, when ancient Greeks
and Egyptians were the leading technological force.

The Egyptians analyzed the meaning behind dreams and they analyzed dream
symbols, searching for prophecies from the gods. They believed in three bodies:
Shat (the corpse body), Ka (the living physical body) and Ba (the soul).

Ba was often represented in hieroglyphics as a human-headed bird floating above

the sleeping body or corpse. According to one expert “...the Ba is the person but
in another form. The Ba could be defined as an individual in an out-of-body
state.” Was the Ba actually the lucid dreaming consciousness?

As with many Egyptian concepts, the Greeks soon wove this idea into their own
culture. Superstition aside, the Greek philosopher Aristotle actually came up with
the first scientific theory of sleep in 350 BC when he wrote: “a person awakes
from sleep when digestion is complete”.

Actually, this is not true at all. But Aristotle deserves kudos for trying. The rest of
the scientific community would ignore the science of sleep for another 2,000
years... And sleep and dreaming would become one of the most under-
researched areas of human behavior.

Circadian Rhythm
In 1729, a French geophysicist identified biological rhythms by conducting a now-
classic Circadian experiment.

Intrigued by the daily opening and closing of the leaves of a heliotrope plant, the
frivolously named Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan decided to test whether this
biological behavior was simply a response to the sun.

To do so, he confined a plant to the dark - yet the daily rhythmic motions of the
heliotrope's leaves persisted even in the absence of sunlight. de Mairan had
discovered Circadian Rhythms in plants, thought to originate from an endogenous
clock.

Similarly, the human Circadian Rhythm is a 24-hour cycle driven by our

biochemical, physiological, and behavioral processes.
For example, we enter our deepest sleep around 2am, and we have the lowest
body temperature around 4.30am. Our greatest level of alertness occurs around
10am and we have the best co-ordination around 2.30pm.

This biological clock evolves to match your daily habits, and can even
resynchronize itself when you cross multiple time zones in a matter of hours.

Sigmund Freud
The history of sleep and dreaming was changed forever when, in 1900, the
infamous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud published his controversial book, The
Interpretation of Dreams.

Whether we love or hate Sigmund Freud, we have to admit that he revolutionized

the way we think about ourselves. Much of this revolution can be traced to his
seminal work, which outlined his theory of unconscious forces in the context of
dream analysis.

Introducing the id, the superego, and their problem child, the ego, Sigmund Freud
advanced scientific understanding of the mind immeasurably by exposing
motivations normally invisible to our consciousness. While there's no question
that his own biases and neuroses influenced his observations, the details are less
important than the paradigm shift as a whole.

After Freud, our interior lives became richer and vastly more mysterious. He
revealed that our minds are full of hidden memories and desires. He also believed
in a meaning behind dreams - but rather than foretelling the future, they held
psychological insights.

Soon after, some important advances in technology kick-started a revolution in

sleep research. The history of sleep was being remodeled. Scientists all over
Europe began documenting the physiology of sleep, measuring brainwaves with
the EEG machine, and linking Rapid Eye Movement (REM) patterns to stages of
dreaming.

Who Discovered Lucid Dreaming?

We can thank the eighth century Tibetan Buddhists for being the first to formally
tutor the ability to lucid dream. They learned how to control dreams with Dream
Yoga, using a technique that is now described as Wake Induced Lucid Dreams
(WILD) in which you maintain full consciousness while slipping directly into the
dream state.

In the modern world, the term "lucid dreaming" was first identified by Dutch
psychiatrist, Frederik van Eeden. In his 1913 book, A Study of Dreams, he wrote:

"The seventh type of dreams, which I call lucid dreams, seems to me the most
interesting and worthy of the most careful observation and study. Of this type I
experienced and wrote down 352 cases in the period between January 20, 1898,
and December 26, 1912.

In these lucid dreams the reintegration of the psychic functions is so complete

that the sleeper remembers day-life and his own condition, reaches a state of
perfect awareness, and is able to direct his attention, and to attempt different
acts of free volition. Yet the sleep, as I am able confidently to state, is
undisturbed, deep and refreshing. I obtained my first glimpse of this lucidity
during sleep in June, 1897, in the following way. I dreamt that I was floating
through a landscape with bare trees, knowing that it was April, and I remarked
that the perspective of the branches and twigs changed quite naturally. Then I
made the reflection, during sleep, that my fancy would never be able to invent or
to make an image as intricate as the perspective movement of little twigs seen in
floating by."

"Sleeping is no mean art: for its sake one must stay awake all day"

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Lucid dreaming was later scientifically classified in the 1960s by Celia Green. She
realized it was a separate state of consciousness and identified the scientific
potential. Green was also the first to make the connection with REM sleep and
false awakenings.

However, it was not until 1975 that lucid dreaming was scientifically proven in the
laboratory. Lucid dreamer Alan Worsley at the University of Hull in England
managed to signal to researcher Keith Hearne in the outside world. Upon gaining
lucidity, he would indicate his consciousness and free will within the dreamstate
with a pre-determined set of eye movements.
However, the Hearne's research went under the radar of mainstream science
journals. So it was Stephen LaBerge in 1978 who famously performed this
experiment and published data on the first scientifically-verified signal from a
dreamer's mind to the outside world. LaBerge continues to be a leading force in
lucid dream research as the founder of The Lucidity Institute and author of
Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.

Recent Lucidity Studies

Scientists continue to learn more about lucid dreaming, whether it's measuring
electronic activity in the brain or discovering potential new psychological
applications.

In 2009, a German study conducted at the Neurological Laboratory in Frankfurt

revealed significantly increased brain activity during lucid dreams. An EEG
machine recorded frequencies in the 40 Hz (or GAMMA) range in lucid dreamers
enjoying a bit of conscious REM. This is far higher than the normal dream state
(THETA range, or 4-7 Hz).

The researchers also saw heightened activity in the frontal and frontolateral
areas of the brain which are the seat of linguistic thought as well as other higher
mental functions linked to self-awareness. It supports the theory that lucid
dreaming is a unique state of consciousness separate from any other mental
state.

And that is our rapid overview of the history of sleep and dreaming... Read on to
continue learning about the science of sleep and dream analysis.

The Stages of Sleep

Each and every night, your brain passes through four stages of sleep. Passing
through all these stages takes about 90-110 minutes and marks one full sleep
cycle. So, if you sleep soundly for eight hours per night, you're getting five full
sleep cycles
The Stages of Sleep

Let's take a closer look at the four* stages of sleep:

NREM Stage 1 is a light sleep and you are easily woken. You begin to lose
muscle tone, causing twitches and hypnic jerks (suddenly jumping awake
from a doze). You have hypnagogic hallucinations, swirling light and color
patterns which hypnotize your mind into a restful sleep. Stage 1 also marks
the loss of self-awareness and most sensory attachment to the physical
world. Your brainwave frequencies descend from Alpha through Theta state
(4-7 Hz).

NREM Stage 2 is marked by a loss of nearly all muscle tone so your physical
body can't act out your forthcoming dreams. Although your brainwaves
have slowed further, they do show brief bursts of higher brainwave activity
called sleep spindles and K-complexes. You spend around half of all your
sleep in Stage 2; a light dreamless sleep.

NREM Stage 3 (*and 4, as these stages have now been merged together) is
also called slow-wave sleep (SWS), consisting of unconscious delta activity.
The sleeper is less responsive to the environment and most stimuli cause no
reaction. If you are woken you will feel especially dopey and confused for a
couple of minutes. Another dreamless stage of sleep, it is (perhaps
surprisingly) the most likely time for sleepwalking to occur.

REM marks the onset of dreaming. This stage is also known as paradoxical
sleep because the sleeper, though showing more active brainwaves than
before, is harder to awaken. If you are awoken from REM sleep you are
more likely to jump right back in during a later nap. Though its functions are
not fully understood, we do know that REM deprivation impairs our ability
to learn complex tasks and form long term memories.
When is The Best Time for Lucid Dreaming?
Your longest and most memorable lucid dreams will usually occur in the fourth
and fifth sleep cycles (after about six hours of sleep) during phases of REM sleep.
Critically, during these later sleep cycles, periods of REM sleep become longer.

The graph shows REM sleep occurring at the end of each sleep cycle. This is your
most memorable dream time, occuring at the end of each sleep cycle.

If you don't wake up to an alarm, you'll find you often wake directly from a
dream, which makes it much easier to remember. When this happens - don't
move. Just allow yourself to gently re-enter the dream, while thinking "I'm
dreaming".

This graph also shows how it's essential for lucid dreamers to get sufficient
shuteye and not miss out on REM sleep by cutting sleep short. Indeed, the more
chances you have to sleep in, the better. Sleeping-in allows extended REM time in
the morning, more vivid dreams, and more chances to become lucid.

How Much Sleep Does The Average Person Need?

When you're deciding how many hours to sleep each night, also consider how
many sleep cycles that will give you. It's a rough science without brainwave
monitoring equipment but you can see how a 7-hour sleep might wake you up in
the middle of your fifth sleep cycle, if each lasts only 90 minutes. This would cut
your sleep short and prevent your fifth final REM phase. It's much healthier to
wake up after the cycle is complete which is what happens without an alarm.

Do you repeatedly wake up "on the wrong side of the bed" each morning? It's
likely your alarm clock is interrupting your final sleep cycle at a crucial point. If
you can, allow yourself to wake up naturally each morning. Otherwise, go to bed
earlier and give yourself the extra minutes needed to complete the cycle.

So, how many sleep cycles should you aim for each night? Four? Five? Six? It
seems that the amount of sleep required differs from person to person, however
as a rough guide experts have come up with the following daily sleep guide based
on age:
Newborns - Up to 18 hours or 12 sleep cycles

Babies 1-12 months - 14-18 hours or 9-12 sleep cycles

Children 1-3 years - 12-15 hours or 8-10 sleep cycles

Children 3-5 years - 11-13 hours or 7-8 sleep cycles

Children 5-12 years - 9-11 hours or 6-7 sleep cycles

Adolescents - 9-10 hours or 6 sleep cycles

Adults - 7-8 hours or 4-5 sleep cycles

Pregnant Women - 8+ hours or 5+ sleep cycles

How Long Do Dreams Last?

We can measure the length of dream time using an EEG machine which reads
brainwave activity. Dreams are directly correlated to REM sleep - to the extent
that your eyes can move and track in the same direction you are looking in the
dream.

The brainwave readings tell us that REM sleep at the end of the first sleep cycle
lasts only a few minutes. Much of the first cycle is dedicated to non-REM sleep,
driven by the need for physical rest. So, these early dreams are often fleeting. You
are unlikely to remember them and they're unlikely to yield lucid dreams.

As you sleep on through the night, your REM phases grow longer in each sleep
cycle. By morning, your fourth or fifth sleep cycle (ending when you wake up for
the day) may allow for 45-60 minutes of uninterrupted REM sleep. It's perfect for
lucid dreaming.

"My dream lasted a lifetime!"

Every now and then I hear an urban myth about lucid dreaming that someone had
a dream that encompassed an entire lifetime
I've had such dreams, while taking the dream herb, Calea Z. Time seemed to
stretch and I felt like I was in this dream for years. But as vivid as the dream was, I
didn't literally experience those years, minute-for-minute. It was more like
watching an epic movie that spans 200 years in the space of two hours, yet you
feel like you were there longer.

Generally, the timeframe of regular dreams are in line with reality. However it's
always difficult to judge the length of a dream from the first-hand perspective of
dreaming it. Whether you're lucid or not, time can be distorted in dreams - and
there are few "constants" against which you can measure the passing of dream
events.

So, if you feel a dream lasted for days or years, it's just your perception of events
in the dream that made it seem to last so long. I don't believe that such dreams -
however mind-blowing in their realism and adventure - are comparable to the
experience of real time passing in the waking world.

This also means you can't get "stuck" in dream limbo for 70 years ;)

How Long Do Lucid Dreams Last?

Like regular dreams, lucid dreams can last anywhere from a few seconds up to an
hour (and possibly even more). For me, a typical lucid dream lasts 10-20 minutes.

Most beginners find their lucid dream collapses within a few seconds because the
emotions of becoming lucid are so overwhelming. However with a few simple
dream stabilization methods, you can massively prolong your lucid dreams.

As soon as I learned how to prolong my lucid dreams, it opened up a world of

possibilities. My dream world posed a new adventure playground, in which I could
travel anywhere and do anything I wanted to with complete clarity and
awareness. What's more, these stabilization techniques serve to enhance the
dream clarity and my ability to control it, while preventing me from waking up
prematurely.

For step-by-step tutorials on lucid dream induction and exploration, check out
The Lucid Dreaming Fast Track, my online study program for beginners and
beyond.