Nevertheless, there are some easy ways that lucid dreaming can be facilitated, he adds. People with good dream recall, for example, are more likely to remember having had lucid dreams. Dream recall can be improved by keeping a dream journal, recording a voice note on your phone about your dreams, or simply replaying your dreams in your mind for 10 minutes after you first wake up, says Aspy. All help you to become more familiar with your dream environments, and thus learn about the common attributes of your dreams.
Reality testing is another commonly used technique. Here, you ask yourself several times a day whether you are dreaming or not, in the hopes you will also do it while dreaming, triggering lucidity. "Generally, when we dream, we accept what is happening in our dreams quite uncritically," says Stumbrys.
This occurs since part of the prefrontal cortex, responsible for much of our self-awareness and critical thinking, is slightly deactivated during REM sleep. According to one study, frontal areas of the brain may be slightly more activated during lucid dreaming.
Lucid dream devices
Devices fall roughly into two groups, says Schredl. The first are devices which use light flashes, auditory stimuli or vibrations on the finger during REM sleep, which, after training, could prompt awareness of a dream.
There have also been efforts to develop a device that directly influences the activity of the brain. These could be dangerous and, if they are ever developed, should never be used at home, notes Schredl.