Scientists think they could have made a huge breakthrough after discovering that a certain type of dream could open up a 'new state of consciousness'.
Researchers looking into lucid dreams have found that having these types of vivid sleep states could actually be more than just a dream, but a different state of consciousness altogether.
Lucid dreaming is when a person is dreaming but is aware that they are dreaming, and is able to control different aspects of the dream.
They usually occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) phase of sleep and studies have shown that around half of us have had at least one.
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In fact, 20 percent are reported to have lucid dreams as often as every month.
Now, it seems scientists are starting to understand more about dreams and what happens when we experience them.
Turns out, research has revealed that the brain activity that occurs during a lucid dream is completely different to what occurs in a regular dream.
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The team - led by Çağatay Demirel of the Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging at Radboud University Medical Center - found that lucid dreaming is associated with reduced beta brain waves in regions that control spatial awareness, touch and self-perception.
Meanwhile, lucid dreaming also sees an increase of gamma waves in the medial prefrontal cortex, which suggests an increase in focus and consciousness.
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To further understand lucid dreams, the study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, compared brain activity during different sleep states.
They found that during lucid dreaming, beta waves were only reduced in the right temporal lobe and the parietal lobe.
Beta waves are high-frequency waves that are commonly observed when a person is awake.
Scientists think that the fact these waves are reduced could be a sign that the brain knows the dream isn't real, which is why the person is aware they are in fact dreaming.
Instead of lucid dreaming being a hybrid of being in a REM sleep state and awake, the study has highlighted that the brain activity that takes place during a lucid dream is actually completely unique, which led researchers to believe that a lucid dream has its own special state of consciousness.
"This research opens the door to a deeper understanding of lucid dreaming as an intricate state of consciousness by pointing to the possibility that conscious experience can arise from within sleep itself," said Demirel.
"This work offers a perspective that could challenge the traditional binary view of sleep and wakefulness in future research."
According to the SleepFoundation.org, there are ways to try and induce a lucid dream.
The MILD technique can be used when you wake up in the middle of the night.
The site explains: "Upon awakening in the night, try to recall what you’ve been dreaming about or the details of a previous dream you’d like to reenter.
"Identify signs from the dream that will help you recognise you are dreaming if you fall back asleep and successfully reenter the dream.
"Repeat these words, or your own version of them: 'When I begin dreaming, I will remember that I’m dreaming'.
"Continue recalling dream content and repeating that phrase until you fall asleep."
Lucy Devine