Relationships between video game play factors and frequency of lucid and control dreaming experiences.

Abstract

Lucid and control dream states have been linked to a variety of positive psychological outcomes, but are uncommon and difficult to induce. Delineating connections between lucid and control dreaming and immersion in other virtual environments could aid in understanding the nature of those dream states and developing more effective induction training. Video game play takes place in immersive virtual environments and has been linked to more frequent lucid dreaming (Gackenbach, 2006(Gackenbach, , 2009. The current research sought to identify connections between specific genres of video game play and lucid and lucid/control dream experiences, as well as replicating established relationships between overall gameplay and engagement, incorporation of game content into dreams, and lucid and lucid/control dream experiences. Play of physically interactive games was positively correlated with lucid and lucid/control dream frequency; no other genre showed the same association. Overall game play was not associated with frequency of lucid and lucid/control dreams, but was positively correlated with incorporation of game content into dreams, which in turn was positively correlated with lucid and lucid/control dream frequency. These findings expand and clarify our understanding of the overlap between lucid and control dream states and a highly popular form of virtual environment, and may aid in the induction and therapeutic use of lucid and control dreaming.

Benefits and concerns of seeking and experiencing lucid dreams: benefits are tied to successful induction and dream control

“…It is also possible that Reddit contains a larger proportion of gamers than other social media platforms. It has been suggested that lucid dreaming and specifically dream control increase with video game use [ 76 , 77 ] (though see [ 78 ]), and if r/LucidDreaming follows this trend it might have influenced our theme totals (e.g. inflating dream enhancement and deflating lucid dysphoria).…”

Dark Triad Traits and Sleep-Related Constructs: An Opinion Piece

“…In the case of classifications, there exists significant variation across studies. For instance, while several use the Schredl and Erlacher (2004) conceptualization (e.g., Denis and Poerio, 2017), others employ different wording (e.g., Sestir et al, 2019), or have devised alternative measures (Aviram and Soffer-Dudek, 2018; the Frequency and Intensity Lucid Dream questionnaire, FILD).…”

A moderated mediation model predicting the impact of nightmares on sleep quality.

“…Lucid dreaming and mindfulness training could be utilized in a pre/post training design or randomized control trials using in-person or smartphone-based meditations, which have become widely used both in research and among the general public. Further, a recent study by Sestir et al (2019) demonstrated that video gaming can increase lucid dreaming, and therefore intervention studies that employ both mindfulness training and video games geared toward lucid dreaming abilities could be piloted. A potential dreaming intervention that utilizes both video gaming and mindfulness has the ability to be beneficial in increasing the frequency of lucid dreaming and dream control occurrences.…”