Any user of the TikTok platform has heard at least once the terms "lucid dream" and "sleep paralysis" since the popularization of "change / change reality" - a new trend.

Some of you may have even thought that they are the same thing, so in this article we will highlight the peculiarities of each "phenomenon".

We will explain, first of all, the notion of “dream” and, later, lucid dreams.

Dreams are psychic processes that take place during sleep, a form of involuntary imagination containing unconscious material, a subconscious experience consisting of a succession of images, sounds, ideas, emotions and other sensations that usually occur during sleep. , but especially in the case of the type of sleep in which the eyes move (paradoxical sleep / REM -rapid eye movement"). As mentioned earlier, dreams are projected during the REM sleep phase, when the brain - gone through deeper stages, "climbs" to the high level of consciousness. This is also the reason why some dreams are so realistic that we are really amazed when we wake up and this is also the reason why sometimes we realize that the unicorn in front of us cannot be real, so we dream. Cognitive, such as thinking and memory, are secondary, the person who sleeps perceiving mentally and emotionally the events that happened in the dream as real elements that happened. However, the events of the dream are, most often, impossible or very unlikely in the physical reality of the waking state, being simultaneously out of the possibility of control of the dreamer.

The only known exception is the dream known under the terminology of lucid dreaming, in which those who dream are aware that they are dreaming, being able to exercise control over various aspects of the dream including the dream environment. In a lucid dream, the environment is often much more realistic, and the sensory accuracy is higher than in average dreams.

During this, there is the possibility to exercise effective conscious control over the environment, the characters and all their characteristics, as well as the achievement of things that are impossible or very unlikely in the physical reality of the waking state. Lucid dreams are, most often, extremely realistic, presenting a sharpening of the accuracy of the senses of the one who has the lucid dream.

Lucid dreams can have a major impact on creativity and the ability to solve problems. During the dream, both the conscious and the subconscious mind operate simultaneously, which is almost impossible to achieve when you are awake. You are immersed in a narrative thread that involves you directly and that can be coordinated by you.

The only time it is considered that you can activate your subconscious, apart from a lucid dream, is during a state of deep meditation, which is usually possible after years of practice.

Some dream theories suggest that you can interact with other parts of your mind, because any object or being that appears in the dream would actually be an idea from the subconscious, materialized in another form.

A 2015 psychotherapeutic study suggests that people with chronic nightmares may reduce their frequency and improve it by learning to have lucid dreams. The study is called "Cognition during a dream - a therapeutic intervention on nightmares", and its subjects were 32 people who had nightmares at least twice a week. Those people learned, through therapy, techniques to dream lucidly, in order to change the trajectory of nightmares. After the study, the subjects confirmed that the frequency of nightmares decreased from a few times a week to 2-3 times a month, and the quality of sleep improved.

Although there are no conclusive studies, some unpleasant situations are considered a consequence of lucid dreams. Of all, the phenomenon of sleep paralysis is most often mentioned, because it involves awakening consciousness during sleep, as in the case of a lucid dream.

What is sleep paralysis?

Sleep paralysis is considered a disorder, during some stage of sleep when you cannot move your muscles as you are waking up or falling asleep. It dates back to the 10th century and is prevalent in all ethnicities. People from many cultures have used sleep paralysis as a way to explain supernatural events and beings such as witchcraft, ghosts or aliens.

Episodes of sleep paralysis last less from a few seconds to around 20 minutes, the average length is between six and seven minutes. This experience might be scary even if it’s fairly common and does not cause any physical harm.

Imagine staying in bed and your body goes into a temporary paralysis, which involves vivid dreaming, as well as atonia that may prevent you from acting out any dreams. Paralysis during sleep is normal, but you are usually unaware of it because you are asleep at the time.

In addition to atonia, people often have hallucinations during episodes of sleep paralysis. Atonia ends upon waking up, so a person never becomes conscious of this inability to move.

There are 2 types of sleep paralysis: hypnagogic (predormital), which occurs at sleep onset or just before falling asleep and hypnopompic (postdormital), that happens after waking up, at the transition of sleep to awakening.

Both of them are considered REM behavior disorders. Now, let’s discuss about it. During sleep, your brain cycles through five different phases: stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, stage 4 and stage 5, which is called rapid eye movement stage (REM). Rapid eye movement stage it’s a charger for your battery, due to the fact that it benefits learning, memory and mood.

Sometimes, the causes are insomnia, narcolepsy, disrupted sleeping patterns, post-traumatic stress disorder, general anxiety disorder, panic disorder or a family history of sleep paralysis(genetic basis).

Sleep paralysis is most common in adolescence and usually goes away as you get older. You might have physical weight and pressure on the chest, difficulty breathing or a chocking feeling, hallucinations and an overwhelming feeling of fear or dread.

Overall, the treatment for sleep paralysis is the acknowledgement and normalization of their symptoms by a doctor because people could see themselves as crazy or shameful after these episodes.

So next time try to go to bed as peaceful as possible, who knows, maybe this will help in one way or another to prevent such unpleasant episodes. See you next time, good night, sweet dreams and ... fleas may kiss you (that’s a romanian saying)!

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editorial: Cătălina Dumitrache,

Maria Șerban

graphic design: Ioana Butaru

translation: Cătălina Dumitrache,

Maria Șerban

DP (desktop publishing): Ioana Butaru