Study Suggests Gaming Promotes Lucid Dreaming

[Qu (aka pasQuale)]

@david jenkins

Study Suggests Gaming Promotes Lucid Dreaming

Study Suggests Gaming Promotes Lucid Dreaming Jayne Gackenbach, a professor of psychology and sociology at Grant MacEwan College, Canada has completed research which claims that video games alter the way the brain works. Gackenbach has been researching dreams for almost 30 years, and in 1997 she polled a group of her students on the effects gaming had on their dreams, with inconclusive results.

In 2004 she repeated the poll and found that frequent video game players have more “lucid dreams” (in which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming) than non-gamers. Often, the dreamer can even manipulate the action or observe it in third-person, much like a video game.

“On an intuitive level, it makes sense,” said Gackenbach.“If you’re spending a lot of time in a changeable virtual environment, it acts as a sort of practice for another virtual reality, dreams.”

Gackenbach’s research suggests the effects of video games on minds are much more complex. She even goes as far to suggest that video gaming may share some traits with deep meditation, in that both immerse the mind in a singular, deeply focused activity.

“Video games are changing how people’s brains work, how they are wired,” she said.

Interestingly, anecdotal evidence within gaming fandom usually cites early 90s titles such as Tetris and Doom as the most likely to inspire a dream, although not necessarily the lucid dreams described by Gackenbach.

(from gamasutra.com)

@jane gackenbach

In previous research I have argued that a naturally occurring “virtual” reality (i.e., lucid dreaming) is a bridge to the experience of higher states of consciousness (Gackenbach, 1991). Lucid dreaming, awareness of dreaming while still in the dream state, is a preliminary indicate of the development of higher states of consciousness therefore understanding its nature, development, context as well as access issues is important.

It has been pointed out that based on the cognitive science (mental model) understanding of our sense of self in the world that our perception of reality is a construction, a best guess. Lucid dreaming is another such construction with a different set of input variables than those experienced while awake. Virtual reality (VR), and especially full immersive VR, potentially offers practice in maneuvering around in, as well as being in, “artificial” or perhaps “alternative” realities and is discussed in the VR literature as telepresence. It may well be that such VR practice would translate into more accurate state recognition in dreams (i.e., an increase in lucid dreams). One of the areas where we see such extensive practice is in video game playing which may be associated with an increase in lucid dreaming frequency and related states of consciousness.

read the full research article by jane gackenbach here

[MatrixManNe0]

Makes sense. Some members of the forum have reported more vivid dreams/LD’s after playing video games.

[Bruno]

A game in which there is a possibility of realizing you’re dreaming also sets the theme for your subconscious to use—just like people who play Super Mario often dream of weird stuff like pipes and mushrooms, someone who plays a game related to lucid dreaming might get lucid just by the game’s influence.

[Keiiji]

makes sense a LOT to me , when I play games all day I often got LDs or psuedo - LD dreams

[Marvin (mentally preparing for VVG3)]

bump

I play…quite much video games. Not that much like I used to do, but however I haven’t reached full lucidity in a dream yet. And I even try to do different techniques, do RCs (not as often as I should >.< ) but however I only got a low level LD which lasted, about 5-10 seconds. I realized that something was wrong when I tried to visit ld4all.com and it did not work but I visitted it just before I went to bed (on the other hand the forum did not work that day).

But back to games: I play(ed) different games, too. Some rather classic ones included. I often do unreal moves and such in the games or the games themselves are more a mixture of different games. But I only recognize that it was a dream after I woke up. Sometimes I get the feeling that something is wrong about the game, yet I don’t really worry about it so that I cannot get lucid.

What genres of games induce most lucid dreams to you? I often dream about strategy games, which are more unlikely to cause LDs I guess.

[MelissaDreamer]

Hmm I play a video game day and night, RPG actually, so it’s mostly in third person mode. But I don’t think it helps me gain lucidity. All it does is turn my dream worlds into the game world filled with real life people. It’s pretty fun playing the game as myself though But yes, I do believe this research.

Bruno

A game in which there is a possibility of realizing you’re dreaming also sets the theme for your subconscious to use—just like people who play Super Mario often dream of weird stuff like pipes and mushrooms, someone who plays a game related to lucid dreaming might get lucid just by the game’s influence.

^ They should make a game like that o.o

[The_Nameless_One]

I must be the exception that confirms the rule then. Or maybe it’s just my stubbornness.

[Bruno]

@MelissaDreamer

^ They should make a game like that o.o

There are actually quite a few, like—

Just because I know them by heart whenever I don’t need to remember that, right now I can’t think of any. But anyways, realizing it was all just a dream is a pretty common deus ex machina strategy—so you can see a lot of lucid dreamers in TV shows, theatre plays and videogames because it is a pretty easy way of coming up with a denuement without having to think a lot…

[krakatoa]

Usually my gamedreams are not lucid, but they have been sometimes. Not that game dreams are the point in this.
I played like 7 or 8 hours of oblivion today, time really flies.
Last night I got close to being lucid because I was “looking at the map”, wich turned into the picture flying over the place on the map, wich turned into a woman flying but it was still me controlling the altitude but clicking the left mouse button.

[KaiserCody]

dang, i go to Grant Mac and i was gonna volunteer for that study but never got around to it.

[huggkruka]

Might be true. It’s hard to know personally, since I started gaming long before LDing. I buy the explanation, the hormones and endorphines released when you frag someone is not to be underestimated!

[Presence_of_Light]

I used to be addicted and have been around gaming addicts my whole life. addict not being a joke, but a reality.

I still have dreams of playing Ultima Online or Ever Quest. Usually bad ones… having my stuff being stolen, being repeatedly killed and stalked by a character, etc.

the stress these games can produce is remarkable.

one instance in playing UO had me so amped up that my hands were trembling for 30 or so minutes, perhaps longer, after it was over.

the shock itself, the physiological symptoms, and the nervous system activation is more or less identical to say if a grizzly bear almost attacked you. the latter would be much more scary, but it still triggers the body to respond.

[BlissfulBlues]

@holy reality

the stress these games can produce is remarkable.

one instance in playing UO had me so amped up that my hands were trembling for 30 or so minutes, perhaps longer, after it was over.

the shock itself, the physiological symptoms, and the nervous system activation is more or less identical to say if a grizzly bear almost attacked you. the latter would be much more scary, but it still triggers the body to respond.

I believe you, only because I’ve been there! For the most part, I haven’t been playing many video games lately, however I have during some of the summers that have past. The instances that I have in mind come from playing Final Fantasy X-2; there have been many situations, such as during intense battles, for instance, that sent my pulse rate over the edge.

As far as being related to lucid dreaming goes, I’m not going to dismiss the idea, but I’ve never really noticed much of an increase in lucid dreaming from video gaming, myself.

[Presence_of_Light]

oh as for LDing if i spend a really long time immersed in a video game while falling asleep instead of just blanking out i will have rather unpleasant semi hypnagogic third person “dreams” of just simply playing the game over and over

its how the brain learns

like the first time i rode a bike in years i had tons of mini dreams about just riding a bike in general while falling asleep.

so that may be something…

[KaiserCody]

I’m a huge gamer and I only recently have been having some good success LDing (which is probably because I’ve been trying for over a year and reading EWLD right now). But I have noticed that I tend to “restart” sequences a lot of times in my dreams, which kind of blows since it takes me a while to move on from one scene to another. Lately I’ve been setting up combo moves on a grid system with people or seeing geo panels (a la disgaea 2), hopefully i can use that as a dreamsign.

[CrazyStickFigure]

I play hours of games almost every day. Once, I didn’t and now I have no dream recall. Stupid book reports Screwed it up for me

[_Darkness_Myth]

Interesting. Personally I find gaming doesn’t promote Lucid Dreaming with me.

I find I have more lucidity when I haven’t been gaming then when I have. The amount of LDs doesn’t really change, but the “strength” of the lucidity is generally lower.

As far as vividness goes though, no change to normal.

[krakatoa]

Having aquired a copy of Half Life 2 Episode 1 by means wich shall not be discussed, or they could be BECAUSE THEY WERE LEGAL, or maybe they weren’t or we’re, let’s say they we’re. but not, but yes. Anyway, having possession of the game will probably be turned around and the game will have possession of me for a few hours, either tonight or tomorrow, Maybe that can, prove something to me. or not.

[Soragu]

I really don’t think gaming helps you get lucid dreams. Not for me at least. Strange things happen in my dreams, but I think it’s just a game, it’s kinda annoying when I wake up and realise I’ve missed completely obvious signs.

But games do motivate me to get ld’s. I wanna do stuff that can only be done in games, such as running really fast like Sonic or swallowing huge things like Kirby, just to name a few.

[krakatoa]

Yeah. Playing HL2Ep1 hasn’t helped yet. But The theme of videogames is clearly present. I think it is actually unhelpful, gives me an excuse for the weird things. It seems though more things happen lately. A little crazier dreams. Could be me sleeping late though.