Monday, May 08, 2006

Lucid Dreams Key to Better Sleep

By Mika Mandelbaum
Arizona Daily Wildcat


Through a state of dreaming that combines Western science and Tibetan Buddhist study, students might be able to improve sleep quality, overcome fears and explore reality.


Lucid dreaming occurs when a person is sleeping and becomes aware of the fact that they are dreaming.


Tibetan Buddhists have used lucid dreaming to perform dream yoga, where they achieve a meditative state in their sleep.


By reaching the lucid dreaming state, college students, who typically have problems sleeping, have the power to improve their sleep, said Dusana Rybarova, the director of the Dharmakirti College Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that supports interaction between scientists and Buddhist scholars.


"You can bring your sleep under control through your own will, practice and meditation," said Rybarova, a UA psychology graduate student.


For example, through lucid dreaming, a person can turn a nightmare into a transcendental, peaceful state by taking control of the situation with a positive attitude, said lucid dreams researcher Stephen LaBerge.


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