Excerpts from a study initially published in the International Journal Of Dream Research – Doll, E., Gittler, G., & Holzinger, B. (2009). Dreaming, Lucid Dreaming and Personality, 2(2), 52–57 – https://doi.org/10.11588/ijodr.2009.2.142
“DREAMING, LUCID DREAMING AND PERSONALITY…
…Our investigation focused on the frequency of the lucid dream experience and its relationship to mental health; behavioral control…; decision behavior…; and spatial abilities… Data analysis of 89 subjects suggested that frequent lucid dreamers…differ from rare…and non-lucid dreamers… by higher scores on the scales of mental health; free of complaints; assertiveness; autonomy, and self-confidence. With regard to behavioral control, decision behavior, and spatial abilities, no significant differences were found between the three dream groups…
…Altogether, our results confirmed the relationship between lucid dreaming and trait aspects of mental health. The increased scores of frequent lucid dreamers on the mental health supported the view…that mental and also physical health are associated with lucid dreaming…
…in sum, it is conceivable that lucid dreaming influences the management of mental conflicts in a positive way and – with qualified therapeutic accompaniment – may have a favourable affect on waking life…
…However, the sample was not representative of the general population and was mainly comprised of spontaneous lucid dreamers. How a training to induce lucid dreams might affect personality and well-being remains open…
…The hypothesis that lucid dreaming interacts with control of behavior in waking life…was not supported. Obviously, behavioral control in waking life, which includes long-term planning and striving for order, includes a different aspect of control than that involved in lucid dreaming. The difference in the character of reality in dreams and in waking life may also play a role in this context. In contrast to waking life, dreams do not have continuity and are short-term occurrences, whereas the waking world offers a continuous reality of space and time where long-term planning is practicable…
…Altogether, dream recall frequency correlated with lucid dream frequency, but showed other relationships to personality traits than lucid dream frequency. This suggests that lucid dreams are a phenomenon to be distinguished from ordinary dreams… The correlation found between a positive attitude towards dreams and general dream recall frequency agrees with the results of Schredl et al. (1996) as well as Cernovsky (1984)…”
http://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/IJoDR/article/viewFile/142/pdf_3
Related Post(s):
“Lucid Dreaming for Mental Health” – By Maxwell Hunter, TheRaRaRabbit- Psychology
“Nocturnal Consciousness And Its Importance For The Exploration Of Psychopathology”