Science of Dreams: What are Lucid Dreams?

A lucid dream is when you know you're dreaming while you’re still in the dream.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy, and all of a sudden you realize it's not real, it’s just a dream, like when you fall asleep after watching a movie. In a lucid dream, you can control what happens, just like when you play pretend with your friends but you know it's make-believe.

In regular dreams, things happen without you knowing, maybe you're flying or talking to animals. But in a lucid dream, you say to yourself, “Oh, I’m dreaming!” and then you can decide what happens next. You might turn into a bird and fly around the sky, just like when you imagine yourself flying during your nap.

Sometimes, your brain gives you little clues that you're dreaming, maybe the colors look funny or things don’t quite make sense. If you notice these clues, you can wake up your dream self and start exploring!