Lucid dreaming is something that has been researched for many years. Some research has shown that there can be a connection between dying and lucid dreaming.
Understanding Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is when someone is dreaming, and they know that they are dreaming. Some believe that this is an out of body experience. Lucid dreaming is like taking a trip and it can be exciting but when someone isn’t able to wake up from their dream, it can get scary.
Maybe you have been dreaming and you get up out of bed to get your day started. You keep doing what you do each morning but then you realize something isn’t right. You realize that you aren’t really awake. This can be scary, and you will see that if you don’t wake up then you aren’t going to be able to make it to your job on time.
As you dream, you see that you are screaming at yourself to wake up, but nothing is happening. This can be frustrating, and you might feel that this is a never-ending dream. The thing is though, lucid dreaming can be great, and it can inspire people to be more creative. The culture that a person is part of can play a role in what kind of lucid dreams that someone might have.
Dream Monster
Lucid dreaming might not bring a murderer to your dreams like it did in the movie Freddy Krueger, but sometimes lucid dreaming can bring about sleep paralysis. This can be something that is scary, and it has been seen in movies.
There were once people in Asia during the 70’s and 80’s where people were healthy, and they were dying in their sleep. This was termed “Asian Death Syndrome”, or “Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Sundrum” and they found that these were happening in Philippines and Japan. These were Hmong men and those that lived through this often talked about having sleep paralysis. Others that died suffocated in their sleep and they found that congenital heart conditions and stress caused the death, but it was thought to be dreaming.
SUNDS was renamed Bragada Syndrome in the 90’s and was researched by Shelley Adler who studied the people that were involved and the stress on the cultures. These were people that were said to be scaring themselves to death which would cause their heart to stop, and it was said that lucid dreaming might have played a role.
Dying and Lucid Dreaming
Even though it seemed like a stretch to say that the Hmong were dying from dreaming, Further research found that people that were in hospice might lucid dream more than people that are healthy. These dreams can be good and comforting when someone is dying rather than being scary or tormenting.