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Lucid dreaming: An age-dependent brain

dissociation
Article in Journal of Sleep Research May 2012
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Regular Research Paper

J. Sleep Res. (2012)

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Lucid dreaming: an age-dependent brain dissociation

U R S U L A V O S S 1 , 2 , C L E M E N S F R E N Z E L 1 , J U D I T H K O P P E H E L E - G O S S E L 1 and
ALLAN HOBSON3
1 1Bonn University, Bonn, Germany, 2Frankfurt University, Germany and 3Harvard Medical School, USA

Keywords
age, children, intelligence, lucid dreaming, REM
sleep
Correspondence
Ursula Voss, PhD, Bonn University, Department
of Psychology, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111 Bonn,
Germany.
Tel.: XXX;
fax: XXX;
2 e-mail: u.voss@uni-bonn.de

SUMMARY

The current study focused on the distribution of lucid dreams in school

children and young adults. The survey was conducted on a large sample
of students aged 619 years. Questions distinguished between past and
current experience with lucid dreams. Results suggest that lucid
dreaming is quite pronounced in young children, its incidence rate drops
at about age 16 years. Increased lucidity was found in those attending
higher level compared with lower level schools. Taking methodological
issues into account, we feel confident to propose a link between the
natural occurrence of lucid dreaming and brain maturation.

Accepted in revised form 22 April 2012; received

18 January 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2012.01022.x

INTRODUCTION
The most obvious criterion for dream lucidity refers to the insight
that the ongoing dream is only a dream and not reality.
Sometimes, the dreamer can exert some control over the dream
plot. In our earlier studies, we were able to identify some
neurophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming in which part of
the brain remains asleep while other parts regain almost
waking-level function (Hobson and Voss, 2010, 2011; Voss
et al., 2009). This neurophysiological dissociation is met on a
subjective level with experiences of psychological dissociation,
such as watching the dream as if from the outside or realizing
that one is in a dream while the dream continues (Voss et al.,
3 submitted). In order to move from a mere correlational level to a
better and more thorough understanding of lucid dreaming, we
want to increase our efforts to learn more about its determinants. What exactly are its defining properties? At what ages
does it set in? How and why does it occur naturally?
A limiting factor to the rigorous scientific study of lucid
dreaming so far is the fact that its occurrence in adulthood is
rather rare and difficult to maintain. This low incidence stands
in apparent contrast to the high prevalence of reports
claiming that the majority of adults have experienced lucidity
in dreams at least once in their lifetime (Hearne, 1983;
Schredl and Erlacher, 2011; Stepansky et al., 1998). Is it
possible that adults report merely past experience but not
current lucid dreaming status? Several authors have reported
an inverse relationship of age and frequency of lucid
dreaming (Blackmore, 1984; Schredl and Erlacher, 2004,

2011; Watson, 2001). Instead of interpreting this peculiarity

as individual differences, as these authors have done, we
pursued an alternative hypothesis, namely that lucid dreaming occurs primarily in childhood and puberty (ArmstrongHickey, 1988; Hobson, 2009; Lapina et al., 1998).
In the following, we present preliminary evidence that the
dissociative state of lucid dreaming is, indeed, at least
coincidental with brain maturation during childhood and early
adolescence. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that lucid
dreaming is less frequent in adults compared with children.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Participants
The original sample consisted of 793 students. We excluded
99 data sets (see Table 2), so that results are based on the
answers of 694 students (346 female, 348 male) from schools
in and around Bonn, Germany. Students attended primary
schools (Grundschule, grades 14), as well as three types of
secondary schools (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium).
In Germany, following grade 4, students attend different types
of secondary schools according to assessment of intellectual
skills during primary school years (Bos and Stubbe, 2008;
Maaz et al., 2008). The sample was representative for
secondary school type attendance in Germany (Table 1).
Informed consent was taken from students or the parents
of minors. Participants received flip image postcards or candy
for their participation. In accordance with the regulations of

2012 European Sleep Research Society

J S R
Journal Name

1 0 2 2
Manuscript No.

Dispatch: 17.5.12

Journal: JSR CE: Chandra R.

Author Received:

No. of pages: 9 PE: Sudhakar

Table 1 Statistics for secondary school type attendance in the

sample and in Germany

School level
Primary school

Distribution
in sample
N (%)
75 (NA)

Distribution in
Germany (%)

Age range
sample
years

NA

610

Interview questions
Sleep related:
When do you usually turn out the lights
at night?
How long does it take you to fall asleep?
When do you get up in the morning?
Do you take naps and if yes, how often?

__________________
__________________
__________________
__________________

Dream related:
1) Can you recall your dreams and if so,
how often?

Almost every morning

Often
Sometimes
Very seldom
Never

2) Have you ever thought while the

dream was going on this is only a
dream, its not really happening

Yes

3) How often does it happen now that

you notice that the dream is not for
real while it goes on?

Almost every night

Often
Sometimes
Very seldom
Currently not at all

4) When was the last time you had a

lucid dream?

_______________

the Ministry for Education in the state of Nordrheinwestfalen,

the study was approved by the principals of all participating
schools.

5) Do you remember how old you were

when you had your first lucid dream?

_______________

6) Can you usually change or control

what happens in such a dream?

Yes

No

Procedure

7) Were you lucid last night?

Yes

No

One-on-one interviews were conducted by trained graduate

students of the Psychology Department of Bonn University.
Interviews were conducted in empty classrooms, during
regular school hours. Students were collected conjointly from
each classroom, one class at a time. While they awaited their
turn to be interviewed, one of the interviewers tried to involve
them in small-talk. After the interview, each student returned
to class immediately.
Participating students were provided with a detailed
description of lucid dreaming (lucid insight into the dream
while remaining asleep) and ample time was given to make
sure they had understood the concept. Students were then
asked several sleep-related warm-up questions (Fig. 1),
followed by seven dream-related ones. If a lucid dream was
reported, the interviewer requested that an example of such a
dream plot be shared (Narrative 1).
Narrative 1 (boy, 7 years old): I dreamt I was playing
soccer with my friends, and when I looked at my legs I saw
that they were distorted. Then I realized it must be a dream
because they did not at all look like my own legs. Then I
looked up and saw that I was in a giant soccer stadium and
I was able to play with my favorite soccer team (the adult
team). I could run real fast, faster than in waking.
For validation purposes, the student was then asked to
describe why he she believed the dream had been a lucid
one (Narrative 2).
Narrative 2 (boy, 11 years old): I knew I was dreaming
because the houses and streets looked different from
reality and I was able to climb up the walls, like Spiderman,
just like that. And then I thought about what I could do up
there on the roof, and because it was a dream, I jumped
down from it.

Test of suggestibility:
8) Do you sometimes dream of blue
squares?

Yes

No

9) Can you see the house on the top

right of this picture?

Yes

No

Secondary school
Lower level
(Hauptschule)
Medium level
(Realschule)
Higher level
(Gymnasium)
Total

122 (22.3)

18.1

917

157 (28.7)

28.4

918

268 (49.0)

53.5

622 (100.0)

100.0

919

Statistics of school type attendance in Germany were retrieved

from the German Federal Census Department (2011).

No

Figure 1. Interview questions regarding dream recall and frequency

of lucid dreams.

Suggestibility and social compliance

Suggestibility was assessed with Questions 8 (Fig. 1) and 9
(Fig. 2). Affirmative answers to either question led to exclusion of the data set. In addition, we excluded data from
students who gave contradictory answers to Questions 4 and
7 (Table 2).
Regarding Questions 4 and 7, data of students who
claimed to have last been lucid a week ago (Question 4) but

Test for suggestibility: lang stereocard II

LOW

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RESOLUTION

Figure 2. (a) For Question 9, participants were shown the Lang 11

stereocard (II) often used in ophthalmology for the assessment of
strabismus. (b) Hidden objects: elephant, car, moon, star. After students described the objects, they were asked if they also could see
the (non-existing) house on the top right. Note: this is a very crude
test but it was quite effective with the young.
2012 European Sleep Research Society

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variable s. Partial correlations were calculated to control for

effects of Age. Dream recall frequency was analysed for the
complete sample, while questions further specifying lucid
dreams were based on lucid dreamers, only.

Table 2 Descriptive statistics of the sample

9
Age
(years)

Participants,
N

Suggestible
students
N (%)

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Total

66
39
35
39
78
91
83
102
70
80
34
22
36
18
793

20
13
5
6
10
12
10
9
7
5
1

99

(30)
(33)
(14)
(15)
(13)
(13)
(12)
(10)
(10)
(6)
(3)
(3)

Valid
observations,
N
46
26
30
33
68
79
73
93
63
75
33
22
35
18
694

Sex
F

20
10
13
13
37
43
32
39
35
42
21
14
17
10
346

26
16
17
20
31
36
41
54
28
33
12
8
18
8
348

Group sizes of students aged 8 and 9 years are smaller than those
aged 1015 years because we received fewer parental permissions to interview these children, most likely because they forgot to
inform their parents. Students aged 1619 years were more
difficult to interview because of their variable schedules.

affirmed Question 7 (Were you lucid last night?) were

eliminated from further analysis.
Content validity of suggestibility questions is assumed
because four independent experts agreed that the items
possessed face validity in measuring this construct (Moosbrugger and Kelava, 2012). Item analysis further supports our
validity assumption, showing that students who affirmed
either of the two questions claimed lucidity more frequently
than students who negated both questions (Question 7:
T = 9.37, df = 791, P < 0.01; Question 8: T = 8.01, df = 791,
P < 0.01). Whereas Question 7 was affirmed especially by
young students aged 614 years, with a peak at ages 6 and
7 years, affirmative answers to Question 8 were equally
distributed across ages 616 years.
We tried to control for social compliance by including only
those interviews in which students either denied to have ever
had a lucid dream or in which they provided a lucid dream
narrative and a description of lucid elements that met the
criterion of lucid insight (e.g. Narrative 2). Of course,
especially older students may have heard or read about
lucid dreaming and not given a valid report. However, we
think it unlikely to have influenced younger students who
reported the highest lucidity rates.
Data analysis
Univariate analysis of variance (anova) was conducted on
interval scaled variables, using Sex and School Type as
independent factors, and Age as covariate. Nominal scaled
variables were analysed with t-tests or v2 procedures,
depending on the scale of measurement of the dependent
2012 European Sleep Research Society

RESULTS
The main findings of our survey were a surprisingly high
incidence of reported lucidity in the young, and more frequent
lucidity in those who are intellectually more capable. We also
observed that the current incidence of lucid dreaming sharply
decreased in early adulthood, while the experience of past
lucid dreaming episodes increased steadily across age
groups, suggesting that we must differentiate between the
lifetime prevalence of a lucid dream and current lucid
dreaming status.
Memory of lucid dreaming (entire sample)
In total, 51.9% of participating students reported to have had
at least one lucid episode in their life (Table 3). As shown in
Table 4, the experience with lucid dreaming was significantly
related to Age (v22 sided 44.73, df = 13, P < 0.01) and
Secondary School Type (v22 sided = 16.35, df = 2, P < 0.01).
The effect for School Type persisted when we controlled for
Age (r = 0.15, df = 544, P < 0.01). Regarding the Age effect,
Fig. 3 shows a steady increase of the lucid dreaming
experience across years, spanning a range of 52% from
age 6 to 19 years. The increase is linear, following the simple
equation Frequency of lucid dreaming = p0 + p1 Age.
Deviations from linearity are non-significant (v22 sided =
12.16, df = 12), with an ascending slope (p1) of 3.46
(SE = 0.50, P < 0.01) and an ordinate-axis intercept (p0) of
9.34 (SE = 6.36). This linear increase in what we refer to as
the lifetime prevalence of lucid dreaming stands in sharp
contrast to the distribution of current lucid dreaming (Fig. 4),
which demonstrates the need to introduce a temporal
reference point when assessing lucid dreaming incidence.
As far as the different types of secondary school are
concerned, pairwise contrasts between different levels of
schooling yielded significant effects for higher level versus
both medium and lower level schooling (higher versus lower
level: v22 sided = 14.74, df = 1, P < 0.01; higher versus medium level: v22 sided = 6.67, df = 1, P < 0.01), but not between
lower and medium level secondary school type (lower level
versus medium level: v22 sided = 1.74, df = 1, NS).
Current incidence of lucid dreams (lucid dreamers, only,
N = 360)
On a descriptive level, we found that most participating
students reported a low incidence rate of lucid dreaming:
about 75% of lucid dreamers experience this type of dream
once a month or less; only 6% claimed to be lucid almost
every night; 8% of lucid dreamers claimed to have been lucid
the night prior to the interview. Similar to the results for

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Table 3 Absolute and relative frequencies of sleep and dream-related variables

Age (N = 215)*

Sleep duration
mean (SE)

6
7

10.34 (0.21)
10.48 (0.34)

14.8
27.3

8
9
10
11
12
13
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16
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19

9.79 (0.25)
9.45 (0.36)
9.61 (0.16)
9.40 (0.12)
9.10 (0.14)
8.99 (0.14)
8.19 (0.31)
7.61 (0.19)
7.61 (0.34)
7.26 (0.25)
6.81 (0.20)
7.66 (0.45)

6.7
0.0
1.5
2.5
4.1
3.2
6.3
16.0
12.1
13.6
17.1
27.8

Entire sample (N = 622)

Frequency of dream recall

Never
Almost never
Sometimes
Often
Almost every morning
Total

34
79
300
187
94
694

4.90
11.38
43.23
26.95
13.54
100.00

Experience with lucid dreaming

Have had at least one lucid
dream in lifetime

360

51.87

Lucid dreamers only (N = 360)

Frequency of lucid dreams

Currently not at all
Very seldom
Sometimes (min. 1 month)1)
Often (min. 1 week)1)
Almost every night
Total
Lucid last night
Control over dream plot

27
152
91
70
20
360
57
133

7.50
42.22
25.28
19.44
5.55
100.00
15.83
36.94

Napping %

Sleep duration and age: )0.73

Sleep duration and
napping: )0.22
Age and napping: 0.25

Sleep duration and age: <0.01

Sleep duration and napping: <0.01
Age and napping: <0.01

*Sleep duration and napping were recorded in written form only in the second half of the survey (N = 215), in an attempt to better understand
the strong age effect we observed in the lucid dreaming data. Two students were not able to specify their usual bedtimes.

experience with lucid dreams, results of a univariate anova

using Sex and Secondary School Type as independent
variables, and Age as covariate (Table 4) suggest that the
current frequency of lucid dreams differs significantly across
Age and Secondary School Type (Age: F = 11.37, df = 1,
338, P < 0.01; Secondary School type: F = 6.49, df = 2, 303,
P < 0.01).
With respect to Age, we dichotomized responses for better
visualization into the categories frequent (responses often
and almost every night) and infrequent (sometimes, very
seldom and currently not at all). Frequent lucid dreaming
applied to 25% of lucid dreamers (Table 3).

As shown in Fig. 4, frequent lucid dreaming occurs most

often before age 17 years. Incidence rates seem to remain at
similar levels until age 13 years, after which it steadily
declines. Older students (ages 1719 years) appear to
experience lucid dreams only very infrequently. The distribution of current lucidity follows closely that for plot control
(Fig. 5). Both distributions are non-linear, plateau-like until
age 16 years, and descend sharply from this age on. These
distributions are thus more complex than the one for lifetime
prevalence of lucid dreaming.
Regarding Secondary School type, multiple post hoc
comparisons revealed that lower level school students
2012 European Sleep Research Society

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Table 4 Inferential statistics on dream-related variables

Entire sample, N = 622
Frequency of dream recall
Sex
Age
Secondary school type
Sexschool type
Experience with lucid dreams
Sex
Age
Secondary school type
Lucid dreamers only, N = 360
Current frequency of lucid dreams
Sex
Age
Secondary school type
(controlled for age)
Sex by secondary school type
Plot control
Sex
Age
Secondary school type
Recent lucidity (last night)
Sex
Age
Secondary school type

F
6.08
1.79
1.05
0.43
v22 sided
0.59
24.01
16.35

df
1,619
1,619
2,540
2,540
df
1
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P
<0.05
NS
NS
NS
P
NS
<0.01
<0.01

F
0.06
22.78
6.49

df
1,357
1,357
2,303

P
NS
<0.01
<0.01

0.12
v22 sided
1.06
28.79
1.27
v22 sided
0.02
12.23
10.82

2,303
df
1
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2
df
1
13
2

NS
P
NS
<0.01
NS
P
NS
NS
<0.01

Figure 3. Percent affirmative responses to the question Have you 12

ever had a lucid dream? (Ntotal = 622). Error bars correspond to 95%
confidence intervals (Wilson). The trend-line represents the significant linear increase of past experience with lucid dreaming across
age. Deviations from linearity are non-significant (v22 sided = 12.16,
df = 12), with an ascending slope of 3.46 (SE = 0.50, P < 0.01).

The influence of school type on dreaming was tested again

separately for secondary school types, only (grades 5 and up)
because primary school is attended by all children, undifferentiated by intelligence or grade point average. N secondary school
type = 310. Univariate analyses for secondary school type controlled for age by defining it as covariate.
*Partial correlation showed this effect to remain significant when
controlled for age (r = 0.15, df = 544, P < 0.01).

Partial correlation showed this effect to remain significant when

controlled for age (r = 0.16, df = 307, P < 0.01).

(mean = 1.28, SE = 0.13) reported significantly less

(P < 0.05) frequent lucid dreams than students from either
medium (mean = 1.78, SE = 0.12) or higher level
(mean = 1.73, SE = 0.07) schools.
Recent lucid dreaming (night prior to interview)
Recent lucidity was related to Type of Secondary School, but
not to Age or Sex (Table 4). Not a single student from lower
level schools reported to have been lucid very recently,
whereas 17% of students from both medium and higher level
schools claimed to have been lucid the night prior to the
interview.
Control over dream plot (lucid dreamers, only)
Less than half of those who have ever experienced lucid
dreams reported to be able to change the dream plot (37%),
which suggests that plot control is not as strong a defining
characteristic of lucid dreaming as is lucid insight. Control
over dream plot differed across age groups (v22 sided = 28.79,
2012 European Sleep Research Society

Figure 4. Relative prevalence (% of age group) of frequent lucid 13

dreams in students at the time of the interview (N = 360). Please note
that this figure relates not to the entire sample but to lucid dreamers
only.

df = 13, P < 0.01), but not between the sexes or school type
(Table 4). Not surprisingly, students claiming to have plot
control also report a higher lucid dreaming frequency
(students with plot control: mean = 1.97, SE = 0.09; without
plot control: mean = 1.59, SE = 0.07; t = 3.37, df = 358,
P < 0.01).
As shown in Fig. 5, at least partial plot control is most
frequent in 7 year olds. It stays at similar levels from ages 9
to 16 years, and drops thereafter. Content-wise, plot control
was mostly used to fly or divert violence and aggression
directed at the sleeper.
Frequency of dream recall
Most children and young adults remember their dreams at
least sometimes (84%), only 5% reported no dream recall at

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lucid dreams indicates the exact opposite trend. Whereas the
lifetime prevalence of lucid dreaming increases, current
lucidity decreases with age.
About 1535% of 616 year olds claim frequent lucidity (at
least once per week). This incidence rate drops dramatically
from that age on. Plot control is more prominent in dreamers
who are frequently lucid, and it also strongly decreases with
age. Regarding secondary school type, our results show that
especially those attending lower level schools experience
fewer lucid dreams both past and current. Lower level
school attendance is also associated with reduced plot
control in lucid dreams, not, however, with frequency of
dream recall. Dream lucidity is moderately related to dream
recall, but unrelated to duration of sleep or napping.

Figure 5. Can you usually change or control what happens in a lucid 14

dream? Percent affirmative responses relative to age group
DISCUSSION
(N = 360).

all (Table 3). Univariate anova (Table 4) using Sex and

Secondary School Type as fixed factors and Age as
covariate showed a significant effect for Sex but not for any
other variable. Girls in our sample had slightly but significantly higher recall of their dreams (girls: mean = 2.42,
SE = 0.05; boys: mean = 2.24, SE = 0.06). As expected,
dream recall was significantly correlated with frequent lucid
dreaming (r = 0.14, df = 694, P < 0.01), lifetime prevalence
of lucid dreaming (r = 0.10, df = 694, P < 0.01) and recent
lucidity (r = 0.13, df = 694, P < 0.01). There was no evidence
of a relationship between dream recall and control over
dream plot, however (r = 0.06, df = 694, NS).
Sleep-related variables
Univariate anovas were used to test whether dream recall
and or lucid dreaming frequency was influenced by sleep
duration or napping. As can be seen from Table 3, we found
no evidence of an interrelation between sleep-related and
lucid dreaming-related variables. Data indicate a drop in
napping at around age 9 years, and a strong increase in
students aged 14 years and older (r = 0.25, P < 0.01). This
finding is in accordance with the literature (e.g. Thorleifsdottir
et al., 2002) and will not be discussed further, as it does not
affect results on lucid dreaming. Sleep duration was significantly inversely correlated with age (r = )0.73, P < 0.01)
and napping (r = )0.22, P < 0.01); both findings would be
expected for this cohort.
To summarize, we found that lucid dreaming is common in
young boys and girls, and that it is significantly influenced by
age and level of education. At age 6 years, 26% of the
students can recall having had at least a single lucid dream in
the past. By the age of 19 years, about 78% of students claim
to know what it feels like to have a lucid dream. This linear
increase in the lifetime prevalence of a lucid dream is not
tantamount with the current status of lucid dreaming, however. In fact, our results show that the current incidence of

Results confirm our laboratory observation that lucid dreaming is infrequent and rare in adults. By contrast, lucid
dreaming seems to be quite pronounced in young children.
Assuming that we have been able to reduce suggestibility
and social compliance, it appears as if in published reports of
lucid dreaming in adults it is not possible to distinguish
between the lifetime prevalence of such dreams and the
current status of lucidity. An also surprising result was the
relationship of lucid dreaming with cognitive capacity, showing increased lucidity in those attending higher level compared with lower level schools.
Lucid dreaming as exceptional mental state
In the current sample, the very young were the ones with the
highest current incidence rate of lucid dreams. Frequency
rates remained at similar levels until age 16 years, after
which they dropped dramatically. Only one-third of lucid
dreamers claimed to be able to change the dream plot,
showing that plot control is not automatically activated in lucid
dreaming. As in previous reports (e.g. Wolpin et al., 1992),
plot control was significantly associated with frequency of
lucid dreaming, suggesting that it is susceptible to training.
Plot control was also found to vary with age. It remained at
relatively high rates (up to 50% of lucid dreams) from 6 to
14 years, and started to decrease from that age on. Lucid
dreaming incidence or frequency was not related to sleep
duration or napping.
Provided that our results can be trusted, how can these
findings be tied into what we already know about sleep and
dreaming in children and young adults? Why does lucid
dreaming happen and why does it start so early in life?
Based on previous research on lucid dreaming, we are
inclined to interpret the current results as evidence that it is
an exceptional mental state occurring naturally in the course
of brain maturation. The fact that lucid dreaming is more
pronounced in students of higher level secondary schools
implies that lucid dreaming is linked to the development of
cognitive functions. Although we are aware that level of
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secondary schooling in Germany is not an impeccable

indicator of intelligence but also dependent on social and
economic factors (e.g. Stubbe et al., 2008), we feel carefully
confident in our assumption that lucid dreaming is more
readily experienced by those who are more advanced in
abstract thinking and reflective insight. Support for this
interpretation comes from a study by Lapina et al. (1998).
Although details of method and sample characteristics have
not been reported, the authors claim a higher level of lucidity
in advanced learners. If this is true, however, then why does
lucid dreaming decrease in early adulthood, considering that,
surely, older students have acquired a higher level of
abstraction than younger ones? At this point, we can only
speculate about possible and probable causes. One explanation that should be further investigated is that lucid
dreaming occurs naturally in the immature but developing
brain.
Lucidity would thus be a transient dissociative state during
brain maturation that is normally lost in adulthood but still
accessible through training.
The gamma band hypothesis
Previous studies (Hobson and Voss, 2010; Neider et al.,
2011) have shown that lucid dreaming is accompanied by
increased activity in the gamma frequency band (40 Hz),
especially in frontal parts of the brain. Gamma band activity in
the 40 Hz range is known to be related to executive ego
functions and higher order consciousness (Fries et al., 2007;
Paul et al., 2005; Voss et al., 2009). According to the recent
literature, people differ in the extent to which they can
generate gamma band activity. Furthermore, this capacity
varies as a function of developmental brain maturation, which
may provide an advantage for such cognitive functions as
attention modulation, access to working memory and linguistic development (Giedd et al., 1996, 1999; Gou et al., 2011;
Takano and Ogawa, 1998; Uhlhaas et al., 2009, 2010). Only
very few studies investigated the link between electroencephalogram gamma band activity and neurophysiological
brain maturation processes, such as myelination and pruning. However, analogous to our finding that lucidity rates
markedly drop at around age 16 years, Uhlhaas et al. (2009)
report that phase synchrony and gamma band power are
strongly reduced during late puberty (increasing again in
adulthood), marking re-organizational processes of functional
networks. Applied to our hypothesis on the relationship
between lucid dreaming and gamma band activity, these
findings suggest that the two phenomena are linked but that
additional (maturational) processes play a role in the natural
occurrence of lucid dreaming in childhood.
Our survey was a hypothesis-generating pilot study,
opening a window for many more important questions that
only further research will be able to answer. If, for example,
intelligence and maturation processes prepare the brain for
dream lucidity, what are the necessary conditions for it to
actually occur? The fact that even students of higher level
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schools are often only infrequently lucid is proof that cognitive

ability and brain maturation may be necessary but not
sufficient conditions for lucid dreaming in the young.
At present, our working hypothesis is that first episodes of
lucid dreaming may be triggered naturally but accidentally. In
a still immature system of 40-Hz rhythmicity and frontal lobe
integration, gamma band activations must occur not only
during waking but sometimes untimely during sleep, as well.
If they occurred in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep,
these phases would lead to an awakening (Voss et al., in
preparation). During REM sleep, they promote lucid dreaming. This means that lucid dreaming may occur during a
fluctuation of gamma band activity during the wrong time of
the day, which would make it a natural accident of biological
rhythmicity.
Methodological critique and outlook
This is admittedly a study of subjectivity using introspection
as the main research tool (Meinong, 1923 2010; Voss,
2010), which raises questions on reliability and validity of
mnemonic reports, especially of young children and especially on the recollection of dreams. The most important factor
limiting interpretation and generalization of results in most
surveys on lucid dreaming is social compliance and suggestibility of highly motivated participants (see also Gackenbach, 1991; LaBerge, 1985). Compliant and socially
desirable answers are difficult to identify, and we have taken
precautions to prevent most of such answers. Aside from
excluding all data sets containing affirmative responses to
suggestible questions or contradictory statements, interviewers only recorded reports of lucidity if they were corroborated
by dream reports and if a proper explanation was provided
why the student thought this was a lucid dream. Furthermore,
what makes us carefully confident that the remaining
students were providing truthful answers was the higher
incidence rate of current and past lucidity in the intellectually
gifted children. There is no reason to think that intelligence
fosters suggestibility, in fact, research on children and young
adults suggests the opposite, namely that intelligence is
negatively correlated with suggestibility (Chae and Ceci,
2005; Sing and Gudjonsson, 1992).
Comparison with previous findings
Lucid dreaming
The phenomenon of lucid dreaming is often only vaguely
understood, even by those who claim to have had lucid
dreams in the past. Most studies of lucid dreaming rely on
questionable or not properly validated sources (for a review,
see Gackenbach, 1991). Our own experience shows that
especially online questionnaires, which are currently quite
popular, invite unreliable reports that compare meagerly with
those collected in the laboratory after REM-awakenings or
paper and pencil tests with proper instructions (Voss et al., in

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preparation). Accordingly, reports of lucid dream experiences

in adults (at least once in a lifetime) range from 82% (Schredl
4 and Erlacher, 2004) to 26% (Stepansky et al., 1998). In this
survey, we found an overall prevalence rate of 52%, which
compares well with a recent representative survey by Schredl
and Erlacher (2011), who reported a lifetime prevalence of
51% in adult participants. On the other hand, our group of 18
and 19 year olds had a lifetime prevalence of more than 70%,
which shows how important it is to provide age-related
incidence rates of lucid dreaming. Another shortcoming of
past surveys on lucid dreaming was that they did not
distinguish between past and present lucid dreaming incidence. This was one objective of the current study. Our
findings strongly suggest that, although most adults can
remember having had a lucid dream in the past, they rarely
experience them at present.
Miscellaneous findings
Concerning sleep and dreaming, we found no evidence of a
confounding effect of sleep duration or napping with regard to
either frequency of dream recall or lucid dreaming (Table 5).
We confirmed sex differences in dream recall (Schredl and
Reinhard, 2008), but did not observe an age effect. The
literature in this regard is controversial, some sources cite a
significant decline in older age (Schredl, 2008; Stepansky
et al., 1998), while others do not (Schredl and Piel, 2003;
Schredl and Reinhard, 2008). Because our age range does
not compare with those studies, we refrain from an in-depth
discussion at this point. It appears, however, that young
children in our current survey were as reliable in their dream
reports as their older peers.
Similar to a recent study by Schredl and Erlacher (2011),
but to a lesser degree, frequency of dream recall was
significantly correlated with frequency of lucid dreams,
suggesting that the ability to remember ones dreams
facilitates lucid dreaming or the memory of it.

Clinical implications
Lucid dreaming is of immense value for the study of conscious
states. We must ask ourselves, however, what the consequences are for our subjects: will training of lucid dreaming
alter cognitive and or emotional processing capacity in
waking? Can lucid dreaming be applied to clinical settings?
What we have observed in the children and young adults of
the current survey is what seems like a preparedness for
lucid dreaming. Interestingly, plot control was not automatically coupled with lucid dreaming. Does this indicate that
they do not recognize the possibility? Is that in turn a function
of a Piagetian kind of causality mystery? Do they later learn
it? Obviously, it is available to frequent lucid dreamers
(Fig. 5), which indicates that plot control must be susceptible
to training. Indeed, several of the interviewed young boys and
girls stated unasked that lucid dreaming commenced at a
time of need when nightmares prevailed.
Narrative 3: (girl, 10): Someone was haunting me. And I
was with my girlfriend. The chaser stood before me and
wanted to kill me. And then I realized it was only a dream.
So I made the person disappear and then suddenly, it
wasnt dark any more.
Students described lucid dreaming in combination with plot
control as a sort of self-remedy that helped them not only to
sleep through the night but also to achieve a sense of
mastery over their emotions. This is especially relevant
because plot control was mostly reported in connection with
aggression, violence directed at them, or flying. It is especially remarkable because these students had no training and
lucid dreaming occurred spontaneously. The present survey
did not assess these aspects systematically, but the assertiveness with which students described their experience with
lucidity leads us to speculate that lucid dreaming may prove
clinically useful in the treatment of children suffering from
anxiety disorders or nightmares. Lucid dreaming might even
prove useful in abating excessive impulsiveness.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Table 5 Results of univariate anova on the influence of sleep

duration and napping on dream-related variables
Frequency of dream recall

df

0.23
1.68
3.78
0.35
0.39

1,209
1,209
1,209
1,209
1,209

NS
NS
NS
NS
NS

Frequency of lucid dreams (lucid dreamers only)

Sleep duration (h)
1.72
1,209
Napping
0.03
1,209
Sex
3.76
1,209
Age
0.43
1,209
Sex by napping
0.91
1,209

NS
NS
NS
NS
NS

Sleep duration (h)

Napping
Sex
Age
Sex by napping

Age and sleep duration were defined as covariates, napping and

sex as independent variables.

The authors thank Katharina Bey, Anna Melnikova, Areta

Kempes, Jacqueline Possiel and Jana Speth for conscientiously and enthusiastically conducting the interviews. We
thank the following schools for their participation: Gymnasium
am Oelberg, Helmholtz-Gymnasium Bonn, Kastanienschule
Hennef, Ennertschule Bonn, GHS Oberpleis, Theodor-LittSekundarschule, Korczak-Realschule Troisdorf, Geschwister-Scholl Schule Gemeinschafts Hauptschule Troisdorf,
Arnold von Wied Grundschule and Realschule Beuel.
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