Mindfulness, Meditation, and Lucid Dreaming: A Narrow vs. Broad-Spectrum Mindfulness Study

Abstract

Both lucid dreaming and mindfulness appear to involve metacognition and awareness, or “awareness of awareness” in which one is aware and consciously attends to present experiences. Despite evidence for the continuity hypothesis of dreaming (which posits dream content is connected and related to the concerns and thoughts in waking life), little research has explored a relationship between lucid dreaming and waking mindfulness. The present study explores the relationship among mindfulness experience, meditation practice history, and lucid dreaming. Undergraduate students and meditators completed questionnaires assessing trait mindfulness, lucid dreaming frequency, and meditation practices. Surprisingly, lucid dreaming was not associated with meditation practice frequency or narrow-spectrum mindfulness experiences like present-centered awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance. Lucid dreaming frequency was predicted only by dream recall and mindfulness-related experiences of Transcendence. Possible personality implications are discussed.