Psychedelic & Lucid Dreaming Trips & Tips
We hallucinate every night. Lying motionless on mattresses, we immerse ourselves in vivid scenes. Dreams are not unlike psychedelic experiences.
In this post, we’ll explore the similarities and differences between dream and drug experiences. Similarities between trip reports and dream reports have piqued the curiosity of researchers.
In 2017, Rainer Kraehenmann wrote a review of the current research literature and stated:
“Both dreams and psychedelic states share a common phenomenological and neurobiological basis, there are also some differences between them, which are mainly due to greater perceptual influences from the external environment, clarity of consciousness and meta-cognitive abilities in psychedelic states compared to REMS.”
They noted overlap in increased emotional activation, increased mental imagery, and decreased sense of self. Linked is the chart from their publication that summarizes the similarities and differences between psychedelics, dreams, and lucid dreams.
In 2018, Sanz et al. published an analysis that compared 10s of thousands of trip reports from Erowid.org and dream reports from DreamJournal.net. Using language processing techniques, they stated:
“psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin mushrooms produced experiences that were the most similar to experiences reported during dreaming. Sedatives, stimulants, antipsychotics, and antidepressants lead to experiences that were the least similar to those reported during dreaming.”
Given the similarities, is it reasonable to think taking psychedelics will result in more and/or better lucid dreams? In The Lucidity Institute’s FAQs 2.4, in response to the question, “Are there any drugs or nutritional supplements that stimulate lucid dreams?” They write:
“Drugs in the LSD family, including psilocybin and tryptamines actually stimulate REM sleep (in doses small enough to allow sleep), leading to longer REM periods.”
Do lucid dreams become more probable in the nights following a psychedelic experience? There have been plenty of anecdotal reports of this happening, but there have not been any robust studies to validate this relationship yet.
The Lucidity Institute FAQs also describe the REM rebound effect with some drugs:
“Many prescription drugs as well as marijuana and alcohol alter the sleep cycle, usually by suppressing REM sleep. This leads to a phenomenon called “REM rebound,” in which a person experiences intense, long REM periods after the drug has worn off. This can manifest as nightmares or, possibly, as lucid dreaming, since the brain is highly active.”
What happens when you do drugs in a lucid dream? As mentioned in the book Dreaming Wide Awake by David Jay Brown, renowned psychonaut, Terence McKenna, claims to have had full-blown psychedelic experiences in dreams. This implies these experiences might be more a byproduct of mental state and expectations than the actual substance. Have you had a psychedelic experience in a lucid dream? If so, let’s chat about it in the comments!
We talked about all this and more during the April 20th Tech for Dreaming event. Click here for recordings of our past events and join our Discord to discuss topics at the intersection of lucid dreaming and technology.
