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For many people, dreams are an unknown land, a terra incognita where the events are not only hard to understand but sometimes impossible to recall with clarity. This ambiguity has generated various speculations about the nature of dreams and their impact on reality. When someone suddenly realizes they are dreaming, uncertainties and fears can either spark a desire to investigate dreams further or a strong reluctance to continue experiencing lucid dreams.
What makes dreams unsettling? Often, it’s not just the harmless or fantastical plots but the dangers, monsters, and unpleasant incidents that people encounter. Sometimes, a person wakes up in the middle of the night with the terrifying feeling that a catastrophe occurred in the dream. This might manifest as falling into an abyss, suffering a car crash, being attacked by aggressive entities, or even something as ordinary yet frightening as dying of old age.
We know that regular dreams, no matter how bad, dissolve upon waking. But what happens if the dream is lucid? In a lucid dream, the sensations and the events can feel so real that it’s hard to distinguish them from real life.
What Happens if You Die in a Lucid Dream?
What if you die in a lucid dream? Could the brain mistake the imagined scenario for a real event? Is it possible to die in a lucid dream if all the sensations and experiences suggest you have died? Clearly, those who have died in their lucid dreams can’t return to tell us. But has this ever actually happened?
To date, there is no scientific evidence supporting such an occurrence, though the internet is full of ominous warnings about the dangers of catastrophic experiences in lucid dreams. However, no factual confirmation has confirmed that death in a lucid dream can result in real physical death.
Dying in a Dream Means Waking Up
Despite various fears and frightening stories, a lucid dream is still just a dream. When a critical event leads to the “death” of the dreamer, it usually causes awakening, much like any intense emotion that triggers heightened physical and emotional arousal.
For those who confidently practice lucid dreaming and have good control over their dreams, “death” in a dream may simply result in a change in the dream’s storyline or offer the chance to be transported to a new desired location, acting as a kind of “teleportation” for the lucid dreamer.
Experienced practitioners can even die in a lucid dream deliberately to enhance their awareness and extend their time in the controlled dream state.
However, in most cases, when death occurs in a dream, it is very difficult to prevent immediate waking. The event evokes such intense physical and psychological reactions that the person wakes up right away.
Physiological Reactions
Such an extraordinary event as one’s own “death” in a dream triggers an increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and sometimes sweating or muscle tension. These are natural bodily responses to perceived danger, which the brain in a lucid dream interprets as real.
The instinctive reaction to danger usually prompts a state of readiness for action. The body enters a heightened state of activity and most often wakes up immediately. Staying in a lucid dream in this state of heightened arousal is difficult, but it is possible with enough experience and regular practice.
However, continuing the dream is not recommended for those with health issues, particularly high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems. In such cases, it’s better to wake up and calm down. Typically, a few minutes are enough for the body to return to normal.
The realization that the unsettling event was just a dream will bring natural relief. Next time, whether the same event happens spontaneously or is self-induced, the emotions may not be as intense.
Any physiological reactions to one’s “death” in a dream typically pass within minutes of waking, or they may go entirely unnoticed if an experienced dreamer has practiced these events consciously and uses them for self-development.
Psychological Consequences
Negative emotions experienced in dreams can have a depressive effect on the dreamer’s psychological state, even if the dream itself isn’t clearly remembered. Imagine, then, what would happen if someone dreamt of their own death! Of course, this can ruin one’s mood, increase irritability, and lead to persistent melancholic thoughts, especially if the person experiences heightened emotional reactions.
On the other hand, realizing that all the bad things were just a dream can lift one’s spirits and even provide a sense of relief as deeply buried, distressing emotions are released.
For lucid dreaming practitioners, these experiences can be surprisingly beneficial, especially if they learn to interact with unpleasant dream events.
How Can Negative or Critical Events in a Lucid Dream Lead to Positive Outcomes?
With the right approach, frightening events, disturbing feelings, and particularly one’s “death” in a lucid dream can offer an opportunity to analyze personal psychological issues, understand deeply hidden inner conflicts, and overcome fears and phobias that hinder one’s full engagement with the real world.
You can learn more about working through fears, solving psychological problems, and overcoming phobias in lucid dreams in Michael Raduga’s book REM Psychology: Solving Psychological Problems in Lucid Dreams.
To reiterate, although death in a lucid dream is a dramatic experience, it does not lead to actual physical harm, and for skilled dreamers, it may even be a tool for personal growth and emotional healing.
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Recommended reading
How to learn to have lucid dreams
Are lucid dreams real and how to learn to be aware of them
