Why Are Lucid Dreams So Short? Your Mind Is Responsible For This!

Lucid dreams are like magical gateways to an alternate reality where you can change anything. You can become a superhero in such a dream and go skydiving. You can shoot laser beams from your eyes like Superman, and do all kinds of cool and bad things that you can't do in real life. But, why are lucid dreams so short? Why so? Let's talk about this!

First things first, what are lucid dreams? Simply put, lucid dreams are dreams in which you know you are dreaming. This means that you can control the dream to some extent and do things that are impossible in real life. For example, you can fly, breathe underwater, or even interact with your favorite celebrity.

Why Are Lucid Dreams So Short?

Lucid Dreams Are Shorter Due To REM Cycle

Now, to answer the question at hand, lucid dreams are short because they occur during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. This is the stage where most of our dreams come into being. During this phase, our brain is highly active, and our eyes move rapidly. This is the reason why the name of this condition is rapid eye movement.

The thing is, the REM stage of sleep doesn't last very long. In fact, it only lasts for about 10 to 20 minutes. We go through several REM cycles during a night's sleep. As a result, our dreams, including lucid dreams, are short-lived and often fragmentary.

Excitement Cause Lucid Dreams To End Prematurely

Another reason why lucid dreams are short is that they are very intense. Think about it, you know you're in a dream and can even control it, which is pretty exciting. This stimulation can trigger your brain to wake up. This excitement brings the dream to an abrupt end. 

Therefore, when you know in a dream that you are dreaming, then you must remain completely calm. If you get excited or scared in such a dream, you will wake up immediately.

However, some people are better at staying in lucid dreams for longer periods than others. You too will, over time, be able to stay in lucid dreams for longer periods. You have to keep your mind focused in the lucid dream world. Train yourself not to get excited. Meditation and other mindfulness practices can help you a lot with this.

Conclusion

Finally, lucid dreams are naturally shorter because they occur during the REM stage of sleep. Because the REM phase doesn't last very long, lucid dreams are also often short. But you can stay in a lucid dream for a long time; You just have to keep your mind stable in the dream.

Well, this is not a big problem. Lucid dreaming is a fascinating phenomenon that helps us explore the depths of our subconscious mind and allows us to experience things that are impossible in real life. Therefore, do not be discouraged if your lucid dreams are short-lived. 

Roald Dahl, the great writer, once said, "A dream is not a dream if it is not prolonged."