Abstract

This article presents the phenomenon of lucid dreaming concerning the criteria that define it and highlights the different areas of brain activation compared to a non-lucid dream. The phenomenon is then discussed in this opinion paper as potentially attractive for scientific research related to the theme of consciousness, which deems the phenomenon to be the third state of consciousness, halfway between wakefulness and sleep. The article proceeds with a critique of some induction techniques, exploring their hypothetical benefits and the side effects, which often involve a modification of the typical architecture of the sleep cycle and the loss of balanced sleep hygiene. To be discussed is also the evolutionary question concerning the possibility that the phenomenon of lucid dreams may represent an evolutionary advantage for the species. In conclusion, the article detects the tendency of the scientific community to promote the induction of lucid dreams on a large scale and the direction of scientific literature to give more visibility to studies that do not sufficiently warn against the contraindications that lucid dreams can entail compared to those that do.