Announcing the First Ever Annual Lucid Dreaming Day – April 12

Ames, IA, April 10, 2014 --(PR.com)-- On April 12, 1975, graduate student researcher, Keith Hearne, saw the first credible evidence for lucid dreaming while glancing at the rapid eye movement (REM) polygraph readout of Alan Worsley in the University of Hull sleep lab.

Incredibly at 8:07 a.m., the sleeping Worsley realized within a dream that he was dreaming, and consciously recalled the experimental task: to move his eyes left to right eight times as a signal of his conscious awareness while dreaming. As Worsley looked left to right in the lucid dream, his physical eyes moved in tandem and the historic results were clearly visible on the REM polygraph readout. The first scientific evidence for lucid dreaming had been captured through the technique, now known as ‘eye signal verification.’

In recognition of this profound moment in scientific history and to raise public awareness of lucid dreaming’s scientific foundation, April 12th is being established as the annual Lucid Dreaming Day, according to organizers, Rebecca Turner of the popular World-of-Lucid-Dreaming.com website, lucid dreaming author Daniel Love, and Robert Waggoner and Lucy Gillis, co-editors of the magazine, Lucid Dreaming Experience. The organizers have received support for recognizing this historic day from researchers, authors and experienced lucid dreamers around the globe.

After seeing the first scientific evidence for lucid dreaming on April 12, 1975, researcher Keith Hearne remarked, “It was like getting signals from another world. Philosophically, scientifically, it was simply mind blowing.” Since that time, interest in lucid dreaming has exploded. Recent surveys in scientific journals of college students show that almost 70% report having at least one lucid dream. Moreover, about 25% report that they become lucidly aware at least once a month.

Scientific research continues into lucid dreaming. Various experiments using EEG recordings and fMRI technology have shown at the moment of lucid awareness, parts of the brain associated with self awareness become active. When lucid, the dreaming brain and parts of the waking aware brain share concurrent activity. Additional research has considered using lucid dreaming to overcome recurring nightmares, often associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

Experienced lucid dreamers also report that lucid dreaming allows a person to directly access subconscious creativity. Aware in the dream, they can seek creative solutions to problems, which often lead to useable results in the waking world. Some lucid dreamers report the ability to positively influence emotional and physical health, while aware within the subconscious of dreaming, and look forward to the day when researchers investigate this potential use for lucid dreaming.

Organizers of Lucid Dreaming Day hope that by annually celebrating April 12th the public and scientific community will become aware of lucid dreaming’s scientific basis and see the value in supporting research into lucid dreaming’s potential as a tool to explore the subconscious mind and consciousness.

Explore on social media:

Twitter/Facebook tag: #LucidDreamingDay
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LucidDreamingDay
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/616893211727862/

For more information, contact:

Rebecca Turner (UK) at rebecca@world-of-lucid-dreaming.com
Daniel Love (UK) at mail@daniellove.co.uk or (+44) 077 077 11 007

Robert Waggoner (USA) at robwaggoner@aol.com or (+1) 515 268 9995
Lucy Gillis (Canada) at lucyrg@shaw.ca