What is lucid dreaming?

Lucid dreaming is consciously perceiving and recognizing that one is in a dream while one is sleeping.
Lucid dreaming is defined as simply realizing that one is dreaming, while in a dream.
Lucid dreamers, called oneironauts, report being able to freely remember the circumstances of waking life, think cogently, and act deliberately upon reflection, all while experiencing a dreamscape that seems vividly real.
(A Dreamscape is the faux-reality "world" that exists within a dream. Those capable of lucid dreaming claim to be able to control this world, and, indeed, reshape it and its inhabitants.)

A person in a lucid dream with full control may morph the dreamscape into any virtual reality that person pleases, all with properties that feel identical to that of wakeful consciousness.

Doing literally anything within a lucid dream is not outside one's ability. Less skilled oneironauts, who have trouble controlling their surroundings, however, sometimes make themselves like actors in chosen plays.

Lucid dreams are notable for their durability in memory, being exceptionally more memorable than typical, non-lucid dreams (though it's still possible to not remember them).

One theory as to why lucid dreams are more memorable is that they usually end with the person waking up suddenly, due to excitement. It is generally believed that a transition from REM sleep to awakeness, rather then through Delta sleep, dramatically improves dream recall.
(Rapid eye movement (REM) is the stage of sleep during which the most vivid (though not all) dreams occur. During this stage, the eyes move rapidly, and the activity of the brain's neurons is quite similar to that during waking hours. It is the lightest form of sleep; people awakened during REM usually feel alert and refreshed.)

Oneironauts regularly describe their dreams as exciting, colorful, and fantastic, and often compare their dreams to a spiritual experience.

Oneironauts have even reported lucid dreams that take on a "hyper reality," that is, a reality that is more "real" than waking life. In these dreams, all elements of the dreamscape are amplified.

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