Are Videogamers Better Lucid Dreamers?
Posted by Joshua_Kopstein on Monday, May 31, 2010
It makes sense that a person who immerses themselves in fantastical virtual worlds might have an enhanced sense of imagination, but according to psychologist Jayne Gackenbach, playing videogames regularly might actually give you greater authority over your own dreams. “If you’re spending hours a day in a virtual reality, if nothing else it’s practice,” she says. “Gamers are used to controlling their game environments, so that can translate into dreams.”
Gackenback started studying the mental effects of videogames in 1990, determined to add to a surprisingly populated list of suggestive associations between videogamers and lucid dreamers. For example, according to past studies, both groups seem to have better spatial recognition and are less prone to motion sickness. An enhanced ability to focus and concentrate was also found to be a common trait between the two.
But aside from it being really cool to control your dreams, what other benefits could being a ‘lucid gamer’ have? In her own studies, Gackenback noted that there was a noticeably lower level of violence and threatening, ‘nightmare’-type dreams amongst gamers as opposed to non-gamers. This suggests two things: One, that having exposure to virtual violence could lessen the extremity of dream violence and the mental shock that accompanies it — and two, that having greater control over dreams might be giving gamers the ability to navigate out of nightmares entirely. She even goes on to say that this could potentially lessen the effects of mental trauma, aiding individuals who suffer from a variety of post-traumatic illness. Gackenback does warn however that these associations are suggestive, and have not yet been backed up by definitive proof.
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