The Politics of Sustainable Development in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest

A disjointed political environment in Peru contributes to continued deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. This article recommends governmental reforms to promote sustainable development and offers suggestions to increase the potential of alternative industries as deforesting industries become outmoded

Benefits and concerns of seeking and experiencing lucid dreams: Benefits are tied to successful induction and dream control

Therapies focused on lucid dreaming could be useful for treating various sleep disorders and other conditions. Still, one major roadblock is the paucity of systematic information on the consequences of attempting these sorts of dreams. The current study sought to quantify positive and negative aspects of seeking lucid dreams, describe their phenomenology in detail, and identify features associated with positive or negative experiences. Observational data from a massive lucid-dream discussion forum were analyzed to capture lucid-dreaming themes. Forum posts were independently rated on multiple dimensions hypothesized to contribute to the valence of lucidity-related phenomena. Our results revealed that lucid dreams can end nightmares and prevent their recurrence, but they can also induce harrowing dysphoric dreams. The realization of dreaming (lucidity) and dreams with high control were both associated with positive experiences. We translated our results into a process model that describes the progression from lucid-dream induction to waking benefit, identifying potential areas of concern. Our results and model suggest that negative outcomes primarily result from failed induction attempts or lucid dreams with low dream control, and that successfully inducing high-control lucid dreams poses low risk for negative outcomes. Lucid dreaming has valuable therapeutic and recreational potential, but a better understanding of the risks is required. Our findings provide new insights into possible negative repercussions and how to avoid them in future applications

Provoking lucid dreams at home with sensory cues paired with pre-sleep cognitive training

Lucid dreams—when one is aware of dreaming while still asleep—are notoriously elusive but highly valued both for personal goals and basic sleep research. Lucid dreams can be produced by pairing sensory cues with cognitive training, followed by cue presentation during REM sleep. This method, Targeted Lucidity Reactivation (TLR), requires minimal personal effort, unlike many existing methods for promoting lucid dreaming. Theoretically, TLR might be effective either because cues produce a lucid mindset during sleep or because cues operate nonspecifically to increase arousal. Here we show that TLR can be translated from a laboratory procedure that requires an experimenter to monitor sleep stages to a procedure implemented with a smartphone application for individuals to use on their own. Results from two experiments provided insights into TLR procedures and how to improve them. In one experiment, we found that participants reported significantly more lucid dreams while using the TLR app compared to prior to app use. In a second experiment, we replicated this result and found that cues were most effective if paired with cognitive training before sleep, suggesting that success depends on reactivating a lucid mindset. TLR thus holds promise for broad scientific and personal purposes

Exploring the range of reported dream lucidity

Dream lucidity, or being aware of a dream as it occurs, is not an all-or-none phenomenon. Often, subjects report being some variant of “a little lucid” as opposed to completely or not at all. As recent neuroimaging work begins to elucidate the neural underpinnings of lucid experience, understanding subtle phenomenological variation within lucid dreams is essential. Here, we focus on the variety of lucid experience by asking participants to report their awareness of the dream on a 5-point Likert scale (from not at all to very much). Participants implemented lucid dream induction methods at home for one week and provided detailed reports about their dream experiences each morning. Consistent with previous research, cognitive induction methods led to about half of participants reporting at least one lucid dream and about half of all dreams including some level of lucidity. However, we also show that induction success rate varies significantly depending on the minimum criteria for lucidity. Participants also reported how much they adhered to specific components of each induction method, and the amount of mnemonic rehearsal during a brief early awake period was predictive of lucidity level. Furthermore, lucidity levels were positively correlated with dream control, dream bizarreness, and next-morning positive affect. Lastly, we asked participants open-ended questions about why they chose particular levels of lucidity. We focus a qualitative discussion on responses to those “semi- lucid” dreams (rated just a little, moderately, or pretty much lucid) to explore why participants rate their dreams as having intermediate levels of awareness. Together, the present study explores the frequency of semi-lucid dreams, what they are, why they might arise, their correlates, and how they impact methodological concerns in lucid dreaming research

Exploring the range of reported dream lucidity

Dream lucidity, or being aware that one is dreaming while dreaming, is not an all-or-none phenomenon. Often, subjects report being some variant of “a little lucid” as opposed to completely or not at all. As recent neuroimaging work begins to elucidate the neural underpinnings of lucid experience, understanding subtle phenomenological variation within lucid dreams is essential. Here, we focus on the variability of lucid experience by asking participants to report their awareness of the dream on a 5-point Likert scale (from not at all to very much). Participants implemented a combination of mnemonic training lucid dream induction methods at home for one week and provided detailed reports about their dream experiences each morning. Consistent with previous research, cognitive induction methods led to about half of participants reporting at least one lucid dream and about half of all dreams including some level of lucidity. However, we also show that induction success rate varies significantly depending on the minimum criteria for lucidity. Participants also reported how much they adhered to specific components of each induction method, and the amount of mnemonic rehearsal during a brief early awake period was predictive of lucidity level. Furthermore, lucidity levels were positively correlated with dream control, dream bizarreness, and next-morning positive affect. Lastly, we asked participants open-ended questions about why they chose particular levels of lucidity. We focus a qualitative discussion on responses to those “semi-lucid” dreams (rated just a little, moderately, or pretty much lucid) to explore why participants rate their dreams as having intermediate levels of awareness. Together, the present study explores the frequency of semi-lucid dreams, what they are, why they might arise, their correlates, and how they impact methodological concerns in lucid dreaming research

Lucid dreams from reactivating breath-counting during REM sleep

People typically become aware that a dream was “just a dream” only after awakening. Alternatively, people can become aware that they are dreaming during the dream. These lucid dreams are thought to involve increased prefrontal cortex activity relative to non-lucid dreams, and they are associated with volitional control over dream content. Lucid dreams could be valuable for many purposes, such as part of a therapy for nightmares. Yet, the long-standing challenge of inducing lucid dreams in the laboratory has limited research on such applications. Recent studies made progress in showing that memory reactivation during an early-morning nap can induce lucid dreams. Here, we propose that reactivating mindfulness during REM sleep can also be an effective strategy for inducing lucid dreams. Preliminary results and a brief literature review support this notion. Participants (N = 5) underwent a wake-back-to-bed procedure with standard polysomnography to track sleep stages and verify lucid dreams with electro-ocular eye signaling. After approximately 5 hours of sleep, participants were awakened to complete a breath-counting task while ambient music cues played in the background. When participants returned to sleep and reached REM sleep, cues were replayed to reactivate the task context. This procedure induced signal-verified lucid dreams in two participants. This rate of induction success approached that of recent full-scale investigations, though additional evidence will be needed to substantiate these initial results. Nevertheless, the present findings suggest that mindfulness-associated sensory stimulation in REM sleep has high potential value for promoting lucid dreaming

Wearing an eye mask during overnight sleep improves episodic learning and alertness

Ambient light can influence sleep structure and timing. We explored how wearing an eye-mask to block light during overnight sleep impacts on memory and alertness, changes that could benefit everyday tasks like studying or driving. In Experiment 1, ninety-four 18–35-year-olds wore an eye-mask while they slept every night for a week and underwent a control condition in which light was not blocked for another week. Five habituation nights were followed by a cognitive battery on the sixth and seventh days. This revealed superior episodic encoding and an improvement on alertness when using the mask. In Experiment 2, thirty-five 18–35-year-olds used a wearable device to monitor sleep with and without the mask. This replicated the encoding benefit and showed that it was predicted by time spent in slow wave sleep. Our findings suggest that wearing an eye-mask during overnight sleep can improve episodic encoding and alertness the next day

Dream lucidity is associated with positive waking mood

Lucid dreaming is a unique phenomenon with potential applications for therapeutic interventions. Few studies have investigated the effects of lucidity on an individual's waking mood, which could have valuable implications for improving psychological wellbeing. The current experiment aims to investigate whether the experience of lucidity enhances positive waking mood, and whether lucidity is associated with dream emotional content and subjective sleep quality. 20 participants were asked to complete lucid dream induction techniques along with an online dream diary for one week, which featured a 19-item lucidity questionnaire, and subjective ratings of sleep quality, dream emotional content, and waking mood. Results indicated that higher lucidity was associated with more positive dream content and elevated positive waking mood the next day, although there was no relationship with sleep quality. The results of the research and suggestions for future investigations, such as the need for longitudinal studies of lucidity and mood, are discussed

Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep

Contains fulltext : 233600.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access