Scientists have worked out how you can actually control your dreams

A record-breaking trial may have discovered a way to control your dreams for the first time, after a scientist's study found that more than half of the study were able to lucid dream.

A lucid dream is essentially being aware you are dreaming while you're asleep.

Dr Denholm Aspy of the University of Adelaide taught his 169 participants a range of techniques to increase the chance of lucid dreaming. Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams (MILD) asked people to set alarms to wake up after five hours and say, "the next time I am dreaming, I will remember that I'm dreaming" before heading back to sleep.

In his findings, Dr Aspy said 53 per cent of people experienced a lucid dream during the trial. He also noted a 17 per cent success rate per night, according to IFL Science. He told the outlet that this "exceeds any previous study conducted without interventions such as masks that shine lights in people’s eyes on detecting REM sleep."

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Dr Aspy previously started a fundraiser to develop "effective techniques for learning lucid dreaming".

According to the scientist, lucid dreaming has the "potential to improve people's lives".

He suggested that it can aid in treating recurring nightmares and allow the sleeper to take control of bad dreams in "real-time, by changing the nightmare or even deliberately waking up".

He claimed lucid dreaming has been "used by elite athletes to improve their skills by practising them while dreaming, with several studies showing that this can improve strength and coordination".

Dr Aspy continued: "Lucid dreaming has also potential applications in overcoming phobias, processing grief, creative inspiration, problem-solving, self-development, and many other areas."

Going forward, Dr Aspy will be seeking volunteers for future studies to advance his methods and techniques.

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