Motor Learning in Lucid Dreams: Prevalence, Induction, and Effectiveness

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the potentials for motor learning in a special state of consciousness – so called lucid dreams (dreams in which the dreamers are aware that they are dreaming): its prevalence among athletes, facilitating methods and effectiveness. The contents of this dissertation are structured in the following way. The first chapter introduces the concept of mental practice in sports, reviews the evidence for its effectiveness and presents main theories explaining its effects. Further, the empirical evidence showing the correspondence between imagined and executed actions is discussed, which supports the theoretical view of a functional equivalence between covert and overt motor actions. The second chapter presents the basics of human sleep and the relation of sleep to memory consolidation, especially in terms of procedural (motor) memory. It also introduces the basics of dreams and dream research. The third chapter presents the phenomenon of lucid dreaming, its incidence and frequency rates, underlying physiology and psychology. The fourth chapter, the core of the present investigation, focuses on the application of lucid dreams in sports and, specifically, in motor learning. Anecdotal accounts and previous research is discussed and the present empirical work is introduced. The first study (Paper 1) surveyed the frequency of lucid dreaming and lucid dream practice in athletes. In the second study (Paper 2), a systematic review was conducted to examine the empirical evidence for all different methods for lucid dream induction that have been suggested in the literature. Then a sleep laboratory study followed to test one of the prospective methods suggested in the literature but not yet examined – an induction of lucid dreams via transcranial brain stimulation (Paper 3). Lastly, an online study was carried out in which the effectiveness of motor practice was compared to actual physical practice and mental practice in wakefulness (Paper 4). Finally, the last chapter provides an overall discussion of the findings and directions for future research

Induction of lucid dreams: A systematic review of evidence

In lucid dreams the dreamer is aware of dreaming and often able to influence the ongoing dream content. Lucid dreaming is a learnable skill and a variety of techniques is suggested for lucid dreaming induction. This systematic review evaluated the evidence for the effectiveness of induction techniques. A comprehensive literature search was carried out in biomedical databases and specific resources. Thirty-five studies were included in the analysis (11 sleep laboratory and 24 field studies), of which 26 employed cognitive techniques, 11 external stimulation and one drug application. The methodological quality of the included studies was relatively low. None of the induction techniques were verified to induce lucid dreams reliably and consistently, although some of them look promising. On the basis of the reviewed studies, a taxonomy of lucid dream induction methods is presented. Several methodological issues are discussed and further directions for future studies are proposed

Meta-awareness during day and night: the relationship between mindfulness and lucid dreaming.

The present study explored the relationship between lucidity in dreams (awareness of dreams while dreaming) and mindfulness during wakefulness, also considering meditation as a possible moderating variable. An online survey was completed by 528 respondents, of whom 386 (73.1%) had lucid dream experiences. The reported frequency of lucid dreams was found to be positively related to higher dispositional mindfulness in wakefulness. This relationship was only present in those participants who reported acquaintance with meditation. Regarding the dimensions of mindfulness, lucid dream frequency was more strongly associated with mindful presence rather than acceptance. The findings support the notion of an existing relationship between lucidity in dreams and mindfulness during wakefulness, yet it remains unclear whether the relationship is influenced by actual meditation practice or whether it reflects some natural predispositions. Future studies should examine the role of different meditation practices, investigate personality variables that might influence the relationship, and explore how different facets of mindfulness and lucidity interrelate. Keywords: lucid dreaming; mindfulness; meditatio

The Luminous Night of the Soul: The Relationship between Lucid Dreaming and Spirituality

Lucid dreams, in which the dreamers are aware that they are dreaming, can be a source of spiritual and mystical experiences. This empirical study aimed to explore the relationship between lucid dreaming and spirituality, taking into account the role of mystical lucid dream experience, in an online sample of 471 respondents, 95% of whom had lucid dream experience and 65% were frequent lucid dreamers. The findings support the relationship between lucid dreaming and spirituality: spiritual transcendence was positively associated with both lucid dream frequency and mystical lucid dream experiences. Thus having recurrent lucid dreams and mystical experiences in them may foster spiritual growth, rendering lucid dreaming possibly a viable spiritual practice, especially within the secular context. However, the correlative nature of the present research does not imply causality and further longitudinal research confirming this is needed

The Luminous Night of the Soul: The Relationship between Lucid Dreaming and Spirituality

Lucid dreams, in which the dreamers are aware that they are dreaming, can be a source of spiritual and mystical experiences. This empirical study aimed to explore the relationship between lucid dreaming and spirituality, taking into account the role of mystical lucid dream experience, in an online sample of 471 respondents, 95% of whom had lucid dream experience and 65% were frequent lucid dreamers. The findings support the relationship between lucid dreaming and spirituality: spiritual transcendence was positively associated with both lucid dream frequency and mystical lucid dream experiences. Thus having recurrent lucid dreams and mystical experiences in them may foster spiritual growth, rendering lucid dreaming possibly a viable spiritual practice, especially within the secular context. However, the correlative nature of the present research does not imply causality and further longitudinal research confirming this is needed

Demografiniai nuostoliai dėl moterų savižudybių Lietuvoje 2007–2020 metais: socialinė diferenciacija ir iššūkiai psichikos sveikatos politikai

In many countries of the world, including Lithuania, suicide rates for men are several times higher than for women. Therefore, the phenomenon of men’s suicide is receiving a lot of attention in public, scientific, and political discourses. In contrast, much less attention is paid to tackling women’s suicides and women’s mental health problems. Lithuania has been among the countries with the highest suicide rates for both men and women in the world for several decades, but research on the social and demographic aspects of women’s suicide in Lithuania is lacking. This paper aims to examine the demographic losses that Lithuania suffers from women suicides and assess the socio-demographic differentiation of these losses. The empirical part of the study was based on the calculation of years of life lost methodology. The years of life lost method is acknowledged as an accurate measure for assessing the impact of specific causes of death on premature mortality. Data sources for this study were the World Health Organization, Institute of Hygiene, and Human Mortality Database. The results of our study show that the number of years of lives lost due to women’s suicide decreased statistically significantly from 376 [321; 431] in 2007 to 287 [238; 335] in 2020. In Lithuania, the total number of women suicide was the highest among the 80+ year age group, however, the number of years of life lost due to suicide was the highest among the 30-39 year age group. The change in women’s suicide rates was inconsistent and for women, the decline in demographic loss due to suicide was twice as slow as for men. Nevertheless, the number of years of lives lost due to women’s suicide was about 5 times smaller than that of men in 2020. In Lithuania, high rates of women’s suicide reflect the poor state of women’s mental health, which poses challenges to the country’s mental health policy and sustainable demographic development.ietuva jau kelis dešimtmečius patenka tarp šalių, kurių savižudybių rodikliai yra didžiausi pasaulyje, tačiau tyrimų, kuriuose būtų nagrinėjami socialiniai ir demografiniai moterų savižudybių aspektai, Lietuvoje trūksta. Šio straipsnio tikslas – apskaičiuoti demografinius nuostolius, kuriuos patiria Lietuva dėl moterų savižudybių, ir įvertinti šių nuostolių socialinę ir demografinę diferenciaciją. Empirinė tyrimo dalis atlikta naudojant prarastų gyvenimo metų skaičiavimo metodiką. Tyrimo duomenų šaltiniai: Pasaulio sveikatos organizacija, Higienos institutas ir Human Mortality Database. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad nuo 2007 iki 2020 metų prarastų potencialių gyvenimo metų skaičius Lietuvoje statistiškai reikšmingai sumažėjo nuo 376 [321; 431] iki 287 [238; 335], tačiau moterų savižudybių lygio kaita buvo nenuosekli, o demografinių nuostolių dėl savižudybių mažėjimas buvo beveik perpus lėtesnis negu vyrų

Demografiniai praradimai susiję su alkoholio vartojimu: Lietuvos Respublikos 2011 m. visuotinio gyventojų ir būstų surašymo ir mirtingumo duomenų jungimo tyrimas

This paper presents the results of a study on sociodemographic mortality differentials in Lithuania based on censuslinked mortality data. Population data come from the individual records of the 2011 Population and Housing Census of the Republic of Lithuania. The results of the research demonstrate that education and marital status are very strong predictors of alcohol-related mortality. Among males aged 30 and older, the alcohol-related mortality risk in non-married groups is up to 3.4 times as high as in the group of married males. The alcohol-related mortality risk in lower-education groups is up to 3.7 times as high as in the group of those with higher education. The findings of the study suggest that the elimination of educational differences would allow avoiding 55.7 %, the elimination of marital status differences – 40.2 %, the elimination of ethnic group differences – 11.1 % of alcohol-related deaths.Tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti sociodemografinius mirtingumo, susieto su alkoholio vartojimu, skirtumus ir apskaičiuoti su šiais skirtumais susijusius demografinius praradimus Lietuvoje. Tyrime naudojami sujungti Lietuvos Respublikos 2011 m. visuotinio gyventojų ir būstų surašymo ir Lietuvos Respublikos 2011–2013 m. mirties atvejų ir jų priežasčių valstybės registro duomenys. Tyrimo metu gauti rezultatai palyginti su ankstesnio tyrimo, atlikto naudojant Lietuvos Respublikos 2001 m. visuotinio gyventojų ir būstų surašymo duomenis, rezultatais. Naudojant demografinės analizės ir statistinius metodus, vertinami mirtingumo skirtumai pagal mirties priežastis, susijusias su alkoholio vartojimu. Analizėje išskirtos dvi mirties priežasčių grupės: apsinuodijimas alkoholiu ir su alkoholio vartojimu susijusios kepenų ligos. Vertinant su alkoholio vartojimu susijusius demografinius praradimus, apskaičiuoti Puasono regresijos mirtingumo rodiklių santykiai ir mirtingumo dėl alkoholio vartojimo veiksninės rizikos rodikliai. Remiantis šia metodika apskaičiuota, kiek mirčių būtų išvengta, jeigu visose sociodemografinėse gyventojų grupėse mirtingumas dėl mirties priežasčių, susijusių su alkoholio vartojimu, būtų lygus žemiausiais mirtingumo rodikliais pasižyminčios sociodemografinės gyventojų grupės mirtingumui. Nustatyta, kad mirtingumo rodiklių skirtumai, dėl su alkoholio vartojimų susijusių mirties priežasčių, skirtingose išsilavinimo grupėse siekia 3,7 karto, skirtingose santuokinės padėties grupėse – 3,4 karto. Apskaičiavus mirtingumo rodiklių skirtumus pagal tautybę, nustatyta, kad didžiausias mirtingumas dėl apsinuodijimo alkoholiu buvo lenkų tautybės vyrų grupėje. Veiksninės rizikos rodiklių analizė parodė, kad sumažinus mirtingumą dėl alkoholio vartojimo būtų galima išvengti 40,2 proc. mirčių dėl mirtingumo diferenciacijos santuokinės padėties grupėse, 11,1 proc. – tautybės grupėse, 55,7 proc. – išsilavinimo grupėse

Bevaikystė ir požiūris į rūpinimąsi vyresnio amžiaus tėvais Lietuvoje

In rapidly ageing societies, caring and responsibilities for parents in old age is a widely discussed topic. This is particularly relevant in societies with low fertility and high rates of childlessness. Lithuania is one of the countries where demographic ageing rates have risen sharply in a short period of time. This process has been driven not only by low fertility but also by emigration of middle-aged and young people and increasing life expectancy. There is no lack of research on demographic changes in ageing societies in the country, but very little is known about the attitudes of childless men and women towards caring for their parents in old age. The aim of the study is to determine the attitudes of childless and child-bearing individuals towards parental responsibilities in Lithuania. Our analysis is based on the 2018-2019 ‘Families and Inequality Survey’ dataset collected in Lithuania. The data covers 3,005 individuals aged 34-48 at the time of the survey. The representative sample was obtained by using a stratified sampling method. Face-to-face interviews were carried out with respondents in their homes by using a standardized questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square methods. We found that the proportion of men (12.0%) who do not want to have children is statistically significantly higher (p=0.003) than the proportion of women (7.6%). We found that childless people were less likely than those with children to agree with the statement that children should look after their parents. In addition, women were more likely than men to agree with these statements. Our findings are important from a practical point of view – when considering social care and pronatalist policy measures. Research project is financially supported by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No. P-MIP-22-24.Sparčiai senėjančiose visuomenėse vaikų pareigos tėvams ir jų priežiūra senatvėje yra plačiai nagrinėjama tema. Vis dėlto apie bevaikių vyrų ir moterų požiūrį į rūpinimąsi tėvais senatvėje yra žinoma mažai. Tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti, koks yra vaikų turinčių ir bevaikių asmenų požiūris į pareigas tėvams Lietuvoje. Analizė remiasi 2018–2019 m. Lietuvoje atlikto „Šeimų ir nelygybių tyrimo“ reprezentatyvios anketinės apklausos duomenimis. Tyrimo imtį sudarė 3 005 asmenys, kuriems apklausos metu buvo 34–48 metai. Duomenys analizuoti naudojant dažnių pasiskirstymo lenteles, dažnių skirtumai vertinti taikant chi kvadrato metodą, vidurkiams palyginti naudotas ANOVA metodas. Nustatyta, kad bevaikiai asmenys rečiau negu vaikų turintys asmenys sutiko su teiginiais, kad vaikai turi rūpintis savo tėvais. Be to, šiems teiginiams dažniau pritarė moterys negu vyrai

Didelis priešlaikinis Lietuvos vyrų mirtingumas. Kaita ir priežastys

SummaryThe mortality pattern of the post-soviet population shows a notable life expectancy differentiation by sex, marital status, education, place of residence, and other socio-demographic variables. This publication presents results of a study of mortality patterns among working-age men in Lithuania. The study is based on the Cockerham health lifestyle theory. The main purpose of the study is to evaluate men’s mortality fluctuation since the year 1959. The Lithuanian mortality rates were compared with the mortality rates in other European countries. This study is based on data from the Human Mortality Database and the European Mortality Database. The results of the study confirm that for men the probability to die in the working age in Lithuania is more than twice as high as in France. The Lithuanian working-age men’s population has a very high rate of mortality from external causes and alcohol-related deaths. This research is funded by the European Social Fund under the Global Grant measure (project No. VP1-3.1-ŠMM-07-K-02-067).Key words: causes of death, mortality differentials, men’s premature mortalityLietuvos socialinių tyrimų centrasA. Goštauto g. 11, LT-01108 Vilnius, LietuvaTel. (8-5) 275 34 46El. paštas: [email protected]  Posovietinių valstybių gyventojams būdinga mirtingumo pokyčių diferenciacija pagal socialinius demografinius požymius. Straipsnyje, remiantis Wiliamo C. Cockerhamo su sveikata susijusios gyvensenos teorija, nagrinėjama didelio priešlaikinio Lietuvos vyrų mirtingumo problema. Straipsnio tikslas – pristatyti, kaip kito darbingo amžiaus Lietuvos vyrų mirtingumo rodikliai nuo 1959 m. ir kokie buvo tų rodiklių kaitos skirtumai, palyginti su kitomis Europos šalimis. Gyventojų mirtingumo rodiklių statistinė analizė atlikta naudojant Human Mortality Database ir European Mortality Database duomenis. Nustatyta, kad darbingo amžiaus vyrų mirtingumo rodikliai, palyginti su kitomis Vakarų Europos šalimis, Lietuvoje yra ypač dideli. Lietuvos vyrų tikimybė numirti 25–44 metų 2009 m. buvo 2,9 karto didesnė negu Prancūzijos vyrų ir3,4 karto didesnė negu Lietuvos moterų. Vienas iš svarbiausių tokio didelio Lietuvos vyrų mirtingumo veiksnių – ypač didelis mirtingumas dėl išorinių mirties priežasčių. Mokslinis tyrimas finansuojamas Europos socialinio fondo lėšomis pagal visuotinės dotacijos priemonę (sutarties Nr. VP1-3.1-ŠMM-07-K-02-067).Pagrindiniai žodžiai: mirties priežastys, mirtingumo diferenciacija, priešlaikinis vyrų mirtingumasHigh Premature Morality Rates Among Men in Lithuania. Patterns and Causes Daumantas Stumbrys Summary The mortality pattern of the post-soviet population shows a notable life expectancy differentiation by sex, marital status, education, place of residence, and other socio-demographic variables. This publication presents results of a study of mortality patterns among working-age men in Lithuania. The study is based on the Cockerham health lifestyle theory. The main purpose of the study is to evaluate men’s mortality fluctuation since the year 1959. The Lithuanian mortality rates were compared with the mortality rates in other European countries. This study is based on data from the Human Mortality Database and the European Mortality Database. The results of the study confirm that for men the probability to die in the working age in Lithuania is more than twice as high as in France. The Lithuanian working-age men’s population has a very high rate of mortality from external causes and alcohol-related deaths. This research is funded by the European Social Fund under the Global Grant measure (project No. VP1-3.1-ŠMM-07-K-02-067). Key words: causes of death, mortality differentials, men’s premature mortalit

Socialinė sveikatos nelygybė: vaikų kochlearinės implantacijos Lietuvoje rezultatai

The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic, family, and educational differences in children’s speech perception development after cochlear (hearing) implantation. The research was conducted in Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos during the years 2013–2018. Open-set speech perception in quiet surroundings were evaluated during hearing assessments (n=81). Information about different factor groups was collected according to the Nottingham Children’s Implant Profile questionnaire. Three main factor groups were analysed: (a) demographic, (b) family, and (c) educational. A Bourdieu-based approach was adopted to analyse social inequalities of health of children with cochlear implants. Different factors were operationalized as different forms of capital. Our findings highlight the importance of family’s social and cultural capital to children speech perception after cochlear implantation. Šio tyrimo tikslas įvertinti vaikų su kochleariniais (klausos) implantais kalbos suvokimo raidos demografinius, šeimos ir lavinimo veiksnius. Tyrimas atliktas 2013–2018 metais Vilniaus universiteto ligoninės Santaros klinikose. Klausos raida buvo įvertinta naudojant atvirojo tipo kalbos suvokimo testus, kurie atlikti tylioje aplinkoje (n=81). Informacija apie skirtingas veiksnių grupes surinkti remiantis Notingemo kochlearinės implantacijos profilio klausimynu. Tyrimo metu buvo nagrinėtos trys pagrindinės veiksnių grupės: demografiniai, šeimos ir lavinimo veiksniai. Gauti rezultatai nagrinėti sveikatos nelygybės teorinių prieigų kontekste, pasitelkiant P. Bourdieu teorines įžvalgas. Skirtingi veiksniai buvo operacionalizuoti kaip skirtingos kapitalo formos. Tyrimo rezultatai pabrėžė šeimos socialinio ir kultūrinio kapitalo svarbą vaikų su kochleariniais implantais kalbos suvokimo raidai