It is the stuff of the Hollywood movie Inception¹: a dreamworld that can be manipulated at will. In fact, for more and more of us, it is becoming a reality, with the number of people experiencing lucid² dreams rising rapidly.

英国《每日邮报》19日报道：这是好莱坞电影《盗梦空间》里面的内容：梦境可以随意操纵。事实上，对于我们当中越来越多的人而言，操纵梦境正在变为现实，因为体验过“清醒梦”的人数正迅速上升。

Someone having a lucid dream realizes they are dreaming and may from then on in "direct" the action. Alternatively, they may simply "watch" the dream unfold. And while the description may seem bizarre, the process is far from alien to many of us.

做“清醒梦”的人们能够意识到他们正在做梦，并可能由此“引导”梦中的行动。还有另外一种情况，即他们可能只是“注视”着梦境的展开。这样的描述看似奇怪，但上述过程对我们当中的许多人来说并不陌生。

Studies suggest that the number of people in the Western world experiencing the occasional lucid dream has risen by between 10 and 40 percent since the 1980s. Today, they are so common that about one in eight of us will have one in our lives. Despite this, little is known about what triggers them - or what is behind the rise.

研究表明，在西方，偶尔体验“清醒梦”的人数自上世纪80年代以来增加了10%到40%。如今，“清醒梦”已经普遍起来，在我们当中，每8个人当中大概有1人在其一生中做过一次“清醒梦”。尽管如此，我们还是不知道这种梦境出现的根源——或者，体验过“清醒梦”的人数增加是由什么造成的。

Mark Blagrove, a psychologist who runs a sleep laboratory at the University of Swansea, said that "people's abilities during dreaming are altering" as they become more adept³ at recognizing they are able to control their dreams. He also thinks that dreaming may help us back up our memories.

在斯旺西大学负责一家睡眠实验室的心理学家马克-布莱格罗夫说，随着人们变得更善于认识到他们能够控制自己的梦境，“人们在做梦期间的能力也在发生变化。”他还认为做梦有助于增强我们的记忆力。

Research carried out at the respected Harvard University in the US showed the brain to be hard at work during lucid dreams. In fact, the level of mental activity in some parts of the brain was similar to that of an awake person.

而在美国哈佛大学实施的研究表明，在人们做“清醒梦”的时候，他们的大脑也在辛勤工作。实际上，梦中大脑某些部位的智力活动水平与清醒时类似。