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People who are aware they are asleep while dreaming have better than average problem-solving abilities, according to a new study. 

Lucid dreaming is phenomenon where someone who is asleep can recognize that they are dreaming. 

Researchers said lucid dreamers can solve problems in the waking world better than those who remain unaware of the dream until they wake up. 

The concept of lucid dreaming was popularized by the film Inception in which dreamers were able to spot incongruities within their dream. 

Lucid dreamers are able to do this because they have a higher level of insight. Their brains detect they are in a dream because events would not make sense otherwise. 

The study is first to demonstrate the relationship between lucid dreaming and insight. 

"It is believed that for dreamers to become lucid while asleep, they must see past the overwhelming reality of their dream state, and recognize that they are dreaming," said lead researcher Dr Patrick Bourke, Senior Lecturer at the Lincoln School of Psychology, in the press release. 

"The same cognitive ability was found to be demonstrated while awake by a person's ability to think in a different way when it comes to solving problems."

In the study performed, lucid dreamers solved 25 percent more of the insight problems than the non-lucid dreamers. 

The study has been published in the journal Dreaming,