So I'm new to DV, but this a place that I've come to many times over the years to learn about how to LD, and to learn new things about sleep.
I've rarely actually had an LD, and I've always attributed that to the fact that I haven't focused on making it happen for long periods of time. At the beginning of this year I decided that a more passive approach would help me to naturally have LDs, I started keeping a dream journal. I noticed that whether I would remember my dreams or not, was dependant on whether or I was thinking about dreams or lucid dreaming during the day, In January I wrote down 7 dreams, but stopped thinking about it, and therefore didn't remember/write down any dreams in February. In March I began a new system where I would write in my dream journal whether I remembered my dreams or not, in order to create the habit of trying to remember them every morning (if I didn't remember them, I'd just write: I don't remember my dreams from last night). I only remembered 4 dreams in March, but the new system helped me remember 13 dreams in April. But even though I was remembering more dreams, I didn't remember as much detail as the ones in January/March.
In May, I started remembering multiple dreams from the night before, so it was a deeper level, but still nothing was consistent until May 20th. I had 5 dream entries from May 1st to 20th. At this time I started researching health and nutrition, One of the primary foods I kept hearing about was coconut oil, so when I saw it on sale at a grocery store, I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about. Since then, I've been able to wake up early in the morning (something I've been terrible at for the last 8 years), and actually feel energized. Not only that, but I could remember what I'd dreamt that night. For the first week, I didn't connect the dots; I had implemented a few different changes in my lifestyle, and my mindset, so I didn't attribute the changes in sleep to any specific change in my life.
After about a week of this new energy and memory, I woke up late one morning with no memory of my dreams. I had been working hard, was very stressed, and had gone to sleep late the night before, so I assumed that was why; but then I remembered that I hadn't eaten any coconut oil in the last two days. I decided to try an experiment to see if the coconut oil was actually affecting my sleep. That day was just as busy and stressful as the days before, and I didn't even get home until 2:00 am. I was so tired that I didn't even feel like putting the coconut oil on somethign like bread, I just ate a small spoonful straight. The next morning, I woke up at 6:45 am, ready to start the day by writing my dream in my journal.
I have 13 dream entries since May 20th, including the day itself. Not only that, I've also realized that I was dreaming 3 times in these past 2 1/2 weeks (I either woke up, or don't remember what happened next so I don't consider them LDs). This is amazing for me, considering that I've only had 2 LDs in my life, and both of them were during a period where I was constantly thinking about/researching sleep and dreaming.
That's my story.
The rest of this post is for people who want to help me prove/disprove that it was because of coconut oil, or try to attribute it to something else. If you don't care about the details, skip this section.
My roommate's first thought was that it was placebo, but I disagree because even though I'd been researching the effects of coconut oil, I don't remember anything pertaining to sleep; the only thing related to it was short-term elevated energy levels (like drinking coffee).
Earlier in May, I also realized that I was no longer attempting things that were outside my comfort zone; this was shocking to me as I always preach the importance of doing new things and being spontaneous. So I have been actively doing new things, such as walking 4 miles to eat dinner instead of driving, finding new social groups and engaging with them, going on a hike instead of watching a movie, etc. I also started cultivating my relationships with my family.
I've been taking yoga classes for about 6 months, and have been trying to increase awareness and presence. The only recent changes were that I realized that there are nany parts of my body that I pay no attention to; and most likely no one else does (who ever thinks about how their quads or even their neck are feeling during the day unless they're sore?). I also realized that I tend to disengage/run away from situations that are uncomfortable, so I've been working to stay in the moment and feel my feelings. This has resulted in more intense feelings of joy/excitement, as well and more anger and frustration in my attempts to stay centered while feeling these emotions.
The main reason that I bought coconut oil in the first place was because I was researching health and nutrition. I finally bought a water bottle at the beginning of May and therefore have finally been drinking the amount of water each day that I should be (and maybe a little more). I've been drinking between 90 and 120+ ounces of water every day throughout the day. Before May I was probably drinking about 40 ounces/day. Right around the time I started eating coconut oil, I also was reading Tim Ferriss's book The 4-Hour Body. This book includes tons of information on exercise, nutrition, diet, and a little on sleep. Because of the book I started eating 5 brazil nuts and 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily, (half each morning and night) although this didn't start until about May 25th. I also started taking a cold shower (as opposed to a hot one) every other day since that same time.
Thanks,
PS. I apologize if I have misplaced this post, even though I have frequented this forum often, I usually focus on a specific topic or two, rather than exploring the whole forum.
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