Thread: How long does it take to get into sleep paralysis?

I'm really new at lucid dreaming but i'm extremely lucky that I can almost always get into SP within a few minutes at times. Longest it usually takes me if I don't fall asleep first is about 10 - 15 mins.

I can get in with a WBTB within a minute or two, but when I don't WBTB it takes me quite a bit longer. The whole induction is about 1/2 hr but I don' t know where SP falls in there...

It differs strongly from person to person; it all depends on how fast they can relax and stay still, etcetera. It takes me a good 1.5 hours without falling asleep; 30 minutes using WBTB. I'm trying to work on my times to make it more convenience for myself.

I think it also depends on your previous day. Amount of exercise, stress, planning, whatever...all of it factors into your mental state and can affect how long it takes for you to properly relax and all that. I've actually been able to identify certain activities in the day making it easier or harder to get into SP.

Huh... that's cool! I haven't noticed anything that changes the time.

Originally Posted by LiveInTheDream

I think it also depends on your previous day. Amount of exercise, stress, planning, whatever...all of it factors into your mental state and can affect how long it takes for you to properly relax and all that. I've actually been able to identify certain activities in the day making it easier or harder to get into SP.

Yeah, I agree with this statement.
The first time I WILDed was actually by accident; I was tired from going on a hike and I went to bed an hour early... Poof!

Last night I spent 4 hours trying (NonWBTB) and I got frustrated(Stress the second syllable) and went to bed

Originally Posted by Alexander1656

Last night I spent 4 hours trying (NonWBTB) and I got frustrated(Stress the second syllable) and went to bed

What do you mean by that? If you mean you weren't actually in bed yet, well, that could be your problem right there...it's much harder to enter SP sitting up.

If you just mean you went to sleep, of course this doesn't apply...

Originally Posted by LiveInTheDream

What do you mean by that? If you mean you weren't actually in bed yet, well, that could be your problem right there...it's much harder to enter SP sitting up.

If you just mean you went to sleep, of course this doesn't apply...

Yeah I meant sleep(Sorry on the late reply)

Well, then, my guess is you were trying too hard to notice when SP came along. If you're laying there just waiting for SP or HI or whatever, chances are it won't come because you're keeping your mind too awake. Your goal should be just to remain conscious and let whatever's going to happen to happen. If your goal is to feel SP or see HI then you'll probably not do too well.

Speaking from my own experience here, it may be totally different for other people.

It takes me an hour or more to get SP after waking up early at 6am. But like Livethedream says, I lay there waiting for it and wondering, "oh, is this it, is it starting???". I should try to chill a little bit but I don't want to miss it and just fall asleep.

Originally Posted by Zenman

It takes me an hour or more to get SP after waking up early at 6am. But like Livethedream says, I lay there waiting for it and wondering, "oh, is this it, is it starting???". I should try to chill a little bit but I don't want to miss it and just fall asleep.

For me that's where I start counting. "1 <breath in> I'm dreaming <breath out> 2" and so on. Pace your numbers by your breaths though, not the other way around (as is the tendency if you have any sense of rhythm).

Oh that's a good idea. This morning I started counting my 7 chakras (no, I'm not new agey, but this is kind of a variation on the 61 points of relaxation. I just made it up this morning.) and synchronized the counting with my breathing. When I would be at the lower chakras there wouldn't be much paralysis but when I would get to my head area, that's when things would start to get interesting. I eventually started going numb and I lost consciousness of my body and felt like one field of awareness. Then I started hearing things and this transitioned into a very short lucid. You know the deal. I like your technique better though. I've read about it before but haven't tried it yet. I'm going to try it next time! It seems to take me so long to get to SP. I'm still new at this and have only had a handful of WILDS.