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Sorry if this has been posted before but I did a search and didn't find anything on the subject. We all know things that help IMPROVE your chances to lucid dream, but what are, if any, are things that have a negative impact on your chances? It would be a nice help so i can avoid such things.
Thanks
Excellent question. And Welcome to DreamViews, milehighjoe, by the way. I can think of a few things that negatively impact my chances to have a lucid dream:
1. Not enough sleep.
2. Not keeping a dream journal.
3. Too much stress in life (prevents getting enough sleep, as well as entertaining the possibility of psyching oneself out of being able to achieve lucidity)
4. Illness
5. PTSD
6. Hormones
I'm sure other members have something to offer too. Good topic.
And good luck joe! Please PM me anytime if you have any other questions. I would be more than happy to help.
xoxo OB
Not sure if this can be avoided... but loud inconsiderate neighbors negatively sabotage my chances to LD. :pissed:
One thing to stay away from is caffeine.
^^ agreed
ah dang I just had a coke :( maybe I can counter act the caffeine with some 5-htp and valerian root..lol> I must say the supplements I have been taking have been making my dreams way more vivid..kinda like HD if that makes sense....just still waiting for the moment that I become lucid...I think its coming soon. :)
Good luck. The 5-htp makes them more vivid for you?Quote:
Originally Posted by milehighjoe
If I've drunk excessively or smoked even a tiny bit I find - though my dreams tend to be awesome - my recall is reduced to next to nothing.
OpheliaBlue: I generally agree. However I am not sure about illness... Last year I ended my very long dry spell when I had pneumonia. I don't observe that illnesses suppress my chance for an LD as long as I have enough sleep (I sometimes experience an opposite effect, but it is probably random).
This is the same for me. Oh well though at least it'll help me to slow down on my smoking.Quote:
Originally Posted by moSh
Agreed. I'm ill at the moment, and I just got in from walking back from uni in the rain, and about half the journey was accompanied by some awesomely-euphoric feelings.Quote:
Originally Posted by madvorak
Yeah, alcohol may reduce the amount of time you spend in REM, therefore preventing better recall or lucidity.
People say that caffeïne is bad for LDing, and it's true, but only if you use too much. One glass of coke or something won't hurt in my opinion. On the other hand, caffeïne doesn't have as much effect on me as on most people, so you should judge for youself how much of it you can take before it becomes harder to fall asleep.
Caffeine in general is a terrible addictive drug; and goes unnoticed throughout the society in the United States. Caffeine not only can keep you up at night (depending on how much has been consumed and at what time), but it slows down your performance once it has cleared your system; typically making people feel sluggish. Especially for those that drink caffeinated drinks religiously, they have to either drink more or they'll crash from withdrawals. Most of those who drink caffeine constantly, have withdrawals during the night which causes disruption during stages of sleep.
Not to argue with your statement Spyguy, it definitely has some different effects on different people, in moderation. For me at least, I noticed my unhealthy caffeine consumption last year and how I always felt tired, even after the best night's rest. So I've cut out caffeine entirely, and I feel that I have more energy in the long run. And since I'm not used to having caffeine, if I drink something caffeinated during the day, I find myself struggling to get to sleep at night.
That's not to say you can't have caffeine. Just watch out for how much you consume, and it's best if you avoid caffeine five hours before you go to sleep. Best advice, substitute an orange for that cup of coffee or soda.
Pot exterminates dream recall
This is true, my flatmate (who is, in fairness, quite petite) used to drink at least 5 cups of coffee a day and had to make sure she didn't have any in the hours running up to going to bed.Quote:
Originally Posted by theCambino
I, on the other hand, get no effect whatsoever from caffeine. I even tried drinking 3 cups in a row to see if it did anything, but nothing. I am English though, so I drink a fuck-load of tea.
Oh that's cool, you're not the first person I've heard of that has LDs, or even better LDs when they're sick.Quote:
Originally Posted by madvorak
I just find personally that I don't LD when I'm sick, or on medication. I will have trippy as all fuck out non-lucids though!
One thing that hurts my LDing is a "good" sleep. Let me explain. There is a specific type of sleep that is most conducive (for me) to LD but doesn't necessarily give me the most rest. If I go to bed, sleep for 8 hours, and wake up refreshed, I don't have many chances to focus on dreaming or try a WILD/DEILD. Even if you do a WBTB, that is only 1 extra time to try and LD. I used to naturally wake up around 8 times every night. This allowed me to quickly jump in and out of REM. That way I could wake up and either try to WILD, visualize my previous dream, or just focus on LDing (all of which increased my probability of LD).
This is why most of my LDs now come when I can sleep in, where I can repeatedly wake up and drift back off. I think this is why some people are saying they LD more frequently when they are sick.
Ah that makes sense. I personally have insomnia alot, so maybe that's what accounts for my inability to LD when sick, but I think you totally hit the nail on the head with the sleep in thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by cytotoxicT
flouride
hehe.. really?Quote:
Originally Posted by WakingNomad
Apparently so.. it affects your pinael gland, in the centre of your brain.
Oh and it's in the your toothpaste, your mouthwash, and your water - bottle or tap.
I've yet to find a natural toothpaste, somewhat out of lazyness. Do natural toothpastes even exist?
I find when I have a busy day it kills my recall - even when I haven't been stressed during the day.
Fluoride Health Effects DatabaseQuote:
Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue
Yes. I use one drop of organic peppermint oil to brush my teeth.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadowOfSelf
Interesting. Why is that?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobblehat
Last August I took time out to relax for a few weeks. My recall and dream vividness went through the roof. When I got back to working my recall went down. When I had bad days at work (ie stressful) my recall went down and I assumed it was stress, but the recall seems to go down even when I find busy tasks enjoyable.Quote:
Originally Posted by WakingNomad
Is the difference between using fluoride toothpaste and your peppermint oil significant? Do you notice a clear difference?Quote:
Originally Posted by WakingNomad
Playing too much video games.
This is something I found out first hand. The main reason I'm so interested in lucid dreams is because they're so much fun! When I started practicing I had just injured my wrists, which prevented me from playing video games. I got that "video game fix" from the LD's instead and it got my motivation going for an entire year. Once I could play again I noticed that my previous motivation was fading along with my monthly LD rate. Has anyone else noticed something like this?
PercyLucid also claimed that sitting by the computer just before bed is not good. Not sure how much truth there is in that statement, but I did notice an increase in recall if I meditated for 20 minutes before bed and cleared my head.
I've found masturbation just before bed ruins my recall and ability to WILD.
I think it depleted me of a lot of energy and so when I wake up and try to WILD I'm simply far too relaxed/exhausted to focus on entering a dream while staying lucid.
TV puts you in a tranceQuote:
Originally Posted by Matte87
chi deplete!Quote:
Originally Posted by tommo
Well, I'm pretty sure I'm full of fluoride....probably soon after I was born...Quote:
Originally Posted by WakingNomad
Although, my dreams are usually vivid, but in any case, should I be worried?
That used to happen to me. Then at sometimes it was just a losing battle and I'd get no recall. But then for some reason I could do it and still have recall. I'm not sure why.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommo
Television. Unhealthy foods. To much stress. Uncomfortable environment you are sleeping in.. Anti depressants or similar drugs that effect your brain.
It has been mentioned already, but stress and pretty much any negative emotions (and ofcourse a lack of confidence) have a negative impact on LD
I agree, especially with the motivation part. Whatever it is that motivates me to lucid dream, if I'm "getting it" in real life, I don't need the lucid dream to have the experience. I think lucid dreaming just for the sake of lucid dreaming, without any other motivation (for me), leads to sporadic LDs. I need that extra motivation, that subject to be obsessed about , to be desperate to dream about, to have a really good streak of LDs, instead of just having them randomly. It's funny, for me, I could almost say, the more content I am in life, the less often I LD.Quote:
Originally Posted by Matte87
I would say that losing motivation has a very negative impact. It's quite frustrating when its hard to be motivated about LDing when you haven't had one for over 6 months.
Omnis already said this, but pot is no friend of the lucid dreamer. I have no moral opinion about pot, but from all my experience, if you make it into a LD you have trouble stablizing, and then your recall is ruined.
same with alcohol I wonderQuote:
Originally Posted by sivason
or certain amounts
I use to smoke marijuana daily and never could recall dreams, I cut it down to only smoking and drinking on the weekends and its made a drastic difference on recall and clarity...
Really good to know. I think I'll experiment on this.Quote:
Originally Posted by milehighjoe
Sadly, my homework :(
=/Quote:
Originally Posted by fOrceez
that sucks
Yeah I smoke daily and it definitely affects my recall, but after awhile my body gets accustomed to it and I can have decent recall with effort. However, on days where I have a paper or something and don't smoke, I get crazy REM rebound. Do you experience any REM rebound when smoking for a weekend and then stopping?Quote:
Originally Posted by milehighjoe
By the way I like your name. I am a proud Denver red card holder :P
Yeah I smoked so habitually that I didn't start forgetting my dreams until I stopped smoking, and then it took me about a week to remember them again. But they were much more vivid then when I smoked, and I could remember pretty much the entire dream rather than the last 10 minutes or so.
Yeh I get bad and good results from weed, the only problem is it's too inconsistent, like one night you recall loads of crazy ass dreams, next night, nothing.
^^ yeah
I had crazy lucids the other night, actually early morning, and the night before I drank like a fish
but I'm at a hormonal time of the month, and I'm noticing a link between that and my crazy lucid streaks, regardless of alcohol consumption
Quote:
Originally Posted by cytotoxicT
LOL I am also a proud Denver Red Card Holder....When I smoke on weekends it usually involves lots of drinking too and I dont even know if I have REM rebounds lol. I know when I smoke and take a nap i have some pretty weird dreams...I am going to try an experiment this weekend and see how it goes. I herd smoking then going right to REM sleep makes for intense crazy dreams, hopefully giving away to a lucid state...So I am going to try a sort of WBTB method...sleep for 5-6 hours, wake up smoke some marijuana and go back to sleep....this shall be interesting.
That sounds goood lolQuote:
Originally Posted by milehighjoe
These are my ones, I have had only 3 LDs though
Obvious ones: Any mind effecting drug, Not keeping a dream journal, uncomfortable sleeping
Not Obvious:
Not being really aware of reality this could be anything from video games to repetitive tasks to reading books (outdoor dynamic stuff helps me overcome this like skiing or running)
Masturbating
Not being that tired when going to sleep
Doing nothing active all day
Days without seeing a dream sign
Not doing RCs
I heard masturbation but i dont know if thats true or not, and I do it almost every night so it better not be true
I think the thing about masturbation is that when you masturbate before bed, though you're a lot more relaxed, you're also a lot more distracted because you're not quite focusing on your intent as you normally would or you're not focusing on your dreams.
Ugh, children.
A good hard fever really brings out the crazy in my dreams, including flying, and I'm more likely to experience lucidity.
Caffeine is bad, puts me to sleep but makes my mind chaotic when I close my eyes. Not good for dreaming.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadowOfSelf
We just bought some the other day at a natural food store (Vitamin Cottage, but Whole Foods also carries it.) The brand is TOMS
I've never recalled a single dream after weed in the afternoon.
And that's why I stopped lucid dreaming. D:
Thanks but im in the UK, I don't know either of them stores lol, is it just called natural toothpaste or what? Also, what do you think of it, teeth whiter, dreams better?Quote:
Originally Posted by girlEcho
Lool. Man f that, the amount of times Ive smoked weed in my dreams that makes me fly, turn invisible, or some other crazy ass shiz!Quote:
Originally Posted by Abra
Now I just need to do it in a lucid...
You like my toothpaste?Quote:
Originally Posted by girlEcho
/horrible, horrible joke
Seriously though, is it as good as normal toothpaste. I don't like this fluoride stuff.
I know they say it's okay in small amounts, and I believe them. But they put small amounts in water, then you get small
amounts in toothpaste and small amounts in food and small amounts in whatever else they put it in. They never take in to account
the multiple sources.
Actually they do take in to account the multiple sources of flouride.
<<<Used to work for an environmental engineering firm.
When it doesn't get below 60F at night...in winter...this impacts my lucid dreaming.
And all other dreaming for that matter.
You didn't even spell it right so I'm not going to take your word for it,.
I doubt they take in to account how long fluoride takes to break down either.
My guess is it's gonna build up over time, and it already is since we've been adding it to the water for decades.
Silly me, even I make spelling mistakes.
Yeah, they account for lifetime exposure also. There are so many environmental projects that discuss the impact of FLUORIDE that I can't even begin to name all the agencies that are concerned about it in some way.
View this PDF from the E.P.A. http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesr...onsAnswers.pdf
And you can even find a lot of this info in Australia. Try your local library. They will have many publications on it, including Environmental Impact Statements for public review and comment.
It's been studied to death.
Happy brushing! :D
haha, okay. Well, I'm going to get non-fluoride toothpaste anyway!
No harm in reducing the amount I ingest. But I will check out of impact statements as well when I get a chance.
Guaranteed my local library doesn't have them though.... (it's a piece of shit). lol
i smoke everyday and i have no issues with becoming lucid or dream recall and remember my dreams almost every morning.Quote:
Originally Posted by Omnis Dei
I just scanned the list so far, and think there is one no one mentioned yet. To many sleep aids. I've been playing with this because I must take sleep aids on certain days. A small amount of melatonin or diphenhydramine may be ok, but when i take Unisom or Ambien, I sleep far to soundly to have high quality LDs.
No worries, this is a non-issue for me. I feel every single person has the right to choose what makes them personally happy, and their teeth clean, as long as they aren't hurting someone else directly.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommo
Just don't lose any sleep over this. It'll impact your ability to have LDs. :banana:
Alcohol, caffeine, being stressed out, etc. There are a lot of things that could reduce your chance of getting lucid. Honestly, though, it depends on the person. Some things on this list wouldn't affect their ability to get lucid at all. Other things would affect it.
I am half convince that Valerian root make me less likely to have LDs. I know it gives vivid strange dreams, but sometimes the strange dreams will not cause me to RC even though the dreams are way out there. I took it for the last 4 nights just to give it another try, and went from 1 to 2 LDs most nights to only 1 short one in the 4 days. Who knows, but I don't think I like the stuff.
malaria medication!!! makes it so easy to realize you are in a dream and then the second you realize it , you FREAKING WAKE UPP !!! most annoying thing ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSOBY...feature=colike
gid vid about FLORIDE
Impatience- often leads to stress. Big no no
When my mind is running like crazy thinking about anything too heavy, even if it's lucid dreaming. This results in very light sleeping, with vague dreams. A good amount of meditation before bed helps a ton. By that I mean I think about practically nothing for like an hour before bed, except for what I am doing and where I am.
The temperature, if it's too high I tend to roll over a lot and disturb the covers. It's generally a good idea to be slightly chilly, but just enough so that it isn't uncomfortable.
The masturbation thing isn't a big problem if your doing wake back to bed. If your not up for a good 10-20 minutes, your mind won't want to lucid dream at all. All it will want to do is sleep.
If your having trouble falling asleep fast after a WBTB, this usually comes back to temperature or covers being in awkward positions for me. Also sitting awake thinking, like the first point I made, will keep you awake, this is basically what stress does. The key is to kind of let your right brain, (images, feelings) run untamed, but keep your left (analytical, reasoning, judging) brain inactive.
Thanks for this, I've only just got into meditation, but never thought about it helping recall. I shall have to try this :)Quote:
Originally Posted by LucidDreamGod
This is a pretty informative thread aside from one thing that's extremely variable with people. :)
For me coffee and caffeinated drinks simmer me down. I've always had ADHD, but I haven't ever taken medication for it because I find it to be a cop out. However coffee helps me focus, slows me down and let's me think clearly. I've been drinking it for years and i've got quite a tolerance to it so I have came close to overdosing on caffeine products (Not a good thing for your liver), but thankfully I don't drink or smoke so i'm not so worried about any real negative effects.
I would recommend everyone to stop smoking if you're drinking coffee. Very, very bad for your health especially since it effects your Bronchial arteries. You're not able to take in enough oxygen fast enough since the cigarettes slow down your lungs a ton. It's like putting an enormous turbo charger on a car and having it spool a massive amount of psi in an engine that can't handle it. Your heart will be damaged later in your life.
As for other people drinking caffeine it really depends on what you're drinking caffeine with. If you're extremely caffeine sensitive you should only have around 8oz of black coffee a day and around 16oz of green tea or any other caffeinated tea products. Tea is really great for recalling dreams for me because they have tons of antioxidants which cleanse your body and mind. Exercising + Caffeine + Healthy diet isn't going to affect your lucid dreams in a negative way usually. In fact it should promote them if your sleeping habits are good too. Many of the times i've had lucid dreams were when I didn't really expect them. Had a small wild after drinking caffeine. Had a dild while I drank at a party and went to sleep.
We're all different so one thing might not work for another much like lucid dreaming techniques. Hope I was a little informative.
No wonder I've been really struggling to have a lucid dream....Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadowOfSelf
(Just when I was going to ask about it, too. :-P)
I possibly drink more then a fuck-load?Quote:
Originally Posted by moSh
Don't believe in getting lucid, and fearing of things you had seen in lucid? I guess these two impacts too. But not enough sleep or disturbed sleep and too much stress is the main contributing factors for not getting a lucid I believe.