Thread: Sleeping after a WBTB

Have you Start using Cellphone as Alarm Clock or laptops...Dim Lights make your Iris Unstable and Increase rate of sleeplessness. Or doing things like early exercise. Or What time do you usually sleep and awake?

I used to have horrible sleeping habits that I'm trying to throw off. I used to look at my phone before I slept, and I always slept late. Now I try to sleep at a stable time (10:30) but I still have trouble sleeping and just lay awake for hours before sleeping, and fall asleep after midnight. I usually wake up at about 7:00. If I do a wbtb, I go to bed at 10:30, and wake up at 4:00, then go back to bed from 4:20 to 7:30, however I cant really sleep until 5:00

Some people just simply can't WBTB, if you're one of these people, I would suggest keeping WBTB to special occasions where you can sleep in the next day. Some things you should avoid during a WBTB are things like bright lights, electronics (bright lights and your brain associates it with day-time activity; just try to avoid it), active brain use). Some really simply and effective things are sitting and meditating while focusing on your intent to have a lucid dream and question that THIs; right here, right now, could be a dream. If you're going for a DILD, MILD, off to bed you go!

Some people just have trouble falling back to sleep once they wake up. My mom is like that. I would suggest maybe listening to relaxing sounds/music before going back to sleep. That might help If you are still having trouble with this you might have to try another technique.

Does WILDing without a WBTB make the dreams 'worse quality'?

Also how much harder is it to master WILD without WBTB?

*hands the microphone to Mancon*

Originally Posted by kurlie

Does WILDing without a WBTB make the dreams 'worse quality'?

Also how much harder is it to master WILD without WBTB?

Extremely hard. If you can't perform a WBTB at night then try to WILD during an afternoon nap.

I also have trouble getting to sleep after a WBTB. I have a worse time trying to get to sleep when I try to nap. Part of the problem seems to be that having an agenda in mind, whether it's lucid dreaming or whatever you have to get done during the day, makes it harder to fall asleep.

I've been more successful with the WBTB by recognizing what's keeping me occupied and taking time to deal with it. For example, if I'm worried about getting stuff done during the day, I'll try to finish something before going back to sleep. If there's something that can't be done right away, I'll make a list or write in my journal to get it out of my head. Before my last successful WBTB resulting in a lucid dream, I ended up removing nail polish from my toes and doing a little bit of online shopping.

I've also found by accident that I can fall asleep very easily as soon as I give up on falling asleep and had a few lucid dreams that way.

I have had trouble falling asleep in the past, more so when i first go to sleep than wbtb. However, after learning how to meditate and practicing it daily, i can almost always fall asleep without a problem.

I have been doing wbtb for a few years now, and i dont even have to set an alarm anymore. But when i did have trouble going back to sleep, i tried setting an "alarm" that i didnt have to turn off. I made a playlist in itunes with 5 hours of white noise tracks, then a wind chime sound i downloaded from the internet, followed by 10 mins of white noise, then another windchime, and then 5 mins of white noise ect... I experimented with the different intervals that nick newport teaches on lucidiology, and eventually found my sweet spot.
This way, i would be awoken in the middle of the night and did not even have to move to turn off the alarm. I would then wait for sleep paralysis, and while wearing a sleeping mask, would visualize my room and once i saw it i knew i was no longer physical and could get up and fly out my window =) After perfecting this method, i was having back to back WILDs almost every night, it was incredible. The only trouble was remembering all of the different dreams because i never wanted to stop to write them down, i just wanted to keep dreaming lol

But i think meditation is probably even more valuable than the timer method. Its benefits go far beyond your dreams. The first kind of meditation i learned was transcendental meditation, which i still do almost every night when i get in bed. Supposedly you are supposed to be "given" a mantra by a qualified teacher in order for it to be effective, but i dont believe this is entirely true. Im sure it might make it more personal for yourself, but then again the very point of the mantra you use, is for it to have no meaning. My mother gave me her mantra, which she had been given by her father.

So what kind of meditation helps you fall asleep? Do you have any good links or tutorials?

As luck would have it, I couldn't get back to sleep after a WBTB this morning. Again, it's the stuff weighing on my mind that keeps me from getting to sleep, in particular the fact that I had to be up at 8 AM to wait for an electrician. Fortunately, I've got the day off so I can head back to sleep once he's done.

I've used white noise or relaxing sounds when I couldn't sleep at bedtime, but it never occurred to me to use them with a WBTB. I'll give it a shot. I've also started using a sleep mask specifically for my WBTB routine. I don't need it at night, but I'm finding that during the summer months, the early sunrise is making it harder to sleep in. As for meditation, I'd love to give it a shot just to see if it makes a difference with my anxiety.

I used to have some kind of problems when i woke up during the night back in the days, then i started to meditate or doing some relaxing technique. However, what i do its the breathing technique, which i lay on my back (i dont dream laying on my back), and put some relaxing music for about 10-15 mins, just focusing in my breathing and start to relax each part of my body separately, starting with my fingers of my feet, then up to my head. I do this before bed then i lay on my side to sleep, because thats how i usually sleep. For the WBTB for me is easy because i am more relaxed and fall asleep faster. The thing is, the more you mind start to wander, the harder is going to be for you to sleep. That is what works for me. Im pretty sure theres a lot of information about meditation breathing techniques around the web, so you could just check it out. Anyway good luck, and any extra info just let me know!

Originally Posted by kurlie

So what kind of meditation helps you fall asleep? Do you have any good links or tutorials?

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi:
“The practice (of Transcendental Meditation) involves thinking of a word, a word devoid of meaning.
If the mind is not on the meaning, there is a chance of refining the sound, there is a chance of experiencing the sound in its finer values till the finest could be transcended and the awareness could reach that inner wakefulness devoid of any perception. This will be Transcendental Consciousness…."

Transcendental Meditation (TM) Mantras – Maharishi (Official Site)

Great video too if you care to watch, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is the man!
He even brings up quantum mechanics at 4:16, a connection i have been seeing in a remarkable amount of different sources, which are all also directly related to dreams.
It has become a little bit of an obsession for me.

But transcendental meditation was where i started, before i had ever had a lucid dream. I then had one completely by mistake and a few years later i am a completely different person.
Its a very simple and powerful way of meditating. You are focusing on the sound of a word without meaning. This can be anything, in any language, as long as you dont know what it means. It can even be something not from any language, but its important not to make it up yourself, as it will gain meaning as something you created...
The mantra i was given is inke. One syllable.
Its incredibly peaceful once you learn how. You gain the ability to silence your mind, and experience peace.

Originally Posted by Thena

As luck would have it, I couldn't get back to sleep after a WBTB this morning. Again, it's the stuff weighing on my mind that keeps me from getting to sleep.

Meditation is wonderful for that sort of thing. And i always use my sleep mask when im doing it lol i like the way it can hold down your eyelids for you so you can relax your face much easier.
Marciano999s relaxation technique is something i also do sometimes. If im having trouble sleeping, i will do the relaxation technique on my back, and then turn to my side and repeat my transcendental mantra until im in sleep paralysis. At this point, which after much practice it is very easy to identify, i start to repeat my affirmations and goals for that night. When i first started LDing i would just repeat "I am dreaming" until i would fall asleep. Now its usually what i am going to do once i am lucid.

When WBTBing i dont do the relaxation technique as i am already so relaxed. I think its all about finding your sweet spot, some people need to stay up as long as 30 minutes, but i have found a lot of success in being awake for only a few minutes. With the timer method i am awoken and i dont even move, and am usually back in a dream within 30 seconds to a minute. The more you move around, turn on lights, think about anything except dreams ect, the harder it will be to get back to sleep.