Am I too tired to be lucid?

[BlackDog]

I did a search on this and didn't see anything. Generally I get a little under 8 hours of sleep a night if everything goes right. I'd like to be able to get 12+, but life just doesn't work that way. I exercise in the morning fwiw. It just seems like I should be catching the huge dream signs I've been seeing. It is as if my brain just switches off as soon as I drift off to sleep. I thought this would be easy after my first LD, but I'm coming up with nothing.

[Carrot]

Have you tried telling yourself "I'll get a lucid dream tonight" or "I'll notice dream signs which will help me to get lucid" before sleeping? Those might work. It worked for me. Some people unexpectedly got lucids even though they are tired with lack of sleep. As for me, I usually remember my dreams when I'm near waking up and that time usually gives me a higher chance of getting a lucid too. So that means I need more sleep to get lucids.

[MasterMind]

8-9 hours of sleep is acceptable 12 or more hours would be good but it's not necessary. A motivating thing to know is that most of my lucid dreams now is actually in the first REM period. So it's more like playing a videogame (but in your mind) for 2 hours and then sleep normally for the rest of the night. Don't judge yourself for the fact that you can't be aware of dream signs like a pink elephant dancing in your dream, it's not something wrong with you. When we sleep the critical thinking systems shut down and well that pretty much explains it. I have written more about that in more detail here: http://www.dreamviews.com/f12/crazyn...3/#post1955014 How we with just intent can make these system work differently truly is a mystery, but we can use the knowledge of this to our advantage. If we know that the critical systems increase on an awakening, then we can just wake up and go back to sleep and you will automatically with your own bioloogy increase the chances of awareness within the dream, and this is perhaps why the WBTB technique is so powerful? Sweet (hopefully more critical) dreams. Inlakesh.

[BlackDog]

Carrot, I try to plan out what I am going to do in my LD and focus on being lucid. I've even tried to WILD upon going to sleep but haven't been able to get past a vision of a dancing blue flame. I haven't been able to stay awake/aware for WBTB. MasterMind, thanks for the link. I'll try to check out that video a little later.

[Carrot]

I've only got one dumb advice to give you - Sleep more. After I got my first LD, I slept for around 11 hours for the next couple of days to get my second LD. As the result of sleeping so much, I woke up a couple of times so I unintentionally did a few WBTBs. Every time I woke up, I told myself "The next time I'm walking around, I'm in a dream" and that was how I got my second LD. It was exhausting for me to try though so I let LDs come to me naturally now.

[dutchraptor]

Yes being tired definetely has a huge impact on lucid dreams, on two fronts. The first being that (My opinion, could vary) the brain is more tired and has less time for awareness in the dream. The real problem however is that if you wake for WTBT or try to record your dream journal you will likely do it wrong or forget or fall asleep. If you are not aware enough for WBTB to bed you usually fall asleep again (Which is probably the better option if you hadn't had much sleep) and when you often forget to record dreams the moment you wake up losing valuable information.

[Highlander]

I think it helps by going to bed relatively early and having a regular sleep schedule where possible. Maybe you could try and get some quality time to plan for an LD at the weekends perhaps, if your schedule is busy in the week? Just lately I have been having a similar problem as if it is like my brain isn't paying attention, although in the past a short (20 to 30 min) WBTB after 5 and a half to 6 hours sleep used to give me good DILD results. I think in my case then it is a motivational thing, because if I know if I'm in for a busy day then I do not concentrate or think about having an LD in the morning or night beforehand, nor will I write much in my journal as it feels too much of an effort, as I like my sleep sometimes. It is like LD goes down my list of priorities, so I have to try and plan a 'good' day/night hopefully where I can put some effort, and set some time aside for my attempt.

[BlackDog]

Ok, I had a little bit of luck last night. I got to bed about a half an hour earlier than usual with some time beforehand to unwind. I had a second short DILD(I didn't stabilize well enough). I flew(poorly) and made some DCs fly. I don't know if it was due to the extra sleep or not. I did get up during the night to build a fire and let the dog out. I walked around outside a bit and looked at the moon. It was bright enough that I could see the colors of my surroundings. I was quite awake. The problem is that I didn't make my DJ entry until morning and I don't know if I had my DILD before my WBTB.

[Matte87]

When I started out practicing I tried to sleep 10 or more hours any night I could. Which ended up being on the weekends only. However, as my body is used to get up after around 7-8 hours of sleep, I noticed that if I slept over that amount I slept very lightly and woke up several times. It was during those times that I took my chance of getting lucid and basicly did a few mini WBTB's with MILD each time I woke up. More sleep = More REM = More Dreams = More chances of getting lucid. You don't need to sleep 10+ hours. But it'll give your more chances to get lucid and as you spend almost all your time in REM during the later part of sleep, you'll dream lots and lots. If you can't get more sleep, perhaps you could try getting less one night? That's called a REM rebound. Or take some supplements which ought to boost your chances. The best is to believe in yourself though and work on your recall.