Thread: ummm... how do you sleep?

Being able to return to sleep relatively quickly several times a night is an important ability for a lucid dreamer. There are a lot of threads on DV about how to fall asleep, the search facility will help.

Ultimately, though, only you can figure this out. And yes, falling asleep with awareness is a tricky balancing act that takes a lot of practice and experimentation.

My own approach (not trying to hold on to awareness, just head for unconscious sleep) that I've had the best luck with is totally letting go of all tension, physically and mentally, over and over again on each exhale.

It's important that you don't think about "trying to sleep" while doing this, or monitoring your progress too closely -- let go of all mental activity, including thinking about whether you're falling asleep or not. So this approach doesn't work well for WILD, but can be very helpful after a WBTB to get back to sleep so you can dream again.

You have to find the right balance between sleepiness and awareness. Too sleepy and you won't be able to focus. Too aware and you won't be able to sleep. For me it has a lot to do with when I do my WBTB. If it's too soon after I go to sleep for the night, I'm way too groggy to wake up my brain for LDs. I also have the problem with insomnia after WBTB. You pretty much have to try it a few times and personalize it to fit your needs. If it's late enough in the morning, a trip to the bathroom and right back to bed is enough to get me into the awareness sweet spot.

I've also found that getting really aware (~30 mins of doing something that makes me think) tends to slow my descent into sleep so much that its easier to catch the moment before you start to dream. Of course this also causes me to take 1-2 hours getting back to sleep sometimes. Practice is really the best way to learn how your brain works.

One more thing. I used to read tutorials about WILDs and anchors and such, and I would try to start counting/focusing on breathing etc. before I was even very sleepy. I've found it's best to wait until you are closer to sleep (i.e. you feel really relaxed and carefree) before you start doing things like this and trying to hold onto your awareness. It really helps.

Hmmm... Intresting

Hi,

If your unable to fall asleep after five minutes of wbtb
You can try to do it without getting up at all.

So just wake up and perform right away the technique