Thread: Methods for waking up in REM period withought alarm clock?

Make sure you are thirsty before going to sleep, and put a glass of water beside your bed, every time the REM period finished you would wake up to have a drink. This method hasn't worked for me very well but you might have a different result.

Originally Posted by Cathode_Ray

Make sure you are thirsty before going to sleep, and put a glass of water beside your bed, every time the REM period finished you would wake up to have a drink. This method hasn't worked for me very well but you might have a different result.

thanks for the tip, but i dont usually have good sleep with a dry throat. Not totally dismissing this idea... its just that it doesn't work to well for me.

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Actually, we all wake up naturally at the ending of each REM-sleep period (research hasn't yet found out why). These very brief awakenings are called 'micro-awakenings' and sometimes also occur spontaneously during dreaming. The prerequisite for using these awakenings to do WILD or MILD is to intend, before you go to bed, to remember to recognize the moment you wake up during the night. This way you can wake up without using an alarm clock.

Personal tip: You could also use your mobile phone as an alarm clock but instead on setting it on 'sound' mode, setting in it on 'vibrate' mode. If you risk carrying your phone in some pocket while you're sleeping (or somewhere in your pillow?), you might wake up from it (without the annoying loud alarm sound ringing).

Originally Posted by Lucidipedia

Actually, we all wake up naturally at the ending of each REM-sleep period (research hasn't yet found out why). These very brief awakenings are called 'micro-awakenings' and sometimes also occur spontaneously during dreaming. The prerequisite for using these awakenings to do WILD or MILD is to intend, before you go to bed, to remember to recognize the moment you wake up during the night. This way you can wake up without using an alarm clock.

Personal tip: You could also use your mobile phone as an alarm clock but instead on setting it on 'sound' mode, setting in it on 'vibrate' mode. If you risk carrying your phone in some pocket while you're sleeping (or somewhere in your pillow?), you might wake up from it (without the annoying loud alarm sound ringing).

I know about the vibrate alarm but i never really found any use of it because it has never woken me up due to my incredibly thick pillow. I could use thinner ones but that would make my sleep uncomfortable.
Sorry for being so picky about this, its just that i really need a good simple effective way of waking me up. I only have 1 alarm sound on my phone and it is extreamly irritating. heres how it goes...
"(Loud drum beats) then a guys voice saying "DING DING DING DINGEDING DINGEDIN DING DIN DIN DIN DINGEDIN DINGEDIN DIGER DIN DIN DIN! DINGEDIN DING DING DING... and then a drum roll to finish it off.
And it gets louder and louder every time it plays.
Yeh i know...

Would it be easier to WILD if you wake up during an REM period? If so then how would you know exactly when your REM periods occur. I found out that if I wake up at 5:30 i'm more tired than I am if I wake up at 5:10. And most of my LDs occur if I fall asleep after I wake up at 5:30 for school but it's risky because I may over sleep for school because I don't have an alarm to wake me up at 6 or w.e.

I'm trying to do the same, only with regular MILD. The problem is however that we wake up naturally at the end of REM although we need REM sleep to start lucid dreaming again (especially with attempting WILD). This way we first have to go through all deep sleep stages before we start dreaming again, which greatly decreases our chances of becoming lucid.

Unfortunately we don't wake up naturally at the start of REM

I wake up at the end of each dream automatically. I found that using an alarm clock for a few days, combined with CONSTANT affirmations that I would wake up at the end of each dream was enough to form the habit. It was just a matter of becoming awair of the natural awakenings. Usually I just go back to sleep when I wake up after each dream, but I also use it for WILD, MILD, and DEILD.

An idea (which I have NOT tried) would be to wear pajamas with a pocket. Put your cell phone in the pocket. That way it will vibrate against your body. You may need a pocket with a velcro closure to keep the phone from falling out.

Originally Posted by Lucidipedia

I'm trying to do the same, only with regular MILD. The problem is however that we wake up naturally at the end of REM although we need REM sleep to start lucid dreaming again (especially with attempting WILD). This way we first have to go through all deep sleep stages before we start dreaming again, which greatly decreases our chances of becoming lucid.

I think that's why combining MILD and WILD with WBTB is so successful. Staying up for a bit is supposed to sort of reset your sleep cycles so that you can return directly to REM.

I've always had the same problem. I wake up after each dream naturally for recall purposes. That means I have to wait through another sleep cycle to return to dreaming. Not too helpful for WILD.

If I set an alarm, and catch myself in the middle of a REM cycle (sort of a crapshoot to begin with), then I only have a reduced cycle to deal with. Could be 1 minute, could be 5, but its never the full cycle. When I finally do manage to find that sweet spot, it does not stay sweet for long. Its like my body adapts to the alarm, and reschedules its REM cycles accordingly.

Is this why many people stay awake for long periods of time during WBTB? I've never had much success with long WBTBs. I always stay up for 5-10 minutes, tops. Does it really reset your sleep cycle? Or do you stay on a rolling clock, stay awake during a portion of your cycle so you don't have to wait as long?

when you WBTB, do you have to physically get up? or can you lie in bed for a while awake?

Originally Posted by Robot_Butler

....Is this why many people stay awake for long periods of time during WBTB? I've never had much success with long WBTBs. I always stay up for 5-10 minutes, tops. Does it really reset your sleep cycle? Or do you stay on a rolling clock, stay awake during a portion of your cycle so you don't have to wait as long?

That's what I've read somewhere but I can't be sure about the sleep cycles resetting - it's a good question I've wondered about. Possibly WBTB works because you're going back sleep into a time when you'll be having your longest REM periods. It definitely works though. I've found the best time is about an hour. Spending that time reading about LDing helps a lot.

Originally Posted by KingofKirby

when you WBTB, do you have to physically get up? or can you lie in bed for a while awake?

Yeah, that's the whole point. You need to get out of bed and do something mentally active so you're not groggy at all. Some people here say they don't need to do that but according to the experts, 60-90 minutes produces the best results. There's a good tutorial on this site about WBTB.

For the alarm - for a while I put my cell phone in my sock and put it on my hand or foot. It always fell off of my hand, but it also always woke me up. It's startling, but definitely less annoying than waking up to a blaring alarm clock.

Lucidpedia is right. You wake up automatically at the end of REM sessions and I think this is your best chance for anytype of lucid dream. The problem is these are often very brief and you don't even realize you woke up. However, if you have already committed to having a lucid dream it will better your odds. Also, I think you can get better at fully awakening during these which definitely helps.