Hey everyone.

First, let me apologize for asking a question that has likely been ask a thousand times before. If you'd prefer to just point me the way of an old thread on this topic, I would be equally grateful.

Anyway, as to the actual question, I have been having some trouble becoming conscious of the 15+ several-second-long awakenings we experience each night. From what I've read, these short brakes in the REM cycle are ideal gateways into a lucid dream. However, given their short duration, it is obviously really difficult to gain enough -waking- lucidity to recognize them.

So my question is, how can I improve my awareness of these brief awakenings in the REM cycle? Can they even be used as launch points for lucid dreams?

Thanks in advance.