Prerequisites for WBTB

Hello

I have recently just gotten a lot of freetime and I was trying to get back into lucid dreaming, except I've been having some problems with my dream recall, my dreams were just fragments and for some reason they were all very dark or at night. I then realized what I was forgetting to do, the wake back to bed technique that helps improve my dream recall by an insane amount. But for the past few nights it still has not helped me, and some nights I would get up 4 hours later and I would not be able to go back to sleep. Part of the reason why is because I had the thermostat on too high and I needed to put on some air conditioning so I could go back to sleep. For example today I went to sleep at midnight and got up at 4:30, I could not go back to sleep so I made breakfast and played some video games, and I went back to sleep at 9 and I got up at 3:30. I do not even know how much my sleeping schedule is messed up but thats just when I naturally went to bed and got up.

So I just realized what I did for WBTB before that I have not been doing. Your body has to be used to going to bed at midnight and getting up at 8 am, or any other specific time that your body can get used to. After that, WBTB can work. I just realized I had been trying to do WBTB before I regulated my sleeping schedule which does not work if your sleeping times are not in a routine.

Hope this helps someone, thanks.

I'm no expert, but you might want to stop playing video games during a WBTB because if I remember correctly, your mind enters a state that is counterproductive of lucid dreaming.

I would also suggest listening to a few lucid tracks on YouTube if you are having trouble sleeping. "Lucid Dreaming Curiosity" works well for me. It's a combination of thunder and rain(there is a voice for part of the ending!!) but I end up moving, which is annoying for WILD attempts. I think I also read somewhere on here that eating a big meal isn't helpful for lucid dreaming for a reason that I cannot remember.

I'm not an expert, and I'm sure the experts would be willing to correct anything wrong that I've said. I have yet to lucid dream but have come close several times this year with DILDs and a partially successful WILD attempt at the beginning of the year.