Thread: "Dream Fatigue" Help

Hmm, interesting. You might try shouting commands like "clarity now!" or "This will be a long dream," or "My strength is coming back to me." Oddly enough, I've had this problem a lot, and only in the last several months or so. I seem to lose all my physical strength in the dream and I eventually black out (which means waking up irl). I've yet to find a way around it, and it's been very frustrating. Stabilizing does also seem to help, so you can try rubbing or clapping your hands or touching dream objects.

I have actually yelled "clarity now!" to no effect, and rubbed various things. The reason this is so frustrating is that none of the traditional methods of dream stabilization seem to work - even dream spinning hasn't helped, when I've remembered to do it - I black out partway through.

Hmm, yeah, that does sound pretty frustrating...I hate to say this, but if these are your first lucids, it may just be from that, because a lot of times the first ones will be really unstable and short. :/

This is something I often experience as well! it's such a pain :/ usually there isn't much i can do to stop it.
I begin to be unable to open my eyes and i can't walk and what not, though i have stopped it a few times, just by focusing. If you have enough drive you can break through it.
Good luck

Normally when this happens, it means: 1. You have low energy to hold the dream together 2. You are not in a very deep sleep

Yeah, I think it's a combination of inexperience and the fact that I've got most of my lucids after > 8 hours sleep, meaning my sleep will be pretty light. Ah, well. Nothing to do but keep trying, is there?

Try drinking a shot of dream espresso

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Try drinking a shot of dream espresso

I am... not sure if that's a joke. I think I just might.

I've always found passive control to work much better than active control. Rather than command the dream to increase in clarity, try working with it. After all, what makes you more alert in real life? Next time you can't see in a lucid dream think 'oh wow, where did this red bull come from?' suddenly you have a can of clarity juice in your hand

Passive is always better in dream control. The dream mind is is not just a physical vehicle like a car or your body is. Work with it and love it and that is all you need to do. Give it control and give it your love in total.

Well, I had another DILD last night, and noticed something very interesting - after noticing some things that didn't make sense, I was pretty sure I was dreaming, but it was only after I did a RC that the dream began to break down in earnest. Despite my stabilization attempts, I was awake in seconds - I dream span, yelled for clarity and, yes, grabbed a shot of dream espresso - but I was awake before I got it to my lips.

This used to happen to me all the time when I was first starting out, most annoyingly I would end up in an FA where I was paralysed and had to build up energy to see and get up, eventually 'I grew out of it'. Just concentrate on inducing more lucids, you'll get through this stage.

I think you have to just try and make yourself believe that you can overcome it easily. If you can manage that then it shouldn't be a problem.

don't worry allyn

Originally Posted by zendreamer

don't worry allyn

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

This used to happen to me all the time when I was first starting out, most annoyingly I would end up in an FA where I was paralysed and had to build up energy to see and get up, eventually 'I grew out of it'. Just concentrate on inducing more lucids, you'll get through this stage.

Keep on keeping on, eh? Thanks, I've gotten a few more, and with each it's less of a problem. Maybe soon I'll have a lucid that lasts longer than 30 seconds!

Hey, just to be clear, you aren't physically tired right? You just find it physically impossible to keep your eyes open?

If that is right, I go through the same thing with every single one of my FILD attempts. I try to keep my eyes open, but it is like they're being connected by magnets getting steadily stronger. What I now do is let them shut, you can resist a little, but in the end resistance will be futile so let it happen. Remember that even if everything is black, it dosen't mean you failed or are no longer in a dream. If you are anything like me, in a matter of seconds, without having to force your eyes open, a fuzzy image should appear. It may look like some dull light in a blurry spot surrounded by darkness, but it will get brighter and bigger. It shouldn't be long before your vision comes back into focus and the dream forms around you. I'm not sure why this happens, I thought maybe the dream needs time to form since the brain is doing all that work, but never got why it would happen after a perfectly good dream just began. Hope that helps, just remember to stay calm and passive, and if you don't automatically assume failure you may find you don't have to do anything at all for your problem.

I have had the exact same problem you had, and it was a phase that started around my 7th lucid and lasted for the next 5-6 lucids which sucks. One of the reasons the eyes close so fast for me, was that I was way to worried about stabilizing, I would obsess about it and keep thinking that the dream would end in a matter of seconds if I didn't do it. This led to the dream actually ending while I frantically tried to stabilize by touching things, etc. I got over the phase when I stopped expecting the dream to end, I started stabilizing more casually rather than as something that was a forced chore that needed to be done otherwise the world would end (not literally, it was just how I was treating stabilization) Also, no ammount of stabilization helped me with the eyes randomly closing, I once remember using my fingers to pull my eyelids apart which worked for a while but got cumbersome and the dream ended anyway. The last time this happened to me, I yelled "Left eye OPEN, and Right eye OPEN" as loud as I could, and sure enough, the eyes opened spontaneously and I could see clearly

so stop expecting the dream to end, and if your eyes do close, rather than try to force them open, try holding onto something in the dream and yelling left eye open and right eye open very loud. tell me how it goes.

edit: what sioul said is right, resisting the eyes closing is futile, and if you just let them close rather than struggle, a new dream scene is likely to appear which happened for me to in one of my latest WILD's. Just becasue you see black for a while doesn't mean the dream is over. struggling with your eyes will wake you up

Originally Posted by Hastur

Keep on keeping on, eh? Thanks, I've gotten a few more, and with each it's less of a problem. Maybe soon I'll have a lucid that lasts longer than 30 seconds!

I would say 70% of my lucid dreams so far have been 30 seconds long and I only got past it in the last couple of months. Like I said, the dream scene used to collapse too when I became lucid. Now they're stable and crystal clear, it's remembering to fully stabilise and completing a goal that's the trick

Hm, sounds similar to a problem I used to have. I wouldn't get fatigued, so to speak, but It would always start fading right when I became lucid, as if I was waking up (which often I would, and sometimes I would just have a false awakening). Things to increase dream clarity and whatnot would not work either.

This lasted for a long time, and I hate to say it, but it may just be that the only way to get through it is to wait it out. Sometimes we go through phases as such, and it just goes away on its own. Mine lasted for a good 6-8 months or so.

If you refuse to accept that, it could just be a placebo that can be overcome. Or perhaps you could try DEILD'ing, and simply chaining into another dream after waking up.

Either way, don't worry about it. The more you try the more chances you have to get used to having lucid dreams.

One last note that I just realized, during my phase that kept waking me up during lucids, I seemed to be putting allot of emphasis on the importance of Lucids, and the waste of non-lucids. I now *almost* equally love both lucids and non-lucids, and I haven't had that problem since. This could be the problem, make sure you don't focus too much on the Lucids, and when they come you won't be so eager to experience it. Could have something to do with it.

Anyway, good luck!

I used to experience this 'dream fatigue' as you call it, like my legs in my dream would become really heavy and my eyelids also, making seeing anything a real challenge and torture. However, this passed, and I don't believe yours will last forever either. Your subconscious must get bored of it and start complying at some point, so don't worry and try not to feel too frustrated by it. Although come to think of it, maybe frustration does actually help to persuade your subconscious. It certainly seemed like that in my case.

Good luck!

I has question.

Why do you try to keep your eyes open? Closing them won't wake you up, just let yourself close them calmly, get your dream "rested" and then without opening them, imagine a whole new scenario, that is what I tend to do, except i open my eyes but if you think that will wake you up, just imagining the new place should be enough.

If you're not confident in doing Hukif's suggestion, I just discovered a solution last night from a false awakening. Basically I had an FA, I was groggy, couldn't see well, and I decided that it didn't matter if everything was dark, because I had infra red vision! Suddenly I could see perfectly (albeit in that sickly grey-green), after a few seconds my vision was fully clear and normal.

@siuol: No, it's a profound physical and mental tiredness, and if my eyes close I lose mental coherence too.

@lawilahd: In my initial lucids I forgot to stabilise, which is why I was so mystified by it's ineffectiveness. I do think I'm focusing on it too much now, though. I'll try to relax.

@Hukif: Because letting my eyes results in a loss of consciousness and waking up later, and I've had no success in DEILDing after one of these.

@Ctharlhie, -Insanekid-, Erii, Mystycal: Thanks, it's good to know that others have gotten over this problem. I think I'm getting better, but it's too early to tell.

@Everyone: Thanks for the help!

Hm... maybe when you get tired try thinking that you are going to sleep within the dream to have a lucid. You are already asleep so it should be pretty instant, and going to sleep when you are tired might fix it. In addition to that dreaming of going to bed in a dream can set you up for false awakenings.

If that dosen't work think about how you shouldnt be tired since you are asleep and already resting.

Other than that I don't think I have any more advice, it probably will pass eventually so good luck.