Hey Rose,

I could not have said it better than what Redrivertears said. There's no reason that lucid dreaming requires you to sacrifice your own physical health. If you're feeling exhausted and frustrated, take a break. Frustration is one of the worst enemies of lucid dreaming.

It sounds like your main problem is with getting up for WBTB. The solution for that may sound stupid, but it's true - just don't do WBTB. Seriously, it's not required. Just stick with MILD or another technique that doesn't interfere with your sleep schedule.

Other than that, you sound like you've made good progress. Like Redrivertears said, a failed reality check is the first step towards a successful reality check and a lucid dream. One tip that might help is to have multiple RCs each time you do it. So you might plug your nose, then count your fingers, and then try to push your finger through your hand. The odds of one RC failing is small, but the odds of multiple failing is even smaller. So if the first one does fail, you have one or two backups to improve your chances.

So my advice would be to take a break for a week or two, get your sleep schedule back on track and your frustration out of your mind. Then, go back to practicing RCs during your waking life, and then just go to sleep at your normal time while practicing MILD.