Nice, congrats on your first LD!

I have definitely experienced FA cycles from time to time. I'm not sure what causes them, but it's a good reason to RC every time you wake up so you don't miss opportunities to continue LDs. Some of my longest LDs have actually been through recognising FAs and realising the dream wasn't over yet.
I personally find nose plugs are the most reliable, as you found in your dream, but I like to do a couple of different RCs to be sure.

Keep it up and I'm sure there'll be many more LDs to come! (Hopefully with nicer DCs next time... )