First of all thank you very much for your reply, it's very informative and supporting, and I appreciate it very much


Maybe this problem can be at least minimized by using a "smart alarm" (shorter, quieter), or by purposely trying to stay drowsy, or by shortening the out of bed period of WBTB?
Yes! Definitely, I didn't mention it in the Original Post, but last night I woke up naturally at around 4:36, without the use of an alarm clock, and felt very tired, I got out of bed to drink and use the bathroom, I then was able to fall asleep rather quickly ( probably 20-30 minutes, compared to hours when waking up using normal alarm), the problem was that, after falling asleep again, I couldn't hear the alarms any more. So I think waking up naturally form a REM cycle (which is the purpose of the smart alarm) is definitely helpful, will experiment more.


Cannot stress this enough - SP is not required to induce lucid dreams (even wake induced). There is one sub-method of WILD (out of like ten sub-methods) that uses it, but it's more useful for OBEs where you need to stay still to "exit" your body ,
Yes, I am aware that SP is not required to LD, however it is required to enter a really deep state of trance, where you are able to connect with your subconscious, which is one of the main goals for me in learning LD, as LD is also another way to connect to your subconscious. And I would also like to experience OBEs.


they can be colorful, black and white, animated, even more vivid then real life
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Yea I have a dream from 2 years ago which is the most vivid memory I currently have. I remeber looking at a cube made of grass, and it was more vivid than real life.

Thanks !