Thread: Lucid dreaming while stressed?

Hi,

Yes, I believe it would certainly affect your chances. I've found that you need to be relaxed about the experience and enjoy it, and stress can disrupt your sleeping habits as well as put you in a state of frustration or anxiety which can hinder your practice, so you would be unlikely to get many lucids in this state.

That being said it depends on the cause of the stress and how well you are able to manage it, and learning to lucid dream can certainly help you with this if you don't push yourself too hard. Meditation is a significant part of learning to lucid dream and can be a very powerful stress reliever if practiced regularly. Many other techniques (e.g. MILD and WILD) are similar in that they require you to switch off for the day and to focus on the specific intention to lucid dream. Practicing lucid dreaming can encourage you to make changes in your lifestyle to prevent and relieve stress and could help you for that reason.

Do you have trouble sleeping? Are you going through any emotional trauma, or is your job a source of the stress? If so it might help waiting until you have a bit more of a breather before you start, but generally it can certainly help with stress if you are willing to put in the effort and approach it with a relaxed mindset.