Is around 3hrs of sleep too little for WBTB?

[kamenriderbaron]

Lately, when I do WBTB, I wake up after around 3hrs. I was wondering, is this enough?

[Sageous]

^^ Just 3hrs' sleep is generally too little time, but if it works for you, then great! All these rules for catching REM are based on some fairly general science, so there's a chance that you might be having REM periods that occur as closely after 3 hrs of sleep as others who must wait the requisite 5 hrs. Also, I believe that an incorrect assumption has wandered into the fabric of our perspective on dreaming, in that REM causes dreams. REM does not cause dreams; Rapid Eye Movement is a symptom of dreaming, where your eyes are moving to follow the action in your dream. So, in a sense, whenever you dream (with the possible exception of delta sleep dreaming), you are in REM. Because of this, there is no reason that you can't start a dream at any time of the night, as long as you are focused and able to set your mind to dreaming a little off its schedule. All that said, I think you'll likely find out pretty quickly if 3 hrs is enough for you anyway: if you find lucidity elusive, then maybe you need to sleep a bit longer; but if LD's happen, then 3hrs' sleep is just fine.