Is It "fake Sleep"?

[Dynamo]

Now I have had a lucid dream before, but I don't believe I was fully in control; it was also very short. Therefore, I don't have enough experience to answer this question: If you Lucid Dream ... all night or so, does it take away from your sleep? I don't mean the preparation or getting up in the middle of the night. What I mean is, since you are fully aware of your surroundings and are completely in control while in a Lucid Dream, are you getting the same amount of sleep as if you were unconscious rather than subconscious? If you don't understand what I'm trying to ask, I'll rephrase it

[Spritely]

Hmm. I'm no more tired after a night of really good recall than I am after a night of no recall-- in fact, I'm more exhausted if I can't remember my dreams when I wake up. Thus, I assume that 'awareness' doesn't tire me. My lucid dreams are refreshing and energizing, more so than a normal dream. A night of dreaming is the amount of sleep as any other night, anyways, and if I have to be dead to the world for hours each night, I want to at least make use of them. Then again, my LDs aren't particularly long yet, so I just have to guess what I'd be like after a very lengthy session based on what LDs I have had and on my normal dreams. (Sorry if I'm a touch incoherent: I'm very tired and I think I'm acquiring an allergy to something. My brain is addled&#33

[Dynamo]

thanks for your views, i think this could make for some interesting discussion. Since most lucid dreams or recalled dreams take place over a short period of time, I've considered that if you lost any sleep at all (or rest in general), it would be too small to notice. I never considered a recalled dream to be like a lucid dream when it comes to consciousness, but its a good argument. However, from almost every dream I've recalled, I can't say I remember most of the details, therefore that makes me think I was barely conscious if at all. Thus, the two subjects (LD and recall) may not be related in this instance. I'm just stating that, though your brain may produce dreams, becoming conscious within the dream seems like you are using brainpower and will to control things around you and spike up your thoughts with what you see; something I've disclosed as not taking place in a normal or recalled dream. please let me know your thoughts

[Oneironaught]

I'm just stating that, though your brain may produce dreams, becoming conscious within the dream seems like you are using brainpower and will to control things around you and spike up your thoughts with what you see; something I've disclosed as not taking place in a normal or recalled dream. please let me know your thoughts [/b] It's been proven that, during the dream state, your brain consumes as much energy ("fuel") as when you are awake and has a comparable gross level of activity. That being said, an LD consumes no more energy than any other dream. The main difference is the focus of your attention (AKA consciousness). It's believed by the majority of the scientific community (to my knowledge) that dreaming lucidly is no less restful than non-lucid dreaming. And since you're actually able to use that dream time for constructive, learning or recreational purposes, I'd venture to say that most people at this site - that is, people who have experienced LDs - will swear that lucid dreaming can provide more fulfilling sleep than ever. I, for one, certainly agree that LDing is far superior to non-lucid dreaming in many ways, both during sleep and in waking life

[metcalfracing]

Yeah man, when I wake up from a night with a lucid, I'm MORE ready than usual to start my day. I feel much happier getting up in the morning, when I had a lucid dream. ... so I guess my answer is, even if it is less quality sleep, which I doubt it is, the sheer joy of having one keeps you from being tired when you wake up.

[bro]

It depends if you deprive yourself of sleep in order to do the methods, because obviously the preparation will deprive you a bit. This is why im a bit hesitant to WILD at 5 am since sleep is precious although i'd like LD's.

[[_LUCIDMASTER_]]

If you Lucid Dream ... all night or so, does it take away from your sleep? I don't mean the preparation or getting up in the middle of the night. What I mean is, since you are fully aware of your surroundings and are completely in control while in a Lucid Dream, are you getting the same amount of sleep as if you were unconscious rather than subconscious? well im an experienced lucid dreamer, when i started getting these dreams i thought i had a gift, but then after some research i found that u can gain consciousness in ur dreams and now i spend most time looking for more ways to increase my level of lucidity but in ur terms, yess u are getting the same amount of sleep as if u were unconscious but, u would rather have lucid dreams than regular dreams...its much fun specially when u can do anything u want.

[Dynamo]

Alright then, thanks guys! I guess its true that you would be happier and more ready to start the day, since its already on a good note. In summer, hopefully I won't have to worry about the little sleep missed attempting a WILD, but I'm sure its worth it. and LOL Lucid Master.. I guess if you had a full one before knowing what it was, you WOULD think that.. I know I would. Can't wait to get another now -- or at least a full one.

[Spritely]

Hmm, I never thought of how much 'energy' it takes to become lucid, versus how much it takes just to simply be watching things once you are. I'm sure that a bunch of bad reality checks in lucids and struggling to gain awareness would become tiring, but any sort of dream-conflict seems to tire me. School and weekdays do tend to prevent me from doing WILD. Hopefully some of us have spring breaks coming up, and can fit some good dreaming in. (But mind, the prospect of dreaming is almost the only thing that motivates me to go to sleep during the week. If life would allow, I would totally go back to my weird, polyphasic schedule.)

[Gwendolyn]

I get more rest than usual. It is so much more relaxing, really, and I'm much more ready to start my day. It's like a total regeneration.

[skuruza]

when i wake up, i feel very refreshed and more energised- if possible, you almost get more sleep-without wasting the time.... i do not think of sleep as wasted time.

[Spritely]

i do not think of sleep as wasted time. [/b] I'm guilty of this mentality. I was trying to figure out the other day how little sleep I could get while still remembering the maximum number of dreams. Good thing I'm interested in LDing-- it forces me to go to bed.

[MoD]

Well if you have lucid dreams, your in control (if you practice and have high lucidity).. That means that you can live 200 years instead of 100 as your dreams are not wasted.. And NO, lucid dreams are normal dreams. And it doesent affect your sleep.

[Ev]

Well, considering how most LDs are under 15 minutes long, you are not gonna lose much sleep. Even if LDs mess up your REM sleep, you are gonna lose no more than 1 REM period. When I used to have multiple LDs per night I did notice a slight effect on my world perception, but that was nothing major.

[krookedking]

So...LDing doesn't change the way you sleep....But sometimes I wake up in the morning after LDing and I do feel tired (even if my motivation is amazing)....I thought it might be because you wake up earlier from a LD then from a normal dream which goes on " until it's end ".... Please prove me wrong

[caz457]

I don't think that you lose sleep when you LD, as you get roughly the same amount of actual sleep. I say "roughly" because I do tend to wake up earlier when I LD. It doesn't make a difference though, as I have disrupted sleep anyway. Like many people have said, most LDs aren't very long, so I doubt you'd be able to notice even if you did lose sleep.

[LucidDreamGod]

You have just as much conscous active in normal dreams as lucid ones, you simply don't relise your dreaming.

[Developer]

<div align="left">Actually, after I&#39;ve found this site, my sleep has been better. Why? Because I&#39;ve learned the "Reverse blinking" and not to move when trying to fall asleep. I usually wake up like 2-4 times a night to go pee, and it was really hard to fall asleep before. Now, I just do a little reverse blinking and "Woillá"&#33; EDIT: And yeah, I usually sleep better when I have a lucid, the satisfaction after a lucid is undescribable..</div>

[Electus Somnium]

when i wake up i feel very refreshed, happy, and am not tired one bit

[Rob]

Now I have had a lucid dream before, but I don't believe I was fully in control; it was also very short. Therefore, I don't have enough experience to answer this question: If you Lucid Dream ... all night or so, does it take away from your sleep? I don't mean the preparation or getting up in the middle of the night. What I mean is, since you are fully aware of your surroundings and are completely in control while in a Lucid Dream, are you getting the same amount of sleep as if you were unconscious rather than subconscious? If you don't understand what I'm trying to ask, I'll rephrase it [/b] I feel more refreshed when I have a single lucid dream I can recall than when I have a full night of regular dreams I cannot recall. Also, sometimes lucid dreaming makes me feel like I've achieved some sort of enlightenment, and this feeling boosts my energy when awake. Last night, I was talking with a friend of mine who can induce lucid dreams. She is somewhat of an insomniac, so she uses lucid dreaming when she can't get a full night's rest in order to refresh herself in a shorter period of time. She told me that when she induces a lucid dream, she will stay asleep for what seems like over an hour then wake herself up thinking she has somewhere to go. However, when she checks the time, only a few minutes have passed. Those few minutes of lucid dreaming energize her as though she had been sleeping the entire night. So at least for my friend and for myself, lucid dreaming increases our restfulness instead of decreasing it. -Rob

[PNG_pyro]

I was thinking; if extending your lucids extends the REM periods, then you may be able to get more REM sleep, and therefore be MORE rested in less time. Just a thought.