side effects of nightly LDs

hi everyone. I'm pretty consistent with LDs now but I used to just do them once in a while because I had many other things to focus on. Lately I've been LDing almost every ngiht for a month or so, and I've noticed some pretty gradual negative side effects including

worse short term memory
irritability (very surprising)
daytime sleepiness
muscle fatigue
randomly blurred vision

I haven't changed my diet and my stress levels are actually down, and my health is otherwise good. The only real change I've made is my LDing patterns. I don't know much about REM restoration and the likes so I'm wondering maybe my nightly LDs are interfering with something that's supposed to be happening instead. Maybe the reason it's so hard to LD is because your mind is trying to do it's job and LDing interferes with it. Has anyone else had similar problems?

I've never come across people getting these problems myself. Have you been to see a doctor? It's best to check and make sure it's just dreams and not something sinister going on.

Every single symptom that you mention is a symptom of sleep deprivation.

Basically, this looks to me like it has nothing to do with lucid dreaming, but rather with your sleeping pattern. Make sure you get enough, restful sleep.

-Redrivertears-

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Originally Posted by Redrivertears

Every single symptom that you mention is a symptom of sleep deprivation.

Basically, this looks to me like it has nothing to do with lucid dreaming, but rather with your sleeping pattern. Make sure you get enough, restful sleep.

-Redrivertears-

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You're right... ParadigmShift, are you frequently WBTBing?

No, I don't wbtb anymore. I WILD at bedtime and get 7-8 hours of night sleep and sometimes I even have a short daytime nap in which i sometimes also WILD. I only wbtb when my bedtime WILD fails which is pretty rare now.

In all I get around 8-9 hours of sleep daily. I'm confused.

Is oversleep possible? I notice that when I get 10-11 hours of sleep, I'm really tired during the day. 8-9 hours isn't that long, but maybe napping in the day throws off the schedule?

I take daytime naps only when I'm sleepy to begin with. I went to my doctor and he said he was confused too. He said exactly what redrivertears said: they are signs of sleep deprivation or fatigue/stress so if I slept 8-9 hours I need to see a specialist cuz he's stumped.

I really don't think it's overlseep since I normally sleep that amount without these side effects. I'll try to stop LDing for a while and see if it goes away, if not I'll see a specialist.

Whatever it is, I'm quite sure it doesn't have to do with LDing. If you want to be sure, I guess you could just stop LDing for a bit?

this happens to me too. my theory is that you do not get as good of sleep during lds because your brain is still working too hard since your conscious.

If you sleep over 8 hrs you will be tired the entire day and your vision is blured this is because you are in REM to long. (well not that it's bad) but that what happens.

And you wil be sore because you lie in a position for over eight hours. Try sitting on a chair for 6 and see if your ass isn't numb aftrewards.

Srry i'm just in a bad mood

peace

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ParadigmShift

He said exactly what redrivertears said: they are signs of sleep deprivation or fatigue/stress so if I slept 8-9 hours I need to see a specialist cuz he's stumped.

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There you have it! DV gives better advice than a doctor for free ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LdMichael

this happens to me too. my theory is that you do not get as good of sleep during lds because your brain is still working too hard since your conscious.

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But that doesn't add up. Nothing about lucidity indicates that you somehow alter your sleep cycles. You simply take advantage of what is already there. In short, Paradigm's REM cycles are no longer than they would normally be. And since your brain works just as if you were awake during REM, even without lucidity, I don't think it's a factor.

Typically, I experience those symptoms when faced with a serious change in my sleeping pattern. Maybe I only slept 3 hours, or maybe I binged and slept 9. Either way, fatigue results.

I doubt lucidity is causing your problems (I've never heard of it before) but you can always check by halting your LDs for a bit.

I also doubt it's because of your lds, just take it easy and make sure u keep a regular sleep pattern going. :)

Hey there,

The thing is, just because you're sleeping long enough doesn't necessarily mean you're getting restful sleep. In fact, very often lucid dreams are triggered exactly because you're not getting real restful sleep. You're not sleeping as deeply as normal, which makes it much easier to get lucid dreams, but does have an effect on your body in the wrong thing.

Just off the top of my head, several things that can cause you not to have restful sleep:

- You're having breathing problems during sleep. There's a scientific term for this Sleep Apnea. It causes you to periodically stop breathing for a second or two, almost waking you up again. The result is that you never enter deep sleep.

- You're too hot or too cold when you're sleeping. Again, this could prevent you from entering deep sleep.

- You're sleeping in an uncomfortable position, or a position that somehow prevents you from feeling really rested (or gives you breathing problems). Try sleeping in a different position for a few days, see what happens.

- Your mind has come to associate your bed with consciousness! This sounds odd, but it's a fact that we make subconscious associations based on what we're doing in which surroundings. Someone who tries to study on bed can get sleepy and find it difficult to concentrate. Someone who constantly works late nights on his laptop in bed might start finding it difficult to get to sleep (cause his mind is on work). Try sleeping in a different place for a few nights, see if that helps.

- You're slightly ill, or have astma, or hay fever, or some allergy that's temporary causing you to be unable to enter restful sleep.

- You're getting worried about not sleeping well, and this worry causes you to not sleep well like a self fulfilling prophecy. This actually happens a lot with people, and is much more common then we think.

Just my 2 sleepycents,

-Redrivertears-

Apart from what others have said, I would get some blood tests, to check if the levels of vitamins and minerals are normal, and do a blood count. Even if you didn't change your diet, it could be that you're missing something, because some deficiencies take a long time, even years, until they start to affect you.

I think It could also be a Candida fungus.

If all else fails, I would try to limit the WILD attempts to 3 times a week or less. I think it's good to have some nights off WILD, just go to sleep without any expectations, just for the purpose of having a good restful sleep.

LDing can't really have negative side effects (unless, of course, you're schitzophrinic, because sometimes it makes them not be able to tell reality from dreams...) but naps certainly do. I cannot take naps during the day, because it makes me have all of the symptoms that you have just mentioned.