Thread: Time in lucid dreaming.

Originally Posted by Abra

The longest your dreams can get real time is an hour. That's like half a movie, so I'm fine with that. If you play it out like a movie, days can pass, but just like in a movie, you won't go through all the motions of daily life. If you are going across a field, you don't have to spend an hour--you can skip to the other side, and create a memory of walking through the field.

how do you manage to have such long dreams? were they this long from when you started LD-ing or did it take practice? the reason I'm asking if different ppl have "fixed" maximum dream lengths?

abra you can extend dreams by spinning or rubing your hands together(there are more ways which i have forgoten and dont know of), this actually extends REM, its not like a feeling.

the reason I'm asking if different ppl have "fixed" maximum dream lengths?

Your REM sleep, where dreams occur, is limited. Of course this limit is different for everyone, but when you wake up after 5 or 10 minutes it has nothing to do with that limit. You can find information about REM sleep on wikipedia.
And yes, prolonging your lucid dreams take practice.

Also Abra, let's see you go past the average 8 hours of sleep and sleep for say 14 hours theoretically your REM period would last longer than it normally does would it not? At least from my experience this seems to be the case.

However I must also note that I wake up quite frequently after the 8 hour mark causing a series of WBTB Dream Chaining as Aquanina put it. Which puts me directly back into REM sleep.

Originally Posted by yuriythebest

how do you manage to have such long dreams? were they this long from when you started LD-ing or did it take practice? the reason I'm asking if different ppl have "fixed" maximum dream lengths?

Some dreams feel longer than others. One of my first lucid dreams lasted a "day." Practice will lengthen the amount of time your spend lucid (I have a hunch that beginning lucid dreamers become lucid near the end of REM).

Originally Posted by slash112

abra you can extend dreams by spinning or rubing your hands together(there are more ways which i have forgoten and dont know of), this actually extends REM, its not like a feeling.

I was always under the assumption that it stabilizes the dream so that you don't awaken prematurely. I wouldn't be surprised if you could legitimately get another 5-10 minutes from it, though. But I don't think you could extend it in real time for much longer than that.

Originally Posted by Brandon Heat

Also Abra, let's see you go past the average 8 hours of sleep and sleep for say 14 hours theoretically your REM period would last longer than it normally does would it not? At least from my experience this seems to be the case.

True. If you get more than your usual amount of sleep, your REM period will lengthen. Keep in mind that NREM rebound will occur if you oversleep consecutively.

Originally Posted by Abra

True. If you get more than your usual amount of sleep, your REM period will lengthen. Keep in mind that NREM rebound will occur if you oversleep consecutively.

does the REM lengthening start after 8 hours or does your body plan on sleeping (and dreaming) longer sometimes?

Originally Posted by Psionics

does the REM lengthening start after 8 hours or does your body plan on sleeping (and dreaming) longer sometimes?

I phrased it a little inaccurately. It lengthens with each REM period. I meant "lengthening" as in, beyond the normal ending REM period.



That's what the pattern looks like. There is a cap, but I'm not sure when or where (it varies from person to person, also depending on the sleep from the previous night).