I was wondering, is there some ideal amount of sleep that a person should be attaining for really vivid and consecutive lucids? :?
Printable View
I was wondering, is there some ideal amount of sleep that a person should be attaining for really vivid and consecutive lucids? :?
8 hours of sleep is the healthy recommendation.
Vivid dreams are not the result of a lot of sleep. For lucid dreaming, you typically have to wait for REM, which I heard takes a few hours or more.
You go through a number of cycles where you go from deep sleep to light sleep to REM sleep (with dreams) and back down and the process repeats. As you begin to sleep, you are more often in deep sleep and have shorter REM stages, but as the night goes on, deep sleep decreases and REM increases, which is why you are more likely to have longer and more memorable dreams towards the morning than shortly after you fall asleep. So, holding to that, the longer you sleep the more chances for REM and dreams you will have.
As Loaf said, 8 hours is the recommended amount of sleep for adults, though everyone is different. If you feel like you physically need more to be at your best, feel free to get more sleep. Regarding dreaming, though, that's up to you. :)
While it is a fact that there is new debate over the primary responsibilities for dreaming distributions throughout the brain (Linky), there is a proven way to induce dream recall.
The most effective way that most researchers use is to interrupt REM sleep. Researchers, such as William Dement (Link), interrupt REM sleep to induce recall. But how can you know nor how can you do this to yourself?
It's easy. Most commonly, it takes approximately 90 minutes for a full cycle of sleep. (Link 1, Link 2). REM sleep varies but it is usually a safe bet of 60 minutes within sleep.
The best method I have used, with clients as well, is to set your alarm clock 1 hour before you actually intend to wake up. So, for example, if you wish to wake up at 8, set your alarm for 7. The moment the alarm goes off, add an hour and go back to sleep. Upon your second awakening, you ought to have much more vivid dream recall.
In addition, according to biopsychologists like John Pinel (Link), humans need a minimum of 5.5 hours of sleep. The rest varies upon lifestyle and environment. It is actually the fact that most people say 7-8 as a result of the average amount of hours people sleep - not the healthy amount. In fact, it is a result of many studies that those who sleep 7.5 hours of sleep have longer life expectancies. (Link 1, Link 2).
Sincerely,
~
Oh, also if you want vivid dreams you must also consider your diet. Certain foods and nutrients can help or hurt dreams.
I find I am more likely to have a lucid dream if I get around 10-12 hours of sleep but not all at once. It works out best if I sleep for like 8 hours, wake up, go back to sleep for like 2 hours, wake up and then go back to sleep again. Or if I take a nap during the afternoon I can usually get by with like a 1 or 2 hour lap and have an LD.