Newbie here, just accomplished a (sketchy) WILD yesterday morning and I'm eager to learn more about this stuff. As a professional nerd, teenager, and amateur novelist, the possibilities are endless for what I could do with this technique. As you'd expect, I have a few questions.

First off, brain exercise. I assume lucid dreaming works the brain at least slightly more than normal dreaming, seeing as the conscious mind is more actively involved in the process. So is this a good way to expand the speed and general ability of one's brain?

Second, the speed. I remember reading somewhere that a dream is generally no more than a minute or two, but I've read elsewhere that this was a myth. Fueled by the awesome movie that was Inception, what's the correct length and speed of a normal dream compared to real time?

Lastly, what's a good way to immerse myself better in the dream? I had a tough time concentrating on the dream yesterday and I want to be able to sustain them longer and experience them more vividly.