Thread: Too many Reality Checks?

I've searched across this site, and I've not found a conclusive answer to my question...

How many Reality Checks is too many?
I've read that doing Reality Checks often can carry over into your dream, causing you to become lucid. However I've also read that if you do too many or it becomes so "habitual" that you don't really think about it, when it's performed in the dream it's not as effective. So how often should I do a Reality Check?

I dont think you can do it too much. The trick with reality checks is to genuinely question reality.
Its very easy to go "Am I dreaming? Hmm, no" but the most important thing is to think about the question, take a moment to look around, check things are as they should be, consider the possibility that this could be a dream.
When you are dreaming, you will think "That flying banana looks completely normal" You will not even consider it to be a dream. If you have got into a habit of doing reality checks without really thinking about it, then you will probably one again do a RC and not even realise.

The more you do it, the more chance you will do it in your dream, but its the way you do a reality check that is important.

Oh, okay. That makes sense.
Also, what are some techniques? I know a few, such as looking at a clock, looking away, then imagining the numbers change and looking back, and the holding your nose to see if you can still breathe one. And also questioning how you got where you are and what you're doing there. Are there any others?

Unrelated: Your signature gave me a scare. I was like, "OMGWTF WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Click here>>> Reality Checks for a good list of things you can do.
But remember that its different for everyone because dreams are personal things. The advice I gave you was only what works for me.

I only do it on the odd occasion. When I feel tired, I do it just to check I am not already sleeping. I usually feel tired in my dreams, so this works quite well. I also do it when something unexpected happens, like if I hear a sudden loud noise or I see something strange.

Also, when you do a RC, expect it to fail. Usually when you expect something to happen in a dream, it will happen.

Okay, thanks guys! You're really helpful.

I do a lot of reality checks, probably about one every 15 minutes. I make myself seriously question it every time, but it gets a bit sickening.

Sometimes, when stressed or something, I'll do what I consider too many. Obsessively talking to myself:

"are you dreaming? are you dreaming?"
"no"
"how do you know?"
"because i fucking know"
"but how do you know?"
"because i remember everything that happened. I'm aware, i know how i got here, all of this is real, detailed, i'm cold. i wouldn't be cold if this were a dream. my hands look normal. the clock is the same. okay? happy?"
"but that can happen in a dream, so you don't really know..."

It is literally like a dialog with myself, as happens to me often. But I've been annoying myself with this 'are you dreaming' thing a lot lately. A couple days ago, I was stressed after school, and I swear an exchange similar to what I described above would occur in my head about every 60 seconds. It got so frustrating, it wasn't fun or exciting anymore, just annoying. I think in this case, there can be too many reality checks.

When it gets to that point, you need to change how you reality check. I used to be like that, too, and never got lucid. Try this, instead.

"Am I dreaming?"
At this point, pretend you are in a dream, and the only way you will become lucid is by doing a conclusive reality check.
Look around the room and check if anything is out of the ordinary. (This is mainly just to increase your awareness)
Once you feel you are aware of your environment, do a reality check. I don't like the clock check because it never worked for me. What has worked consistently for me is the nose plug RC.

Before you do the RC, establish that if you can breathe in, you're dreaming. This ensures that you don't draw the wrong conclusion from the reality check.

Also, if you can remember very recently doing a reality check, don't do one. Only do them when you can't remember how you got to the place you're at in the span of time since your last reality check.

I wouldn't really create a time for it. Like "I'll do a reality check once an hour", just whenever something odd happens or you just feel like doing one. And yeah, you need to do it a few times. Sometimes in dreams you can do reality checks several times but nothing will have changed, so try and make sure that when you do it you really question reality,

As long as you are being genuinely mindful, there is no limit. Make sure you are really taking a moment to study yourself and your surroundings to see if you are dreaming.

Dianeva, not to boast or anything but if doing it every 15 minutes makes it sickening, imagine reminding yourself that you are dreaming with every breath you take, I tried this for a couple days and then stopped as my main focus is the WILD method which does not require reality checks or reminders.

The main problem of obsessively doing too many standard RCs, is that this is what will eventually cause the RC to temporarily stop working properly for you.