Concerning REM cycles

Hey guys, Wolfe here; I figured I'd shot out my first big question about developing lucid dreaming skills:

So I've been reading about dream recall and REM cycles, especially how one way to improve dream recall is to periodically wake oneself up around the anticipated REM end-stage and record the dream you just woke from, repeating the process throughout the night.

Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere, but I've read that this method of short intervals of sleep is actually a healthier alternative to extended, 8 hour periods of rest. Is this true, or will the interrupted sleep cycles pose potential health risks?

Thanks for any info!

I'm not sure about any health risks but for WBTB, it's best to wake up 4-6 hours after going to sleep to improve recall. If a person, on average, needs 8 hours of sleep then I don't see how it would pose as any risk

Ah, you will be perfectly fine. There are no health risks involved with performing WBTBs. There many different types of sleep cycles out there. You may be referring to a polyphasic sleep cycle. It is where you sleep several times throughout the day as opposed to the usual once per day. I am not sure of the details exactly, but I have known many dreamers over the years who used a polyphasic sleep schedule.