New to LD, before I start, is there any way to stop it once you've learned it?

Hi, my friend recently really got into Lucid Dreaming and told me about it. I myself have actually been experiencing lucid dreaming on and off naturally during my whole life, but not very often. Reading up on Lucid Dreaming I feel that it would be really cool to learn and master and I know I would enjoy it so much, however I'm a little afraid to get started.

I've read that some people say that lucid dreaming makes your sleeping less efficient, that you need to sleep for more or you get tired if you spend the night Lucid Dreaming instead of normal dreaming. I feel that this side-effect is acceptable however I'm afraid that once I learn to lucid dream I will automatically do it every night and will be unable to "turn it off", therefor permanently reducing the effectiveness of my sleeping.

So is there any way to stop lucid dreaming at any point, or is it like a permanent skill that is very hard to unlearn? Because I can imagine it being hard to stop doing since you cant "un-realize" that you are dreaming once you're in a dream.

Most people lucid dream in their later REM stages, so they've already had plenty of deep sleep and REM before this. So you shouldn't feel tired :) And if you do, I think it would be on a rare occasion.

If you want to stop (which I doubt you will) just stop practicing and thinking about it. It will dwindle and eventually stop.

:D

Hi Drawmly, welcome to DV!

You know, I bet everybody here wishes it was a permanent skill, I know I do. In fact, lucid dreaming is something you have to work hard for, and even then you may not be dreaming as much as you would wish.
For one type of lucid dreams - DILDs, you have to practice during day. The other main type, WILD, you have to actively try to get it. So if you want to stop LDing, just stop practicing and trying.

Every time I wake up from a lucid, I feel exhilarated and energized, just from pure excitement. I didn't notice being more tired on nights with LDs. If you wake up in the middle of the night and stay up for a while to attempt a WILD, that may disrupt your sleeping pattern and you may be more tired in the morning. But you don't have to do that, or you try on days when you can sleep in. And many feel, that being a little tired is a fair tradoff for a LD. So, you have nothing to loose and lots to gain.

Good place to start is DV Wiki, where you can pick an induction technique that strikes your fancy. Post any questions you have. Happy dreams:)

In the book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge he explained that once you wish to stop lucid dreaming you will stop. He also states that lucid dreaming takes effort (So if you don't try to lucid dream there's a very little chance you will.) He also explains that lucid dreaming is just as restful as normal dreaming, and you should practice and learn lucid dreaming when you have energy and the time to do so. If you want to learn about this I highly recommend this book. The pages that he explains this in is on page 29, and page 33.

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Originally Posted by Drawmly

since you cant "un-realize" that you are dreaming once you're in a dream.

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On the contrary, just that thing has cut many a lucid dream short (like, probably a majority). Lucid dreams won't reduce the restorative effect of your sleep, and even so, if you were to stop trying you would find that they stop coming fairly quickly.

Thanks for all the answers :) The reason I was a little afraid was because I've had a few Lucid Dreams without any effort put into it at all, but I guess that is just a rare occasion.
Thanks for all the tips on how to get started as well, I will probably do a bit of more reading up on it and then give it a try :)

Welcome to DV's. As Supernova said staying lucid isn't exactly always easy. There is usually some level of clear effort and focus to remain lucid in a dream, otherwise it will carry back into a normal one.