Finally Joined the Forum

[Emerald Wolf]

I learned about Lucid Dreams sometime last year and was excited at the prospect of being able to have them myself (in fact I had a semi-lucid dream before then involving me falling into a deep river and noticing that I could breathe underwater). Sadly I lacked the determination to put enough effort into keeping a dream journal and do regular Reality Checks and kind of forgot about it. So now I've picked it up again with a bit more resolve which is why I joined the forum. So far my problem is that I feel as if I take too long to fall asleep at night (can't stop my bloody inner monologing). How long does it take the average person to fall asleep? Also I have a basic understanding of sleep cycles (90-100 mins each with 5 phases, longer REM cycles close to morning), but how long does the first REM last and how much does it increase by every cycle? Lastly are there any recomendations as to what induction technique I should use? I get that everybody has differing success with different methods, but is there any correlation to personal attributes and which method works best for that person?

[NeAvO]

Welcome to the forum Emerald. Nice avie by the way Well it takes me about 20 mins to get to sleep if I reallly try however some days I have off days where I can't sleep but fortunately they are rare. The first dream period (REM period) is about 90 mins into sleeping and it lasts about 10 mins. Then next dream periods are roughly 45 mins long. Each period is seperated by 90 mins roughly. There is a Tutorials Section as well to help. Also get on with your dream journal

[Clairity]

Emerald, welcome to Dream Views! I also average about 20 minutes or so to fall asleep. Other than that, NeAvO pretty much said it all! oh, and I like your avatar as well!

[GestaltAlteration]

Welcome to dreamviews! I average 30 minutes. The best REM periods start after about 5-6 hours of sleep, and ideal REM is after 8 hours. By then REM can last over an hour, and the periods between REM sleep decreases. As for technique, I would suggest getting your recall as high as you can and vividness. This is done through the dream journal, so on. Personally I started with WBTB/MILD.

[Wavefunction]

Welcome to dreamviews! I average 30 minutes. The best REM periods start after about 5-6 hours of sleep, and ideal REM is after 8 hours. By then REM can last over an hour, and the periods between REM sleep decreases. As for technique, I would suggest getting your recall as high as you can and vividness. This is done through the dream journal, so on. Personally I started with WBTB/MILD. Cool, a graph Anyway, to Dreamviews! You have a cool avatar. Feel free to post if you have any questions, and we'll help out as best we can

[Emerald Wolf]

Thanks for the information. I've recently (past 4 days) also made some small changes to my sleeping patterns, mostly dimming the lights an hour or so before going to sleep, stoped drinking coffee, generally being more enthusiastic about dreaming, etc. Now I'm finding that whereas I've normally been prone to oversleeping I seem to wake up 3-4 hours before I planed to. [To bed at 9:30 to 5:30, waking at 2:00]. Which seems nice since I can try WBTB, but I'm having trouble getting back to sleep and feel like I'm spending the rest of the early morning half-awake. Any advice? (Glad the avatars likeable, given that it was edited in MS-Paint)

[Wavefunction]

Thanks for the information. I've recently (past 4 days) also made some small changes to my sleeping patterns, mostly dimming the lights an hour or so before going to sleep, stoped drinking coffee, generally being more enthusiastic about dreaming, etc. Now I'm finding that whereas I've normally been prone to oversleeping I seem to wake up 3-4 hours before I planed to. [To bed at 9:30 to 5:30, waking at 2:00]. Which seems nice since I can try WBTB, but I'm having trouble getting back to sleep and feel like I'm spending the rest of the early morning half-awake. Any advice? (Glad the avatars likeable, given that it was edited in MS-Paint) I find that the HILD technique makes me very sleepy. So if you're going to wake up a 2:00, try it. Here's the link. And hey, there's nothing wrong with good ol' paint