Alcohol and LD

[carlpodeyn]

I'm new to this site and haven't gone through everyting - so I apologize up front if I'm re-hashing old material... In my teens (before I started drinking heavily) I was able to control my dreams on a regular basis. Though the dreams were typically evil and scary in nature, I was able to recognize I was dreaming and work out a sort of resolution until I woke up. Now (many years later) I can't realize I've dreamt until AFTER I've awoke. I'm able to fly, etc. (the common aspects of LD) while asleep, but don't realize I was sleeping until I awaken. I'm just curious if any thoughtful people out there have a theory about the capacity of the brain and what can be destroyed with alcohol (or other drugs) that we haven't thought about. I have more than thirteen different theories about what I've wasted with my abuse - but they're mostly goofy (aliens, Atlantiens, alternate dimensions and the like...). I'd really love an honest discussion of this topic. -Carl BTW - I'm going to check this out on a regular basis - I hope this topic excites discussion.

[nayrki]

Personally, i think alchohol helps LD. The rationale: Alchohol is a depressant. It keeps you asleep. It also puts you to sleep faster. This could help WILDing, as well as generally helping your dreams become unrational, and thus susceptible to reality checks.

[LensBaby]

I agree with nayrki about depressents possibly helping one's ability to LD. However, you say you drank heavily,presumably for an extended period of time-how old are you? how long did you drink?-and i definately believe that could damage or even destroy the brain cells you so desprately need to LD. It is, after all, a learned skill. Usually. Damaging your brain cells could have made you forget how to LD. But who knows? Maybe you just need a little practice. After all, I'm sure everyone would need a little time to recover from the past you've had. Give yourself some time to try and figure things out. Also, did you use techniques before, or was it just natural? Maybe you should take a look at the tutorials and see if anything can improve your situation! hope this helps.

[Michael]

From my experience, alcohol in moderation (once-twice a week) will give you more vivid dreams on those drunken nights, and often lucid. BUT, if you are on a long binge, or are an alcoholic, it will greatly decrease your dream recall and any control at all. It is kinda proven to affect your dream recall negatively if used excessively. BTW, if you are drinking heavy, for a long period of time, stop for a while. Just some advice from someone who has seen a lot of alcoholics. Also, if you find that you can't stop drinking until you are hammered, stop and think about your situation...

[Redrivertears]

Hey there, Additionally, remember that while alcohol might induce sleep more rapidly, alcohol is also one of those things that lowers your consciousness and awareness. Even awake, when you're drunk, you're much less conscious then normally, and much more prone to acting on whatever impulse comes to your mind. So I would think if alcohol already lowers your consciousness in waking life, its going to make it even harder during dreams to increase your consciousness. Just my 2 cents, -Redrivertears-

[Adam]

I have found when I have a couple of glasses of red wine with my dinner or something, usually my dreams are more vivid and alive. I don't know of your tollerance for alcohol, I can usually drink a lot, so a couple of glasses doesn't really have too much affect on me. I don't think it is bad for sleep, unless you are steaming drunk. Or is your question more on past drinking affecting your sleep as you get older?

[Seeker]

While it's true alcohol can increase vividness of dreams, I've found that it pretty much wrecks your chances to get lucid. True, alcohol is a depressent, in fact it depresses REM sleep during the first part of the night when it is in your system. Your body compensates with a REM rebound in the early morning. Everyone is different, but my personal experience is more than two drinks will ruin my chances of an LD.

[Adam]

Yeah I stick to a couple too Seeker. And maybe this is why I have more success with WBTB/WILD because of the REM rebound in the early mornings?

[Seeker]

Yeah I stick to a couple too Seeker. And maybe this is why I have more success with WBTB/WILD because of the REM rebound in the early mornings? Maybe, I have had LDs after drinking too much, but they have not really been great. Kind of fuzzy and low control. I've sworn off all alcohol for the next couple of months to see if I can get my lucidity back on track. (And for health reasons! )

[Adam]

I too have been thinking about cutting back on alcohol - Although I don't drink stupid amounts, like maybe 2/3 times a week, sometimes it does get out of hand.. But that is another discussion for another day. *back on topic*

[Seeker]

I too have been thinking about cutting back on alcohol - Although I don't drink stupid amounts, like maybe 2/3 times a week, sometimes it does get out of hand.. But that is another discussion for another day. *back on topic* Sounds like an experiment to me I've tracked all my lucid dreams for about 1.5 years in my signature so I've got a pretty good baseline to evaluate from.

[jamous]

I typically sleep alot harder after drinking and therefore dream alot less