I Have Returned With Questions!

HARRO!

Been about a year and a half since I was on here last and I thank god for all those Dry! We Miss You! Emails the site automatically sends because its brought me back and im more excited then ever to try and improve this skill.

When i first found out about LD's and how they were attainable i was exstatic, i read up a whole ton of things and found myself here. The first night i remember perfectly, i realized i was dreaming and was standing in an alleyway, i flipped out all excited and said to myself, "oh my god im in a lucid dream" and attempted to spin my dream but lost it.

The next night I attempted to head into SP. Im almost positive i was successful, but i was totally aware which makes me think i wasn't. I was lying there for what seemed to be the longest time and eventually my entire body went numb, my heart started to race and it was hard to move my body but wasnt impossible. The only problem I have with this is that i would continually produce saliva and whenever i went to swallow it i felt that my focus would be pushed back, like my brain realized that i was still awake.

How do you guys cope with excess saliva when attempting to attain SP?

How many LD's did it take you to realize and then calm down enough to have some fun in it?

I myself have trouble with the saliva problem, so I can't answer that.

For the second question, I think my first long LD was my third(a WILD)(first 2 were DILD). It was about maybe 7 minutes. Which is my longest so far. But I'm always far from calm while LD'ing. Always super exciting for me to realize I'm dreaming.

Edit: Oh yeah, in the WILD I tried to fly but failed. Still fun though.

Sorry I don't have an answer for your last question (I've only had two LDs, both where I realized I was dreaming and was able to stay mostly lucid and in the dreams), but I just had to reply; I have the same saliva issue as you sometimes. It can be very annoying when you're intent on doing this thing, but you have to keep swallowing - but you have to try not to get annoyed at that, or it'll just make it worse. It's an annoying cycle :?

Anyway, here are some facts about saliva from Wikipedia and other places:

Italic = them

Non italic = me

The production of saliva is stimulated both by the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic.

The saliva stimulated by sympathetic innervation is thicker, and saliva stimulated parasympathetically is more watery.

While sleeping, salivary flow drops to almost zero.

Part of the nervous system controls how much saliva is made and released.

From what I understand, the state of 'resting' can cause the saliva to be produced in the parasympathetic nervous system.

You may be making more saliva or you may have more saliva in your mouth because you are not swallowing it normally.

That's why it just gets worse to the point you just have to swallow, thus breaking your concentration.

I also read that asthma/allergies/sinuses and acid reflux/tummy issues could cause it.

If you seem to have too much saliva, drink a tea of one of the following: white oak bark, goldenseal root, or bayberry.

I also found where some asked how to stop 'slobbering at night'; the answer was:

"You are breathing with your mouth open at night. Probably because of allergies. doctors are saying it is dangerous and leads to early heart attacks but I am 71 and heart is in great shape. What I found works the best is to put on one of those plastic nose strips before bed. I also Use a Vicks inhaler and take a couple of sinutabs sometimes."

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Kind of annoying that I can't find a definitive answer.

well when im get into SP and i have Saliva building up i simply turn on my stomach before i lay down and put some tissue near my mouth and let it run free, or lay like you normally do and add neck support using a towel or a pillow

Yeah, I always have both of your problems. For the first, I try to breath through my nose and that seems to help out a lot. If your nose is a little stuffed then keep nasal spray by your bedside.
As for your other question, I find that doing nothing and taking it all in when you first become aware is the best way of remaining calm. I do this, gather all of my thoughts and then do what I set out to do. Rubbing your hand and/or spinning does help stabilize dreams so I really dont know why it awoke you. But do what I mentioned above and you will see that your dreams will last a little bit longer than they are.