Insomnia at night

Hello..

Just for notice, I am not a newbie at lucid dreaming. I´ve been doing it for a long time and I have done posting here too. But now I have a question that fits here very well for a couple of reasons. So here I go:

If I wake up for WBTB, MILD or WILD, I just cannot get back to sleep fast enough. Let´s take the WILDing problem as the main topic, cuz I usually try to WILD. This is what I usually do when I WILD:
I set the alarm clock to ring 4 hours after I have fallen asleep. When I wake up I usually turn around and reach to turn the alarm clock off. Then I find a position good for WILDing and after that.... I just cannot get back asleep for about 40min.

So what should I do to avoid that?

Can you try to WILD during a brief awakening (no alarm) or with a softer alarm instead? I usually have the same problem. And I can sympathize, because I'm developing insomnia and it took me 3.5 hours to fall asleep last night :shock: I'd say try to use maybe a cell phone on vibrate, and put it next to you on the bed or even in your sock (popular w/ people who need to wake up but not wake up others). Hopefully it will be enough to wake you, but not enough to get your heart rate fast or you really too awake. I've also read that some people take a warm shower during WBTB, to keep them sleepy but wake their mind up. I'd try that, too, and drinking something nice and warm.

It sounds backwards, but I have an easier time falling back into sleep if I get up out of bed and walk around a bit. It clears my head and makes my body more comfortable when I return to bed.

I would also suggest changing the timing of your alarm. Bump it 30 minutes in either direction to see what happens.

You need a software alarm, does it have a volume setting?

It's because of evolution. If the sleeping body hears a loud sound, in ancient times it may mean that the person would have to fight something off, so the body releases adrenaline to help wake you up. It also makes it hard to go back to sleep. That doesn't happen for a gentle awakening.

I suffer what I call processing insomnia. My mind processing so much background information it's hard to shut it down at night to go to sleep sometimes. I've actually had to develop mental relaxation techniques at night to slow it down which might help you too, just my 2 cents worth.

1. When you lay down get comfy, close your eyes, and begin to mentally imagine your muscles relaxing one by one. Effect: Deeper relaxation, helps you achieve a deep sleep less affected by waking stress

2. When trying to sleep focus on something outside your mind so your thoughts don't keep you awake. Breathing, maybe a clock ticking, focus on the silence (that is possible believe it or not). Effect: Keeps your mind from 'thinking' and firing too many brain cells used during waking life

3. Try to schedule what time you go to bed and WBTB to exact times as much as possible. Effect: Your body will eventually get used to it and even come to expect the WBTB wake-up call after a while

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Draydin

I suffer what I call processing insomnia. My mind processing so much background information it's hard to shut it down at night to go to sleep sometimes. I've actually had to develop mental relaxation techniques at night to slow it down which might help you too, just my 2 cents worth.

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Geez. That's exactly what happend to me! Often there's too much info running in my head and i did not think about them intentionally! They just keep popping out! Tried those relaxation technique such as the Progressive Relaxation, 61 Point Relaxation, Listening to those Lucid dream induction mp3 but it made me even more awake.

The guys here suggested that we should try to use softer alarm sound regarding the problem of waking up. Well i don't have a problem waking up at all. This 1 time i tried the finger induced lucid dream (FILD) method, set my alarm clock like 3 and a half hours after i went to bed and i managed to wake up 13 minutes before the alarm went on! The same thing happend most of the time when i tried to do a WBTB technique. So i canceled my alarm and tried the FILD, and it just made me even more awake. Frustrated, i check the clock and it has been 1 hour since i tried it!. Then had to scrap the whole FILD idea and just listened to some lucid induction mp3. Still not working and by this time i'm already fully awake. I'm so sleep-deprived.

Some would say that it would be best to exercise during the day to help you sleep better during the night. Well i went to 3 aikido classes, 2 of them from 8.00-9.30 pm and on weekends from 11.30am-1.00pm. I even played soccer and futsal like twice a week.

So could someone here please help me out. I've been trying to get a lucid dream but haven't been able to do so. Some other methods perhaps? Anything.

Thanks in advance.

An alarm that shuts off by itself would help. Also maybe set it to six hours instead of four, maybe you're just not tired enough!

Sure. Just some questions. Should it really be 6 hours? Is that like the standard operating procedures? I mean like never before anybody attempted a WBTB less than 6 hours being successful? If that's the case, then darn it. The reason i tried waking up 3-4 hours after sleep is that the percentage of going back to sleep is somewhere around 50%. If it's after 6 hours and the percentage would only be around 10%-20%. Any suggestions?

I, too, have a hard time falling back to sleep after 6 hours. Especially if I am anxious to wake up to an alarm in a few hours. It is like my anxiety about needing to fall asleep keeps me from being able to fall asleep, if that makes sense.

On weekdays, when I have to wake up and go to work, I try to do a WBTB after only 4 hours of sleep. On a lazy weekend (where have they all gone, lately? :( ) I will do it after 6 hours.

Just experiment to find what works best for you :)