Whats the best thing to do when first going to bed?

Hello everyone,

I'm a student, so i follow a rather strict schedule (ie awake from at least 7am till 12pm). This means i go to bed around 12 each night, and wake up around 7.

As I understand it, your first REM phase occurs roughly 4.5 hours after you first fall asleep? Please correct any errors in my understanding.
After this we experience a few REM phases again, about 1.5 hours in between.

From this, it would seem the best would be to wake up around 4.5 hours after you first go to bed and then attempt to WILD, and subsequently every 1.5 hours after that?

My question, actually, however, is what to do when you first go to sleep? Theres no point in attempting a WILD then, is there? Should i re-affirm to Reality Check in my dreams once I get there? Should i just fall asleep naturally?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks :)

Your REM period timing is off. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep#Stages_of_sleep , maybe google image search and take a look at some graphs.

Since you can dream in NREM, you can try to WILD whenever you want. It's also possible to have REM-onset sleep. Napping ahead of time may make WILDing when you first go to bed for the night easier, as NREM sleep may be taken care of and this could let you jump straight into REM sleep.

The best thing to do when first going to sleep depends on the technique you want to use. For VILD, start visualizing. For HIT, watch out for your HH. For regular WILDs, do whatever works to keep your mind busy or allow you to enter sleep paralysis. For DILD methods, it's different. For MILD, visualize the last dream you had, and follow that technique. For autosuggestion, repeat your mantra. For dreamsigns, go through a list of your dreamsigns and visualize them, telling yourself to remember to reality check for them (mild, basically). Really, depends on the technique that you're going to try.

Your post is very helpful and informative, Shift. Thank you, I'll be sure to check out a few of those techniques you mentioned.

I do, however, still ask one question. I quote from Stephen LaBerge's Exploring the World of Lucid Dreams.

"If you find that you sleep too deeply to awaken from your dreams, try setting an alarm clock to
awaken you at a time when you are likely to be dreaming. Since REM periods occur at
approximately ninety-minute intervals, good times will be multiples of ninety minutes from
your bedtime. Aim for the later REM periods by setting the alarm to go off at four and a half,
six, or seven and a half hours after you go to sleep."

This was re-affirmed on Wikipedia, at the site you linked in your post. As far as I understand, REM occurs every 90 minutes (approx.), but the first few are rather short in comparison to the later ones. This is why i should skip waking up the first few 90 minute cycles and aim for 4.5 hrs, 6 hrs and 7.5 hrs. Is this correct?

I could then, in all probability, begin training myself to wake up after 3, 4.5, and 6 and 7.5 hours of sleep. I ask this, because my natural ability to wake up after a dream seems to be shot. It could be numerous things in my life, so i am trying to train my mind to wake up after each dream period. Hopefully with time I wont need the alarms any more.

Is this realistic?

REM follows the general pattern you described, but is a little different for everyone. Start paying attention to the time when you wake up briefly in the middle of the night. You could even keep a little list or chart to help you pin down when your dreams normally happen.

When you first go to bed, try some autosuggestion. I repeat to myself a few times, "I will wake after every dream and write it down." Or, "I will remember all my dreams." Or on nights when I'm going to WILD, I say to myself, "I will wake up at 3:00 (or whenever) and do a WBTB." I imagine myself doing it, so it is locked in my prospective memory. Just reaffirm your intentions, and remember to remember to stick to your plan.

You could also tell yourself something like, "The next thing I see will be a dream." I normally save that for later in the night, after a WBTB. I find that even DILDs early in the night are very unsatisfying and difficult for me to remember.

It is also helpful to read through some old dreams before you go to bed. This can help you get excited, and remember that dreamy feeling.

I have often tried to tell myself to even just remember my dreams, not even to realise i am dreaming. At the moment im trying very hard just to get my recall up.

The problem is i dont recall waking up through the night at all. Im going to try and set an alarm for every 2 or 3 hours tonight.

I'll also try visualising myself waking up and writing my dreams, instead of reciting it...Maybe the visualisation will help.

Thanks for the comments :)