Any way to tell if one is still in REM state?

I woke up this AM... and wanted to do more dreaming...
especially after having had only two mediocre dreams. like with weird little worms in them and a boring box of random books. i wanted more, more, more!

but wasn't sure if i should or not.
i wish i knew if i was still in the REM state.
is there ever a clue?

i could probably have "induced" an extra round of sleep to go for dream goodies! but on some days i would rather get up if i had some clues that i was wasting my time...

am i blowing smoke to even attempt to try this?

if others do, what is their quick ten minute or so method? (i gave up about a half hour only to discover my REM period was over. so that's why I'm asking.)

PS (side bar question) so far my impression is that REM cannot be voluntarily induced... but then i hear all this talk about using sound and light machines.... but i guess they would only work if you are in your REM period.

thanks,
bg~~~

Well.... I would imagine that because it's Rapid Eye Movement sleep, you might be able to see their eyes twitching from outside the lids.

Well I have heard of people going right into REM from being awake. I believe you can go into REM at any moment, it is just hard to control it. Usually when you wake up, if you are good, you can DEILD and go right back into a dream. It is good to kind of plot out when your REM periods are. Like next time you wake up right from a dream, write down how long you had been sleeping. It could help.

I've never found a way to induce REM at will. Drugs or changes to your routine can mess with your sleep cycles, but beyond that, it is pretty much out of your control. Even most WILD methods rely on you just staying aware and waiting for your next REM cycle to hit.

hi eppy,

thanks for your insights.... hmmmm..... intersesting... so, how would knowing how long i have been sleeping for help? do you plot out your REM periods? i would love to plot mine out. what would a plot look like?

robot butler, your answer explains why WILDing takes different amounts of time each session?

and in general why sometimes i think it is easier to DIELD or WILD than others. and why i think our dreams get less vivid perhpas at the end, we are leaving our REM state, perhaps?

ah... what to do, what to do?

<grin>

thanks,
bg~~~