A few questions

[Scratch]

Hello all! I've been half-seriously trying to LD since two years now, and I had a few really short ones, but I still have some questions. I would search these instead of ask, but the search function almost never shows the answer to my question. About WILDing/WBTB, I have tried both of them and I just can't seem to be able to do it. If I don't fall asleep and I am lucky, at some point I start to feel suddenly like my whole body is relaxing (dunno how else to explain it), and like I am somehow floating or falling down into the matress, but that's all. After that I either fall asleep or move by mistake and it's all ruined. So the question is, is it possible to not enter SP at all or at least to not feel or hear anything weird, so that I just don't know when I enter it? Also, my whole life I've had trouble sleeping. I usually always needed more than an hour to fall asleep, and now since I moved to a new country and live alone it's even harder for me, very rarely fall asleep in less than an hour and that only if I am really tired, and sometimes it can take even 2-3 hours. I tried to think of LDs during that time (I don't watch TV or listen to music during that time or anything) but at some point it just gets really frustrating and boring. Could this insomnia affect my LDing in any way? Thenabout the DJ. I tried to keep one, but then I always give up because I either forget most details of the dream before I finish writing them (even if I do that during the night), or if I write with less details and read again in the morning, it just makes no sense and I can't remember it anymore; it's something like "civilisation of trees - it has been like this before" and it sounds as random to me as to you when you will be reading this. Has anyone had a similar problem? And then I was also wondering, I know that the things we eat can affect them as well. I haven't been eating any meat at all, not even fish, since six years, and I eat a lot of sweets - especially chocolate - and drink about 1 litre of Coca Cola daily. Could this have an impact on them as well? Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post. XD

[Stryke]

First I need to address your eating habits. I dont know why your not eating meat but I assume its a personal choice that your not willing to change so all I can say is make sure your getting all the vitamines you need that you would normally get from meat. Also, eating so much sweets and so much soday is very unhealthy, and I'm sure that overload of processed sugars is what's making it difficult for you to fall asleep. The good thing is I wouldn't really consider this "insomnia" quite yet. I suffered from insomnia for a long time, and I reached the point where i would stay awake for 3 or 4 days at a time, that can lead to severe stress and even hallucinations. I started to diet and drastically changed my eating habits and I developed a routine where I spend a few minutes meditating every morning just after I wake up and every evening before I go to sleep. Now I have a normal sleep pattern and my dreams are as vivid as can be, and I am improving my lucidity every day. I was able to change and my case was VERY severe so dont lose hope. Since your still a minor case you have a great chance at improving your sleep with sime work Good luck

[Scratch]

^Yes, I'm nto eating meat because of my own choice. I think I am getting enough vitamins, at least blood tests showed that. Well I just called it "insomnia" for lack of a better word, I don't know if that's how it would be called. And eating all that crap might be making me not sleep -though I am sure there are also other reasons for it, as it's been like this pretty much my whole life-, but would it affect LDing?

[Telemachus]

I too have had problems with insomnia in the past, and regulating my eating/sleep schedules with addition to taking a Melatonin supplement (natural sleep aid) has significantly helped me cut the time it takes to nod off. Although I can't say that this has helped me get more LDs, who couldn't use a few more hours of sleep? In regard to the dream journal dilemma, don't give up. Even if your dream recall is poor, keep practicing. If you feel that you can't remember anything, make an effort to put down something (feelings that you felt as you awakened, the impression you got from the dream, etc.) Having something on the page will give a psychological boost if nothing else. In the past few months my recall has improved from zero to around two dreams a night, so don't give up hope Edit: Keep in mind that Coca-Cola is high in caffeine, which is a big sleep killer. I'd buy the non-caffeinated variety if possible, and try to cut down on sugar before sleep.