Odd sleep cycles -- dreams twenty minutes after entering first cycle

Hey gang,

So I'm a big reader of lucid dreaming material and sleep studies, and most of what I have found suggests that the first dream of the night is short (5-10 minutes) and that, in general, sleep cycles last around 90 minutes, with the first cycle of the night being comprised mostly of NREM 2 and 3 (delta).

I have also learned, from keeping a dream journal and drinking water before bed, that I may not conform to this common knowledge.

I was lucid last night in the first dream of the night, but had trouble initially falling asleep. At one point I may have woken up in NREM sleep (I think, anyway, it was just blackness and my memory of it is really sketchy) and then I felt like I was awake. I sat up on my sleeping bag and did an RC, and realized I was dreaming. The dream was very short, and somewhat sinister, and I seemed to awaken naturally out of it. I lied down in bed around 12:20, and woke up around 12:45 or so.

So my question is, does anyone else feel like this happens to them? This was a my shortest sleep cycle to date, and I think it had something to do with already being somewhat wakeful, but in general, my first cycle is only 45 minutes long. I've experienced this multiple times, so I feel I can say it with some certainty.

Also, in case anyone was curious, I practiced SSILD a lot last night (first night of this) and had one LD, and several false awakenings, one which could have been a lucid dream if I had allowed it to stabilize first). Let me hear your thoughts!

I think we lucid dreamers can defy the boundaries of traditional dream cycles. I've seen reports from people around having lds at all possible times of sleep (me including). It's always very exciting when it happens. :)

I experience this alot ThreeCat, Ill become Lucid almost every night in the first dreams, but I can only remember the first moment of the dream, and thats when I became lucid. But you are right, those first dreams are really short, and generally I wake up for a few seconds after them and then fall back asleep immediatly. Maybe we could dilate time in those first dreams of the night in order to enjoy them if we do become lucid.