How exactly does one WILD when napping?

**Martz** · 01-21-2013 06:26 PM

I understand during the night after around 5-6 hours of sleep and attempting one in conjunction with a WBTB, but how about after having already been awake for several hours. I tend to wake up on weekends around 9:30 AM or so, depends on the schedule for the day. Naps for me tend to be usually around 2:00 PM. Sometimes it is quite bright in the room and there doesn't seem to be the night-time "sleepiness" I figure you would need to have a dream. This might also pose another question for me, is there really REM sleep during naps? At least most of the time for me, there doesn't seem to be any true sleep but just an idle closing of my eyes and when sleep occurs, it tends to be light sleep. Perhaps I am not napping long enough for a normal DILD.

I try to place some fabric over my eyes to cover them from the light, afterward I just relax like normal but end up getting stuck after the normal steps. I am aware sleep paralysis isn't totally necessary for it to work, but at least for naps it seems to be one way for me to actively engage in trying to succeed in it.

**cmind** · 01-21-2013 10:40 PM

Not everyone can WILD in the afternoon. :shrug:

**Martz** · 01-22-2013 12:56 AM

I guess so, maybe there isn't much to do... I was wondering if there is anyone with a similar predicament or perhaps some help or advice.

**gab** · 01-22-2013 01:23 AM

I do use naps to WILD. Biggest success, when nap si no longer than 3hrs after I wake up in the morning. Some people do claim having LDs in afternoon naps. I did have twice, but I feel, for me at least, it's an exception, rather than a rule.

If I fail, it's most often because I don't fall asleep. So if you not sleepy enough to fall asleep, you are not gonna have a LD, becasue as you say, you do need to sleep to LD.

Sleep mask does help, also using different place than your usuall place to sleep. I use sofa. It's just another way to tell your mind, that you doing something else than normal sleep. I watch TV untill I get sleepy or falling asleep and then I start to WILD.

**Martz** · 01-22-2013 01:34 AM

Thanks for the information. I will probably try napping in a darker location instead of my usual room where there always is a ton of light shining through the window. I think maybe if I tried napping earlier it might progress a bit better. I just wonder when people say WILD works well during naps. The impression I always got was attempting relaxation and transition from the get-go, even after already having been awake for a few hours. It didn't seem likely, at least for me without having had prior sleep like in the early morning.

**gab** · 01-22-2013 01:41 AM

There are some recent posts, that explain the nap versus night time REM.

At night, we need to go through NREM, in which the body recovers and regenerates. At nap time, body knows it's extra sleep, so doesn't go through NREM, but goes straight into REM. (After short falling asleep light sleep).

But if there is too many hours between waking up in the morning and nap, if it could be taken as next night time sleep, then there is NREM again, even if we think it's a nap.

**Martz** · 01-22-2013 01:45 AM

That could be it, I just wonder how many hours awake is too many before it simply becomes NREM sleep again. Of course ideally, naps would be a great source of REM sleep during the day time, learning my specific cycles though will probably take some time. I may be waking up too early and napping too late.

**Darkmatters** · 01-22-2013 02:03 AM

I believe the grace period can be as long as 6 or 7 hours, after which the REM cycle resets itself. Of course, being an organic cycle it isn't precise, and I'm just trying to remember what I read about this in the past, so I could be off, but you at least have several good hours in the morning.