Fan on or off?

[Matt1]

I always sleep with a fan on for white noise and I find it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep with it off. Will having it on detract from trying to WILD in any way?

[JoannaB]

I successfully WILD'ed with a fan on the other day, and I am a person who does not fall asleep easily and is easily distracted, so there is nothing inherently wrong with a fan. It is all about your perception of the fan: is the fan successful at being white noise for you - if you are used to it, you should not be bothered by it; if you are bothered by it, do you wait until you have gotten so used to it that it no longer bothers you, or do you turn the fan off? Is your being bothered by the fan while trying to WILD really about the fan at all? Or is it that you are frustrated by lack of success and trying too hard, and your mind has focused on the fan as a scapegoat mechanism - it's the fan's fault. If this is the case then turning off the fan might not help because then your mind might find another culprit, such as your breathing for example (and you cannot turn off your breathing to WILD, but it may appear distracting). If I were you I would try to accept the fan. Don't worry, you shall succeed at WILD with or without the fan.

[Phased]

When I WILD I use a fan as an anchor, I concentrate on that and when I start hearing distortion a that dot sound very normal I know I am entering early stages of HI. The sounds are usually first for me, they may not be to you though.

[paigeyemps]

I, too, use the fan sound as white noise when I try to WILD. I don't see why you should turn it off if it's helping you stay asleep. And if it's doing that, it can put you in a better mindset for WILD, so that is a good thing in itself. Cheers

[Matt1]

I successfully WILD'ed with a fan on the other day, and I am a person who does not fall asleep easily and is easily distracted, so there is nothing inherently wrong with a fan. It is all about your perception of the fan: is the fan successful at being white noise for you - if you are used to it, you should not be bothered by it; if you are bothered by it, do you wait until you have gotten so used to it that it no longer bothers you, or do you turn the fan off? Is your being bothered by the fan while trying to WILD really about the fan at all? Or is it that you are frustrated by lack of success and trying too hard, and your mind has focused on the fan as a scapegoat mechanism - it's the fan's fault. If this is the case then turning off the fan might not help because then your mind might find another culprit, such as your breathing for example (and you cannot turn off your breathing to WILD, but it may appear distracting). If I were you I would try to accept the fan. Don't worry, you shall succeed at WILD with or without the fan. Thanks. I actually have been putting about 95% of my efforts so far into DILD, but after some experiences with HI and one totally non-scary SP a while back, I think its time to start pursuing a method which hopefully can be more consistent at getting LDs once I get good at it. So I am just starting and making sure the fan won't be a problem. When I WILD I use a fan as an anchor, I concentrate on that and when I start hearing distortion a that dot sound very normal I know I am entering early stages of HI. The sounds are usually first for me, they may not be to you though. Interesting! I never thought of trying that, but I have had the fan distorted in HI, so I will try this.