Stopper #1: can't fall asleep (another one). I wake up very quickly, especially in the range of 5-6 hours after bedtime. Before that I can almost always get back to sleep quickly, and even after that, if I really seriously stubbornly do my relaxation until I fall asleep (can take hours), then I'm on "sleep intertia" and can keep sleeping into afternoon no problem (but awareness is low for some reason after about 8 hours). What to do? Wake up earlier than 5 hours? Minimize activity ala Maxis, perhaps?

Stopper #2: get too excited as the transition approaches. When my head starts getting that "lucid feeling" and the body noise (ragged breathing, jerking eyes, "all-body buzz") hits, I just have not been able to stay calm enough to fall into the dream. Eventually these sensations subside and I'm left fully awake, argh! My plan here is to try and totally "let go" the next time this happens and aim for unconsciousness, and hopefully I'll land lucidly in the dream, (or at least, non-lucidly, and hope for a DILD) as opposed to waking up. We'll see. Suggestions appreciated.

Stopper #3: there's no dream there! One time I felt like I was lucid, but I was left staring at my eyelids until the feeling subsided. Not sure what happened there. Sageous posited I had no "usable REM" left (as it happened late in the morning).