Originally Posted by FryingMan
Re: physiology: I sure hope not! The data I think *may* indicate otherwise: why could I wake up 3-5 times per night and recall/journal, about 3 months ago, even after 9-10 hours of sleep sometimes with no trouble going back to sleep, at the start of LD training, but when I started doing SSILD and/or MILD before returning to sleep, or trying WILDs, the sleep issues all of a sudden started? Especially WILDs: before I ever tried a WILD I never "watched" myself falling asleep. I think I've developed a bad habit of "catching" myself from falling asleep to make sure I'm aware during the transition. This leads me to believe it's mental from the stimulation that doing these techs / approaches require, or from conscious or subconscious excitement about expecting LDs. It may be that physiology is hovering there right between the barrier of the difference between simply going back to bed and doing tech's requiring mental activity, which would be very depressing, since even DILD is affected.
Well. Given that info, then I guess it's still on you! Though physiology might still have a hand in it, it does sound like that "catching yourself" thing may be more of an issue... which is a good thing, I guess, because soving the problem is still in your hands.
Keep in mind that physiological stuff isn't always gradual; some changes can come quickly.
Besides, there is an existence proof of someone a tad older than I am (you?) who WILD and DILD away every night .
True. But WILD's are a lot harder for me than they used to be for other physiological reasons, and I was required take a couple of extra steps to compensate for changes my body's foisted upon me. DILD's, BTW, are unaffected, and likely would not be too hampered by a shortened sleep cycle (more in a sec).
And don't you have a self-described shaky relationship with sleep? How do *you* deal with it, other than melatonin? Have you adjusted your LD schedule in a way that you found works?
Other than melatonin, I shifted my sleep schedule before WILD attempts, to the point where I go to bed at about 3am and get up before 8am. I also consigned myself a long time ago to the fact that it was going to take me at least an hour to get back to sleep after lying down post WBTB... that was a difficult thing to finally accept, but once I did, I found it easy to maintain enough patience to hold still for an hour or more.
Beyond that I do only one other thing: on the occasional day, maybe one in five, where I know that I either won't get back to sleep or that my mind is just not in the right place, I simply opt to postpone the WILD attempt.
Just curious: if I can't get back to sleep after the 5 hour waking, how does focusing on WILD help vs. DILD? Getting back to sleep is crucial in either case I think, isn't it? Aren't all the great REMs there waiting from the 6-8 hours of the cycle...? My own answer is that putting off emphasis on WILDs will help me to forget to watch myself while falling asleep. But I'd like to know if you had a different point in mind....
DILD should be less affected by this problem because you do not have to do a WBTB to enjoy one. Indeed, if do your waking-life activities (RC's, RRC's) during the day, and MILD exercises the night before, and still do your journaling during brief nighttime awakenings, DILD's ought to be fairly achievable. They're more accidental than WILD's are, sure, but at least you'll be getting lucid.
And today: slept about 6 hours [no wakings during night, I practically passed out, 3 hours at the gym last night], got up, did stuff around the house, nothing too stimulating, still felt tired a couple hours later and had the house to myself, and *almost* fell asleep (got too the "fall", and something went off: HERE IT IS!). I've taken naps before not that long ago where I successfully dreamt some more.
I just feel it in my bones: it is my mind that is not quite right for sleeping, it's not a body thing -- there is some background tension/attention that I'm not relaxing, something is sitting there ready to pounce when the sleep transition starts: HERE IT COMES! GET READY!. That's my story for now and I'm sticking to it But I am interested in the questions above, thanks!
Yep, it probably is all in your head. I have a feeling that if you keep working at it, the more experience you get with timing and blocking that urge to catch yourself, the easier simply falling to sleep will become. In other words, time will be your ally.
I will add that I'm still perhaps adjusting to LD life in the city. When I started out in LD training, I was on vacation in the country, I got to bed at the same time every night, nights were black with no external lights, absolutely silent outside, sleeping in a room by myself in a bed by myself, basically zero distractions, tons of fresh air and sunlight.
That is a much better environment for LD'ing, I think...
In the city the street noise is terrible, street lights blast into the windows, sleep in bed with wife who sometimes moves/snores/makes noise/gets up sometimes (like we all do), and I have yet to get to bed at the same time two nights in a row it seems. And I work a desk job. At least now I'm getting regular exercise and I think it's helping. I'm certainly losing weight and have a more positive outlook on life so it's helping at least in that way
Yeah, city, family, and work schedules can definitely get in the way; but they're just hurdles, not permanent barriers (ie, get thicker curtains, or a sleep mask; invest in a white noise machine to cancel out city noises; maybe find a room of your own for WILD attempts -- I've done each of these myself, and more, because sometimes you gotta); jump the hurdles one at a time, with patience, and you might see some success, even in the city.
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