Wake Back To Bed (WBTB)
Wake Back to Bed is my favorite technique for inducing a lucid dream. It is something that most beginners can learn to do rather easily and even experience their first lucid dream within a week! All it takes is a little bit of willpower.
"Wake up and go to sleep!"
WBTB is a technique for having a Wake Induced Lucid Dream (WILD). Here's how to do it:
Step 1: Set an alarm
When you're ready to hit the sack for the night, set a soft alarm to go off after either 4.5 or 6 hours of asleep. Your REM cycles typically start after 4.5 and 6 hours, so pick one of those times. I prefer 4.5 hours.
Tip: Set your alarm to go off 4 hrs and 50 minutes from now, if it takes you about 20 minutes to fall asleep. It doesn't have to be perfect though.
Step 2: Go to bed
Ahh...the easiest step. Just relax into a sound sleep. Let your alarm do the work of waking you up.
Step 3: Wake up
This is the hardest part. Unless you woke up feeling wide awake, you're probably lying in bed thinking how silly it is to get up now!
Don't go back to sleep yet!
Step 4: Stay awake
Get up out of bed and walk around. Use the bathroom, drink some water, etc. Make sure you avoid bright lights and too much physical activity.
The goal here is to stay awake for 30-60 minutes. Experiment with these times. You may find more success staying up for 60 minutes.
Try to find something to keep you alert, such as reading (preferably material on lucid dreaming to keep your mind focused). No TV or computers.
Avoid laying down and/or closing your eyes. If you don't stay alert, it will be harder to have a lucid dream.
You can do it!
Step 5: Back to bed
After your 30-60 minutes are up, head back to bed to fall asleep.
It is important to stay mentally alert as you drift to sleep.
Ideally, you want to get into a comfortable position lying on your back. Relax your body, but keep your mind focused.
As you drift to sleep you may experience vibrations, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic imagery, etc. These are all normal and are signs that you are transitioning into the dream world.
If all goes well, you will go from being awake, directly into a lucid dream!
Why Does It Work?
Wake Back to Bed manipulates your sleep cycle to your advantage.
REM sleep is the optimal state for lucid dreaming. REM cycles typically start after every 90 minutes of sleep, increasing in duration as the night goes on (less REM sleep in the first half of the night, more REM in the second half).
Here are average REM "start times": 1.5 hrs, 3 hrs, 4.5 hrs, 6 hrs, and 7.5 hrs.
When you wake up after 4.5 or 6 hours of sleep, you are waking up right before a new REM cycle begins. When you fall back asleep, you go right into REM sleep.
The reason you stay awake for 30-60 minutes is to get fully awake. It is easier to do this technique if your mind is alert. If you stay groggy and tired, you will most likely just fall asleep when you go back to bed.
Using Galantamine
Galantamine is a supplement that can be used in conjunction with the WBTB technique to increase the chances of becoming lucid. Find out how to incorporate this amazing oneirogen!
Tip:
The trick to pulling off Wake Back to Bed successfully is to stay alert as you drift asleep. If have tried this technique several times and find yourself falling asleep every time, keep at it. It can sometimes take 20-45 minutes for you to notice the transition.
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