How to Start Lucid Dreaming

We all know what dreaming is. An average person spends 1/3 of their life sleeping! That's a huge portion of life. Dreaming typically occurs during REM sleep, also known as rapid eye movement. No one really knows why we dream. It's speculated that we dream to process our waking life. I love to dream and I dream often. Dreams are often presented in metaphors and symbols to give us solutions to issues in our waking life. They also inspire creativity and mindful living!

Lucid dreaming is when you become aware of being in a dream and you start to control it as well as interact with it. There are no limits to what you can do in a lucid dream. Fly, have superpowers, create incredible landscapes, but more importantly, explore human consciousness and remember it! Dreaming has forever been a way to solve problems and create a better life by living mindfully.

Besides just being fun and completely amazing, there are a lot of benefits to lucid dreaming!

1. Overcoming fears
2. Expanding creativity, that can be applied to your waking life
3. Communication with loved ones that have passed
4. Creating your own dream
5. Communicating with your subconscious and higher self
6. Free unlimited entertainment
7. Better sleep

Sleep hygiene is important to be able to relax enough into your dream. It's also true that at times of stress, tragedy, or illness we sometimes tend to dream more. But by creating your ideal sleep environment you're more likely to induce states of dreaming.

So what is sleep Hygiene? Being clean? No. But clean bedding helps. The goal here is to create your ideal sleep environment, which will vary from dreamer to dreamer.

Obviously, a clean quiet room is important. But you also want to consider your five senses. Make your bed comfortable for you. Block out light if you need to, or create light such as with a night light or salt lamp. Sleep masks or room darkening blinds are a great way to block all light sources. Blackout window cling is also great and inexpensive. Some people require white noise to sleep, so they use fans or sound machines. Weighted blankets can also be helpful to quiet the nervous system. Some people like to us aromatherapy before sleeping, your ideal temperature is also something to consider. But most importantly, when it comes to creating the best place to sleep, be consistent. Avoid stimulants a few hours before bed, which includes nicotine, caffeine, and electronics. And try to stay on a regular sleep schedule.

As mentioned, sleep hygiene will vary from person to person and you may tweak it over time, or depending on your personal and unique life circumstances and preferences.

Regardless of sleep hygiene, you will dream. We all do. But the goal is to create your most ideal environment to sleep well, dream more often and remember it.

1. Keep a notebook and writing utensil next to your bed. Immediately upon waking to write down your dreams. Anything you can remember will start helping you recall your dreams. Even if you are only writing one line, write it down. Sometimes you will have pages of dream recall to write, so allow yourself ample time to do so before starting your day.

2. Start a meditation schedule. You can do this in the AM after you've logged your dreams, or in the evening to quietly prepare and settle in before sleep. Again the key here is consistency. Be consistent.

3. Tell yourself when you fall asleep that you will dream and you will remember them. Any conversation directed to the subconscious will be heard, especially when it's repetitive.

4. Keep your alarm clock close to your bed. You have a limited amount of time to write down your dream once you wake up. With practice, the recall will improve. But until then, keep your notebook and your alarm clock close. This way when the alarm sounds you are not losing valuable time with recall by having to get up and turn it off.

5. Create reality checks. A reality check is simply something impossible to do when awake, that you check to do when dreaming. This will help train your mind to recognize when you are asleep vs awake. As an example, try to will yourself to push your fingers through your opposing palm. When you are awake this will obviously be impossible. When it happens during a dream, it will trigger your mind to know you are asleep, helping to enter the lucid dream state.

6. Practice and repeat. As with any skill, practice to mastery is a must.

What is a nootropic? Simply put, it's a supplement or drug used to enhance cognitive ability and memory.

There are many supplements that will improve dreaming and dream recall. And a few that will help propel you into the lucid dream state. As with any suggestion, please consider side effects and treat these as medication. Consult with a doctor.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring chemical found and regulated by the pineal gland in the human body. Melatonin is probably the first nootropic to consider. Melatonin is very safe, there are very few if any cases of ill reported side effects. It's also very inexpensive and easy to obtain. One of melatonin's side effects is vivid dreaming! However use caution when taking to much, it can upset sleep patterns, cause nightmares, and interfere with diabetes and high blood pressure.

You may wish to further your study on nootropics for enhancing lucid dreaming. Choline, B6, Galantamine, Bacopa, L-theanine, Mugwort tea, Ginseng to name a few...

Lucid dreaming is an amazing thing to experience and once you have, believe me, you will want to do it as much as possible.

Nothing is off-limits in the land of dreaming, you're only limited by your own imagination.