You need to get good sleep, and lots of it, for this to work. If you can find a way to extend your sleep at least one night a week, like on a weekend, do so. What you put in your body affects your likelihood of having lucid dreams as well. Alcohol and drugs inhibit your REM sleep and disrupt your sleep cycles, so avoid nightcaps as much as possible. And while sleeping pills and melatonin can help induce sleep, keep in mind they may interfere with normal sleep cycles. Food and non alcoholic drinks can play a major role in dreams too. Some people have more vivid dreams depending on what they eat, or report having nightmares if they eat certain types of food too late in the evening. Ive personally had success with pickles, apple juice, peanut butter, and spicy foods as helpful elements. Also, reducing screen time before bed is always a good idea. Many of us struggle to get enough sleep every night, but is the sleep we get any goodBibMe Free Bibliography Citation Maker MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard. Now that you know what lucid dreaming is, and you know the benefits and risks, its time to give it a solid try. Get ready, oneironautswere about to take off. ATTENTION ARTISTS sometimes your friends will have successes, and youll be jealous, even if you dont want to be, says author and Dinosaur Comics creator. While itsRead more Read. Lastly, you need to fall asleep with the intention of having a lucid dream. Its not quite as simple as merely thinking about being lucid before bedtime, but that is actually a huge part of it. Oneironauts, this is the MILD Technique, from Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen La. Berge, Ph. D. and Howard Rheingold Set up dream recall Before going to bed resolve to wake up and recall dreams during each dream period throughout the night or the first dream period after dawn, or after 6 a. Recall your dream When you awaken from a dream period, no matter what time it is, try to recall as many details as possible from your dream. If you find yourself so drowsy that you are drifting back to sleep, do something to arouse yourself. Tattoo Fever The Movie. Focus your intent While returning to sleep, concentrate singlemindedly on your intention to remember to recognize that youre dreaming. Tell yourself Next time Im dreaming, I want to remember Im dreaming. Really try to feel that you mean it. Narrow your thoughts to this idea alone. If you find yourself thinking about anything else, just let go of these thoughts and bring your mind back to your intention to remember. Repeat Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until your intention is set, then let yourself fall asleep. If, while falling asleep, you find yourself thinking of anything else, repeat the procedure so that the last thing in your mind before falling asleep is your intention to remember to recognize the next time you are dreaming. Without the prep work and this intention exercise, lucid dreaming will only ever occur due to chance, which will be infrequent at best. If you want to further increase your odds of inducing a lucid dream, however, you can try whats known as lucid dream scheduling, where you use an alarm clock to time out prime lucid dreaming periods. For example, if you know youll be able to get a full eight hours of sleep one night, set your alarm clock to go off after only six hours. Then, do the MILD exercise above, and go to back to sleep holding on to that intention to recognize youre dreaming. Remember, those last two hours are prime lucid dreaming time, so why not boost your oddsNightcaps come in all shapes and sizes. Some people like to have a drink before bed, and othersRead more Read. How to Tell Youre Having a Dream. Okay, so youre dreaming. But how do you realize youre in a dream so you can wake up within it There are two popular methods spotting dream signs, and critical state testing. Dream signs, which have nothing to do with dream interpretation, are essentially a mental catalog of the inconsistencies you normally experience while in a dream. They can be hard to spot, and you may not have many that appear regularly, but they are there. For example, one of my major dream signs is being with people I dont recognize but still feel convinced I know. If I can establish the fact that this friend Im with in my dream isnt actually somebody Ive met before, I can become aware of the dream and may be able to become lucid. Other people I know have dream signs like people dont have discernible faces, or any faces at all, or I never seem to be myself when I dream. Yours could be much simpler, however, like never wearing clothes you usually wear, or perhaps none at all. Or maybe youll notice the layout of a familiar place is nothing like it was before. Whatever they may be for you, start writing down your dream signs in your dream journal. The more regular inconsistencies you can note and become aware of, the more likely you are to notice them while youre dreaming and become aware. Critical state testing, on the other hand, is something you must practice in the waking world. These tests are designed to be routinely performed while youre awake, so that when you are tumbling through dreamland, you can perform the same test and realize youre asleep. Its very effective if you do it right. Thats why establishing a personal critical state test is going to be your next assignment. Dear Lifehacker,I like to use my smartphone and tablet in bed. I know that screen time before bedRead more Read. Assignment Establish a Routine Am I Dreaming Check. Critical state tests can be something as simple as asking yourself, Am I dreaming or as complicated as going over a dream state checklist. No matter what you choose to do, however, asking yourself if youre dreaming should be a part of your test. After all, if you never ask if youre dreaming in the waking world, what are the odds youll do it when youre asleepMy personal critical state test is very simple I look at my hands and flip them over, ask myself if Im dreaming aloud if possible, then look around to make sure I actually know all the people Im with dream signs. If anything seems slightly amiss, I tell myself to hover or fly. When you conduct your test is important, though. Create a rule set for yourself and follow it. For example, you can establish that youll execute your test every time you go to the bathroom, have a glass of water, see an attractive person, get up from your desk, talk to a certain person, etc. If you can, try to incorporate the dreams youve been having within your rule set.