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Learning to lucid dream is basically giving yourself a sleep disorder on purpose. Having done this deliberately in the past and had some fairly wacky side-effec
by bencollier49 8y ago
Learning to lucid dream is basically giving yourself a sleep disorder on purpose. Having done this deliberately in the past and had some fairly wacky side-effects, I think it's worth people considering the negatives if they style trying to induce lucidity.
- apo 8y agoHaving done this deliberately in the past and had some fairly wacky side-effects Such as?
- travbrack 8y agoI used to read lucid dreaming forums. A lot of people complain that their sleep becomes less restful, the more they lucid dream. Also that it becomes impossible to have a night without lucid dreams once you get enough experience, so you can't catch a break.
- eof 8y agoI experienced this for years, but it never seemed to actually affect "rest". I'd have multiple intense dreams per night, waking up often between them. But not feeling sleep deprived at all, if anything the opposite. However i was also in my early 20s so maybe it would be harder now.
- flatline 8y agoI used to lucid dream all the time as a kid, it just happened naturally, and never left me tired. It mostly stopped and in my 20s I tried some exercises to induce lucid dreams. My experience was like a restless night of sleep after studying late for a big test the next morning. Because, there was something I was supposed to be remembering, instead of just sleeping soundly. So I think lucid dreaming is not necessarily a problem in itself but forcefully training yourself to do it can be rough going.
- vokep 8y agoFalse memories are one which many have experienced, as well as mentioned above, increased chance of sleep paralysis. Increased SP doesn't seem so bad, just maybe inconvenient. Building up more and more false memories doesn't seem like a great idea.
- jjeaff 8y agoI've always had trouble with false memories. Not of anything important, but I sometimes dream of very mundane things, like moving my wallet or keys. Or telling someone something. Makes it very difficult to keep track of things.
- tacon 8y agoI used to have regular hypnogogia, and I often imagined that monsters were coming to steal my wallet and keys from my bedside. Those items started "moving" during the night, to under the mattress, or into blankets in the closet, so "they" wouldn't find them. It is genetic for me, as my mother had some similar experiences. I only happened to learn it was a "thing with a name" because I was dancing Argentine tango with a postdoc sleep researcher, and we got to talking. Oddly enough, her suggested solution worked perfectly - a night light. It is a very long story.
- garfieldnate 8y agoWould love to hear this very long story!
- ptrincr 8y agoThanks for sharing your experience. Can I ask how you found your sleep paralysis encounters? (for want of a better word). Personally I've found them deeply disturbing. Throughout my life I have experienced moments of sleep paralysis at most on 10 occasions. They've left a big impact though, and I sympathize with anyone who has the misfortune of feeling as though you are trapped and unable to move. After watching the film "Waking life" I spent a long time thinking about lucid dreaming and perhaps maybe had 1 or 2 myself. I had never connected the two however, definitely food for thought.
- clankfan 8y agoWhat side-effects did you experience?
- bloomthrowaway 8y agoI could believe it ruins sleep quality definitely. Even with experience it's hard to keep your mind from fully waking during periods of lucidity. I've managed to go an hour or two many times but it invariably ends with me waking at a random time in the middle of the night
- daenz 8y agoAnecdotally I tried for a few weeks to lucid dream and had success a few times, but both mornings after the lucid dreams I felt absolutely exhausted.