Lucid dreaming is fantasy made reality – knowing that you’re dreaming while you’re dreaming equips you with the ability to do otherworldly things, like flying or altering your surroundings. But you’ll probably just sit at your dream kitchen counter and eat a dream bowl of cereal or something else that’s totally normal. Regardless, here are some tips to get you started on your lucid dreaming journey, no matter how anticlimactic those dreams may be.
Keep a record of your dreams.
Each morning, try writing down everything you can remember about your dreams in a journal, even if it was just walking to the grocery store or laying on your couch and thinking about reading a book. This will help you remember what happens in your dreams, enabling you to better recognize when you’re dreaming. If you do this regularly, you’ll be able to be fully lucid when you walk to Walgreens to pick up laundry detergent in your dream next time.
Develop a reality-testing system.
In order to lucid dream, you need to be able to distinguish between your dreams and reality – especially since, the way you do it, your dreams look nearly identical to your waking life. Periodically throughout the day, you should ask yourself, “Am I dreaming?” and perform a reality test like pinching your nose and seeing if you can still breathe. Stay away from reality checks that could be the same both when you’re asleep and when you’re awake, like the feeling of existential dread that constantly plagues you or the way your apartment looks, down to the empty Chapstick tubes on your nightstand and the dirty dishes in your sink.
Prioritize getting good sleep.
Sleep hygiene is essential when trying to lucid dream – if you’re not achieving REM sleep, then you won’t be able to dream, let alone be aware while doing so. If you practice going to bed at the same time every night, shutting off your phone an hour before you go to sleep, and avoiding large meals right before bedtime, you should be sleeping well and dreaming of commuting to your job in no time.
So if you’re looking to live out the monotonies of your normal day-to-day life when you’re asleep as well as when you’re awake, give these tips a shot! You’ll be exercising as little control over your sleep-life as you do your normal life in no time!
