Thread: Things that NEGATIVELY impact lucid dreaming....

Excellent question. And Welcome to DreamViews, milehighjoe, by the way. I can think of a few things that negatively impact my chances to have a lucid dream:

1. Not enough sleep.
2. Not keeping a dream journal.
3. Too much stress in life (prevents getting enough sleep, as well as entertaining the possibility of psyching oneself out of being able to achieve lucidity)
4. Illness
5. PTSD
6. Hormones

I'm sure other members have something to offer too. Good topic.
And good luck joe! Please PM me anytime if you have any other questions. I would be more than happy to help.

xoxo OB

Not sure if this can be avoided... but loud inconsiderate neighbors negatively sabotage my chances to LD.

One thing to stay away from is caffeine.

^^ agreed

ah dang I just had a coke maybe I can counter act the caffeine with some 5-htp and valerian root..lol> I must say the supplements I have been taking have been making my dreams way more vivid..kinda like HD if that makes sense....just still waiting for the moment that I become lucid...I think its coming soon.

Originally Posted by milehighjoe

ah dang I just had a coke maybe I can counter act the caffeine with some 5-htp and valerian root..lol> I must say the supplements I have been taking have been making my dreams way more vivid..kinda like HD if that makes sense....just still waiting for the moment that I become lucid...I think its coming soon.

Good luck. The 5-htp makes them more vivid for you?

If I've drunk excessively or smoked even a tiny bit I find - though my dreams tend to be awesome - my recall is reduced to next to nothing.

OpheliaBlue: I generally agree. However I am not sure about illness... Last year I ended my very long dry spell when I had pneumonia. I don't observe that illnesses suppress my chance for an LD as long as I have enough sleep (I sometimes experience an opposite effect, but it is probably random).

Originally Posted by moSh

If I've drank excessively or smoked even a tiny bit I find - though my dreams tend to be awesome - my recall is reduced to next to nothing.

This is the same for me. Oh well though at least it'll help me to slow down on my smoking.

Originally Posted by madvorak

OpheliaBlue: I generally agree. However I am not sure about illness... Last year I ended my very long dry spell when I had pneumonia. I don't observe that illnesses suppress my chance for an LD as long as I have enough sleep (I sometimes experience an opposite effect, but it is probably random).

Agreed. I'm ill at the moment, and I just got in from walking back from uni in the rain, and about half the journey was accompanied by some awesomely-euphoric feelings.

Yeah, alcohol may reduce the amount of time you spend in REM, therefore preventing better recall or lucidity.

People say that caffeïne is bad for LDing, and it's true, but only if you use too much. One glass of coke or something won't hurt in my opinion. On the other hand, caffeïne doesn't have as much effect on me as on most people, so you should judge for youself how much of it you can take before it becomes harder to fall asleep.

Caffeine in general is a terrible addictive drug; and goes unnoticed throughout the society in the United States. Caffeine not only can keep you up at night (depending on how much has been consumed and at what time), but it slows down your performance once it has cleared your system; typically making people feel sluggish. Especially for those that drink caffeinated drinks religiously, they have to either drink more or they'll crash from withdrawals. Most of those who drink caffeine constantly, have withdrawals during the night which causes disruption during stages of sleep.
Not to argue with your statement Spyguy, it definitely has some different effects on different people, in moderation. For me at least, I noticed my unhealthy caffeine consumption last year and how I always felt tired, even after the best night's rest. So I've cut out caffeine entirely, and I feel that I have more energy in the long run. And since I'm not used to having caffeine, if I drink something caffeinated during the day, I find myself struggling to get to sleep at night.

That's not to say you can't have caffeine. Just watch out for how much you consume, and it's best if you avoid caffeine five hours before you go to sleep. Best advice, substitute an orange for that cup of coffee or soda.

Pot exterminates dream recall

Originally Posted by theCambino

Caffeine in general is a terrible addictive drug; and goes unnoticed throughout the society in the United States. Caffeine not only can keep you up at night (depending on how much has been consumed and at what time), but it slows down your performance once it has cleared your system; typically making people feel sluggish. Especially for those that drink caffeinated drinks religiously, they have to either drink more or they'll crash from withdrawals. Most of those who drink caffeine constantly, have withdrawals during the night which causes disruption during stages of sleep.
Not to argue with your statement Spyguy, it definitely has some different effects on different people, in moderation. For me at least, I noticed my unhealthy caffeine consumption last year and how I always felt tired, even after the best night's rest. So I've cut out caffeine entirely, and I feel that I have more energy in the long run. And since I'm not used to having caffeine, if I drink something caffeinated during the day, I find myself struggling to get to sleep at night.

That's not to say you can't have caffeine. Just watch out for how much you consume, and it's best if you avoid caffeine five hours before you go to sleep. Best advice, substitute an orange for that cup of coffee or soda.

This is true, my flatmate (who is, in fairness, quite petite) used to drink at least 5 cups of coffee a day and had to make sure she didn't have any in the hours running up to going to bed.

I, on the other hand, get no effect whatsoever from caffeine. I even tried drinking 3 cups in a row to see if it did anything, but nothing. I am English though, so I drink a fuck-load of tea.

Originally Posted by madvorak

OpheliaBlue: I generally agree. However I am not sure about illness... Last year I ended my very long dry spell when I had pneumonia. I don't observe that illnesses suppress my chance for an LD as long as I have enough sleep (I sometimes experience an opposite effect, but it is probably random).

Oh that's cool, you're not the first person I've heard of that has LDs, or even better LDs when they're sick.

I just find personally that I don't LD when I'm sick, or on medication. I will have trippy as all fuck out non-lucids though!

One thing that hurts my LDing is a "good" sleep. Let me explain. There is a specific type of sleep that is most conducive (for me) to LD but doesn't necessarily give me the most rest. If I go to bed, sleep for 8 hours, and wake up refreshed, I don't have many chances to focus on dreaming or try a WILD/DEILD. Even if you do a WBTB, that is only 1 extra time to try and LD. I used to naturally wake up around 8 times every night. This allowed me to quickly jump in and out of REM. That way I could wake up and either try to WILD, visualize my previous dream, or just focus on LDing (all of which increased my probability of LD).

This is why most of my LDs now come when I can sleep in, where I can repeatedly wake up and drift back off. I think this is why some people are saying they LD more frequently when they are sick.

Originally Posted by cytotoxicT

This is why most of my LDs now come when I can sleep in, where I can repeatedly wake up and drift back off. I think this is why some people are saying they LD more frequently when they are sick.

Ah that makes sense. I personally have insomnia alot, so maybe that's what accounts for my inability to LD when sick, but I think you totally hit the nail on the head with the sleep in thing.

flouride

Originally Posted by WakingNomad

flouride

hehe.. really?

Apparently so.. it affects your pinael gland, in the centre of your brain.

Oh and it's in the your toothpaste, your mouthwash, and your water - bottle or tap.

I've yet to find a natural toothpaste, somewhat out of lazyness. Do natural toothpastes even exist?

I find when I have a busy day it kills my recall - even when I haven't been stressed during the day.

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

hehe.. really?

Fluoride Health Effects Database

Originally Posted by ShadowOfSelf

Apparently so.. it affects your pinael gland, in the centre of your brain.

Oh and it's in the your toothpaste, your mouthwash, and your water - bottle or tap.

I've yet to find a natural toothpaste, somewhat out of lazyness. Do natural toothpastes even exist?

Yes. I use one drop of organic peppermint oil to brush my teeth.

Originally Posted by Bobblehat

I find when I have a busy day it kills my recall - even when I haven't been stressed during the day.

Interesting. Why is that?

Originally Posted by WakingNomad

Interesting. Why is that?

Last August I took time out to relax for a few weeks. My recall and dream vividness went through the roof. When I got back to working my recall went down. When I had bad days at work (ie stressful) my recall went down and I assumed it was stress, but the recall seems to go down even when I find busy tasks enjoyable.

Originally Posted by WakingNomad

Yes. I use one drop of organic peppermint oil to brush my teeth.

Is the difference between using fluoride toothpaste and your peppermint oil significant? Do you notice a clear difference?