I have some questions about wake-induced lucid dreams. I am particularly interested in this type of induction because I have naturally awakened after 3-6 hours of sleep almost every night for my entire life, but have never known how to take advantage of this. I have read many different viewpoints about these questions, and would be interested in the techniques you have found to be most successful. The primary questions I have are:

1) How long should I remain awake?

2) Does it matter if I am in or out of bed while awake?

3) Should I be in a lighted or non-lighted environment while awake?

4) What types of activities should I engage in while awake?

5) Should I perform any type of relaxation techniques while falling back asleep?

6) Do certain methods result in more vivid lucid dreams than others? I have had a fair number of lucid dreams in my life, but only one that was truly mind-blowing. Interestingly, that one occurred for no apparent reason.

Any ideas would be appreciated! Bear in mind that the longer I remain awake, the more difficult it is to fall back asleep, so ideally, the shorter amount of time awake, the better, although I would be interested in trying whatever it takes. Thank you!