Thread: Time in lucid dreaming.

i think lucid dreams are in real time, but you could easily lose track of time. you hit REM every 90 minutes but i know you can extend REM. people say you can just spin, ive never tryed it though.

mine are usually 5-6 minutes. never longer

The longest your dreams can get real time is an hour. That's like half a movie, so I'm fine with that. If you play it out like a movie, days can pass, but just like in a movie, you won't go through all the motions of daily life. If you are going across a field, you don't have to spend an hour--you can skip to the other side, and create a memory of walking through the field.

abra, what about when u wake up and fall asleep and u dream for what seems to be hours and u wake up and only few mins have passed, that way couldn't u dream longer than real time?

I think it either works like a movie, or you create false memories within your dream. Both are ways that we bypass the normal "time limit."

I've had non LD's that feel like a whole night but there are lots of "gaps" in my memory, so I think it works like a movie.

Originally Posted by Abra

I think it either works like a movie, or you create false memories within your dream. Both are ways that we bypass the normal "time limit."

Abra, I must hand it to you. Your insight has really captured my interest. I've noticed that my dreams often feel like they can last hours, even days. The idea of using false memories to make the dreams seem like they're that long is very plausible. Though I'd be even more interested if the Dream Realm was a separate dimension where time can move at paces independent of this dimension's time.

Keep thinking, keep dreaming,

O-Suchin

Originally Posted by Abra

The longest your dreams can get real time is an hour. That's like half a movie, so I'm fine with that. If you play it out like a movie, days can pass, but just like in a movie, you won't go through all the motions of daily life. If you are going across a field, you don't have to spend an hour--you can skip to the other side, and create a memory of walking through the field.

how do you manage to have such long dreams? were they this long from when you started LD-ing or did it take practice? the reason I'm asking if different ppl have "fixed" maximum dream lengths?

abra you can extend dreams by spinning or rubing your hands together(there are more ways which i have forgoten and dont know of), this actually extends REM, its not like a feeling.

the reason I'm asking if different ppl have "fixed" maximum dream lengths?

Your REM sleep, where dreams occur, is limited. Of course this limit is different for everyone, but when you wake up after 5 or 10 minutes it has nothing to do with that limit. You can find information about REM sleep on wikipedia.
And yes, prolonging your lucid dreams take practice.

Also Abra, let's see you go past the average 8 hours of sleep and sleep for say 14 hours theoretically your REM period would last longer than it normally does would it not? At least from my experience this seems to be the case.

However I must also note that I wake up quite frequently after the 8 hour mark causing a series of WBTB Dream Chaining as Aquanina put it. Which puts me directly back into REM sleep.

Hmmm I've been out of the LD loop for a long time, but as far as I can recall my longest LD was about one hour or so. I remember though that many times the dream was getting blurry and about to end, but I managed to save it and prolong the duration of the dream (even double it) with techniques I read about here (rubbing your hands together, and focusing intensely on a single object, such as a building in the distance and even your own hands).

wasn't it robert monroe that supposedly experiencied 100 years in an obe?

Originally Posted by yuriythebest

how do you manage to have such long dreams? were they this long from when you started LD-ing or did it take practice? the reason I'm asking if different ppl have "fixed" maximum dream lengths?

Some dreams feel longer than others. One of my first lucid dreams lasted a "day." Practice will lengthen the amount of time your spend lucid (I have a hunch that beginning lucid dreamers become lucid near the end of REM).

Originally Posted by slash112

abra you can extend dreams by spinning or rubing your hands together(there are more ways which i have forgoten and dont know of), this actually extends REM, its not like a feeling.

I was always under the assumption that it stabilizes the dream so that you don't awaken prematurely. I wouldn't be surprised if you could legitimately get another 5-10 minutes from it, though. But I don't think you could extend it in real time for much longer than that.

Originally Posted by Brandon Heat

Also Abra, let's see you go past the average 8 hours of sleep and sleep for say 14 hours theoretically your REM period would last longer than it normally does would it not? At least from my experience this seems to be the case.

True. If you get more than your usual amount of sleep, your REM period will lengthen. Keep in mind that NREM rebound will occur if you oversleep consecutively.

Originally Posted by Abra

True. If you get more than your usual amount of sleep, your REM period will lengthen. Keep in mind that NREM rebound will occur if you oversleep consecutively.

does the REM lengthening start after 8 hours or does your body plan on sleeping (and dreaming) longer sometimes?

Originally Posted by Psionics

does the REM lengthening start after 8 hours or does your body plan on sleeping (and dreaming) longer sometimes?

I phrased it a little inaccurately. It lengthens with each REM period. I meant "lengthening" as in, beyond the normal ending REM period.



That's what the pattern looks like. There is a cap, but I'm not sure when or where (it varies from person to person, also depending on the sleep from the previous night).

Originally Posted by Abra

I phrased it a little inaccurately. It lengthens with each REM period. I meant "lengthening" as in, beyond the normal ending REM period.



That's what the pattern looks like. There is a cap, but I'm not sure when or where (it varies from person to person, also depending on the sleep from the previous night).

k, got it