10+ Easy Steps to Lucid Dream Every Night

1. Understand your sleep cycle

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Lucid dreaming, also called conscious dreaming, happens during REM sleep! So, when does REM sleep occur? It first happens about 90 minutes after falling asleep. During this stage of sleep, your eyes move rapidly from side to side behind closed eyelids!

2. Make sure you sleep long enough

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Getting at least eight hours of sleep each night can help make sure you have a consistent sleep-wake cycle, which means you’ll get adequate REM sleep. Since REM sleep is essential for lucid dreaming, this step is very important for aspiring lucid dreamers to master!

3. Keep a good sleep environment

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Sleep hygiene is critical for lucid dreaming. Your bedroom should be as calm and soothing as possible. Make sure your space is dark and quiet, your mattress and sheets are comfortable, and the temperature is cool enough. Good sleep hygiene makes a huge difference.

4. Avoid caffeine in the evenings

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Caffeinated beverages are delicious, but there’s a huge downside! Unfortunately, they can keep you up past your bedtime and make it difficult to fall asleep if you consume it later in the day. If you’re serious about lucid dreaming, skip the coffee and opt for decaf tea instead.

5. Avoid alcohol, too

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Alcohol can also disrupt your sleep-wake cycle significantly. Drinking alcohol typically results in fragmented sleep, which means you wake up more frequently during the night. This also means you spend less time in REM sleep after a night out drinking with friends.

6. Eat the right foods

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What you put into your body matters, especially when it comes to lucid dreaming. There are certain foods that are thought to enhance your dreams, most of which contain vitamin B6 and tryptophan. Some examples are chicken, turkey, cheese, and kidney beans.

7. Move electronics out of your bedroom

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Electronics should be avoided before bed. This is because blue light has a strong impact on sleep! In fact, blue light can make it extremely difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Try getting into the habit of staying away from electronics at least half an hour before bed.

8. Do calming activities before bed

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Without your phone or a TV in your bedroom, what can you do to wind down before dozing off? There are many options! You can relax in an epsom salt bath before you drift off. You can also occupy yourself with an adult coloring book, or write in a journal before bed.

9. Practice meditation

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Practicing meditation before bed can be extremely beneficial! Meditating before you sleep gives provides an opportunity to visualize the kind of dream you want to have. Think about what you want to see, feel, hear, and smell in your dream. You just might manifest those exact things!

10. Listen to binaural beats

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Binaural beats are sound frequencies that can lower stress, help you sleep, and boost your mood. So, how do these sounds help you lucid dream? They allow your brain to slow down, which can push you into a deeper state of relaxation and meditation. This sets the stage for lucid dreaming!

11. Keep a dream diary

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If you struggle to remember your dreams, keep a dream diary by your bed and document every dream you remember as soon as you remember it. Doing this will help you recognize dream signs in the future, which will help you remember more and more dreams!

12. Write your dreams down immediately

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Have you ever woken up right after a super bizarre dream, only to completely forget what happened in the dream an hour later? This is more common than you think! As soon as you wake up, write down as many details as you can remember from your dreams.

13. Download a dream diary app

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If you’re not a fan of taking pen to paper, download a dream diary app and record your dreams that way. There are several mobile apps that allow you to record your dreams, how they make you feel, if they’re new or recurring, and tons of other details!

14. Look for pattens in your dreams

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Searching for patterns in your dreams will help you be able to recognize if you’re dreaming or not. This is because you’ll be able to identify people and places that often appear in your dreams, along with recurring themes that you experience on a regular basis.

15. Study your daily environment

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When you’re going about your daily life, study different aspects of your environment. No detail is too large or small to file away for later reference. When you’re in a dream-state, this can help you differentiate between what’s real and what’s not real.

16. Perform reality checks

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Performing reality checks while awake will encourage your brain to perform them during sleep. There are several things you can do, such as pinching yourself, asking yourself if you’re dreaming, looking at your hands, or trying to lift something extremely heavy.

17. Experiment with oneirogens

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Certain plants and fungi can help induce lucid dreaming, especially if taken an hour or two before bed! Some of these herbs have been used for thousands of years for various purposes. Before you dive into this step, do plenty of research and make sure you’re being safe and responsible!

18. Try the MILD technique

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This technique requires you to wake up after five hours of sleep, create an intent to remember the next time you’re dreaming, and imagine yourself in a lucid dream. Apparently, the intention eventually becomes reality through self awareness and repetition.

19. Try the WILD technique

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This powerful method challenges you to stay conscious while crossing over from awake to asleep and dreaming. It’s very difficult to achieve in the beginning, but it can lead to some mind-blowing lucid dreams! As with most things, practice makes perfect.

20. Try the DILD technique

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Dream induced lucid dreams (DILD) occur when you spontaneously lucid dream without any planning or preparation. This sometimes happen after a reality check is performed in a dream, you notice a dream sign, or you suddenly think of a MILD affirmation.

21. Try the SSILD technique

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Senses initiated lucid dreams (SSILD) involve multiple lucid dreaming techniques. This one is very beginner-friendly, too! Basically, you focus on sight, sound, and touch. Then, set your alarm to wake you up in four or five hours. This should happen right around REM sleep.

22. Try the WBTB technique

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Wake back to bed (WBTB) is not a popular technique. This is because it requires you to set an alarm for 3-5 hours and fully wake up for 15-90 minutes, which can wear on your physical and mental health over a period of time. However, it’s very effective!

23. Set an alarm for five hours

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Many lucid dreaming techniques encourage setting an hour for five hours and falling right back to sleep afterwards. The assumption is that you’ll wake up during REM sleep, immediately fall back to sleep, and enter into a lucid dreaming state. Just make sure your alarm is soothing!

24. Induce sleep paralysis

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Sleep paralysis can be a terrifying experience, but it can also help people lucid dream! If you find yourself in the middle of sleep paralysis, try to stay calm and relax. If you’re able to fall back to sleep, you should almost instantly enter into a lucid dream.

25. Use a dream pillow

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Your dream pillow should be extremely comfortable. Don’t be afraid to splurge on something extra special! When you’ve found the right one, use incense or essential oils to make it smell soothing and relaxing. This should enhance the likelihood that you’ll sleep well and lucid dream.

26. Play video games

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Did you know that if you play interactive video games, you’re more likely to experience lucid dreaming?! More research is necessary to figure out if playing video games actually helps induce lucid dreams. However, it can’t hurt to play some video games and see what happens!

27. Try to keep your dream going

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If you find yourself in the middle of a dream, try to extend the dream and keep it going. If you’re lucid dreaming, you’ll be able to do so without issue! If you’re not, you’ll likely wake up immediately. This is one tactic to experiment with during your lucid dreaming journey.

28. Practice makes perfect

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This is an important reminder that lucid dreaming is difficult for many people, so it’s okay if it takes time for you to successfully master! Just keep trying and practicing different techniques. It’s very possible that you’ll continue to see improvements.

29. Take breaks, if necessary

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The process of trying to lucid dream can be very exhausting. Don’t wait until you’re totally sleep-deprived to take a break and get adequate rest. Stay attuned to your body and what it needs, and take breaks when you start to feel sluggish. You can always try again tomorrow or next week.

30. Learn how to wake yourself up

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If you find yourself in a lucid dream, there are several ways to try to wake up. Blinking repeatedly is one method. Trying to read a book is another. This works by activating parts of your brain that aren’t used in REM. Lastly, you can try calling out for help and starting your brain awake.