I’m a Lucid Dreaming expert. I make free videos teaching people how to control their dreams EVERY night. AMA!

Was this your dream job?

I’ll have to sleep on this question.

How risky is it? As in, can it lead to sleep based conditions like insomnia, sleep paralysis etc?

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Can you get so aware that you feel trapped in your dream?

A bit like that episode of Black Mirror (s4e1 star fleet)

No. I’ve never felt ‘trapped’, because it’s actually really easy to wake up. There’s methods to ground yourself in the dream and make it harder (I actually posted a video on that yesterday), but if you really want to wake yourself up, you will.

Lucid dreaming is very safe physically, with the risks being pretty much non-existent. However sleep paralysis can be a real issue for many people and if you don’t want to get into that then there’s other methods out there. I’ve been doing it for 5 years and have never had a problem, but everyone’s different. Just remember that when you’re in a lucid dream, your thoughts become reality, so going into it with a positive mindset is important :)

As for it developing sleep conditions, I haven’t heard of a case where that happened. Some lucid dreaming methods require you to enter sleep paralysis (WILD), but if you’re afraid of it then like I said there’s other techniques out there for you.

I tried lucid dreaming a few years ago, and after a few months started having sleep paralysis. After stopping my attempts at lucid dreaming for a few weeks the sleep paralysis went away again. Didn't have them before or after the period I attempted lucid dreaming. There is definitely a risk for some people.

Fuck sleep paralysis. The two times I had it, I saw someone in the shadows watching me and I couldn't move or say anything. If that's a risk of lucid dreaming I'm out. That's some of the creepiest experiences I've had.

Yeah man, sleep paralysis can be scary but just remember that everything is in your head. And if you learn certain techniques, you can use sleep paralysis to enter directly into a lucid dream within seconds.

Does it give you the same amount of rest? Or would you have to sleep for longer than normal?

When I wake up from them, I feel energetic and alive, although some of people report feeling tired and a lot of that has to do with the circumstances. For example, some techniques require you to wake up 3-5 hours after you originally fall asleep and perform them. If you’re doing that every night, you will feel tired so it’s not recommended.

Another factor is what period of REM you’re in when you are lucid. I like to have my lucid dreams right before I wake up for the day (starting at around 5:30am) and when I wake up at 6:30 I don’t feel tired at all, because I woke up at the end of my sleep cycle directly from a dream.

That's what I'd like to know. Isn't it tiring not resting "properly", every night? Also once you get used to lucid dreaming (after 5 years), how hard is it to stop doing it?

First question answered above :) As for stopping, I can choose not to have a lucid dream on a specific night if I don’t want to, but if I still I become lucid I can purposely lose my awareness and transform it into a normal dream. However, it’s not something I have ever done or ever will do because lucid dreams are so amazing and I don’t get tired of them.

stemming off of this, I was told before that lucid dreaming every night wasn't recommended, and in some cases people stopped being able to tell reality apart from dream to a minor degree. this is what has kept me from learning lucid dreaming myself (although i did learn one situational truck that I've used once or twice before). have you ever experienced this, and if you did, what did you do about it?

There’s definitely truth to that. I like to write all my dreams down when I wake up and that subconsciously helps me categorize those experiences as ‘dreams’. It’s not something I struggle with now, because with lots of experience you’re able to differentiate between dream memories and real life ones.

My advice is this: go at your own pace, and if you feel like you’re getting confused, take a break.

Okay I’m just gonna come out and say it. When you say anything, you mean, if I wanna lucid dream me boning Daenerys Targaryen on a dragon, then with practice, I can?

Yes... you can. That’s one of the most popular topics when it comes to lucid dreaming and one of the reasons many people get into it :o

Aside from the freedom to explore, are there any benefits to lucid dreaming? Health or otherwise?

Many people (including myself) have used lucid dreaming as a tool to overcome fears and practice abilities in the dream world. For example, placing yourself on a stage in front of thousands of people will help you overcome your fear of public speaking. People have practiced instruments in their dream and were noticeably better when they woke up. I used lucid dreaming to get rid of my fear of heights.

There are also other benefits, like conversing with your subconscious mind and learning more about your true self. Studies have shown that people who frequently had lucid dreams exhibited higher creativity and awareness. I’ve had lucid dreams where I spawned in a character that I imagined was my subconscious mind, and then had a conversation with it. There are many other small benefits, but I think being connected with your inner-self in such an amazing way is the greatest!

How common is it for people to want to start lucid dreaming purely so that they can just bang celebrities or just other people?

Very common. It’s like, one of the most popular topics with lucid dreaming xD

I can't remember my dreams in the morning after I wake up, but I know that I was dreaming of something. Can I still lucid dream?

Yes – you need to develop your dream recall. There’s many methods to help you remember your dreams in the morning. Try repeating to yourself before falling asleep “when I wake up, I will remember my dreams” and write them down as soon as you wake up in a journal/phone. Once you have success with this, it will only get better from there!

For people who forget their dreams (or don't have any), can they lucid dream too? Or would they just forget it/ not dream at all?

Dream recall is one of the first things you’re supposed to work on if you want to lucid dream. If you keep a journal or phone by your bed and write down your dreams as soon as you wake up, you’ll develop that skill and experience extremely vivid dreams in just a few days. It may be hard at first, but if you keep trying you’ll eventually get there :)

Anyone can lucid dream!

Is it lucid dreaming something I can learn and do tonight?

Yes, for sure. If you’ve never heard of it before or really looked into it, there’s a high chance of you having a lucid dream tonight simply by exposing yourself to lots of content on the subject. If it’s fresh in your mind when you fall asleep then chances are you’ll have one. I remember I did.

As for mastering it, no... lucid dreaming takes a lot of practice before you’re at the point of inducing them at will.

Are you able to wake up fully rested? If so, how long did it take? When I lucid dream I always have a sleepy day.

For me yes, but everyone is different. I find that lucid dreams further in the night (5:30am+) leave you more rested when you wake up than ones at, say, midnight.

Has lucid dreaming somehow impacted your non-sleeping life?

Tremendously. It’s allowed me to overcome my fear of heights and become a better public speaker. I feel like lucid dreaming has made me a more creative, positive, and energetic person, and whenever I wake up from a lucid dream I feel refreshed and ready to take on the day (I used to be the opposite).

I already come in with preconceived notions there is both the mental and chemical aspect to lucid dreaming - and that everyone is different so there are always gonna be some variance - however, what are some foods/supplements you found to potentially be almost universally useful?

Throughout my lucid dreaming career I’ve never used supplements because I wanted to do everything naturally. However, supplements are a great option for many and there’s lots to choose from. I’ve heard good things about DreamLeaf.

As for foods: chicken, peanut butter, turkey and tuna all contain tryptophan which improves sleep quality, but it’s important not to eat close to when you’re about to fall asleep :)

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I am not sure why but am trying to contact the mods. I don’t think sharing a link to my videos is against the rules because I see people do it all the time but if it is I would be glad to have only that removed.

How do you know what to do once you're lucid? Do you think of something on the spot or plan out ahead of time what you want to dream about? Is there any risk that if you don't plan ahead, you could experience a bad dream while lucid?

I like to visualize/meditate before I fall asleep and get a clear plan in my mind. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to decide what to do in a lucid dream so having a plan helps for sure. There’s not any risk if you don’t know what to do... you’ll probably just end up flying around.

I’m someone who has never had, or never remember having, a truly lucid dream. How do I have my first experience? Do some people just not have them?

Everyone can lucid dream! If you’re just starting out, I recommend exposing yourself to lots of material about lucid dreaming and going to sleep with the intention to lucid dream. There’s a good chance you’ll have one tonight.

After that, look into methods like MILD and WBTB. Also, make sure you’re keeping a dream journal (write your dreams down when you wake up) and do reality checks throughout the day if you want to maximize your odds.

This might get buried in all of the other comments, but i still feel the need to share. I had a lucid dream a few weeks back for the first time in about 12 years (I’m 24 now). I don’t keep a dream journal and barely even remember most of my dreams.

I don’t know if it was because I was so sleep deprived (I was on vacation in China, and it was my first night away alone), but for some reason I was able to pick up on the fact that I was dreaming. (I was walking the streets in Shanghai with my friends, who I knew just left, also I had just fallen asleep in my hotel bed in Luoyang).

My question is: how common are lucid dreams for those who don’t know about or pursue them?

I never really tried doing it after it happened to me as a kid (just flew around and thought it was cool), but now I’m much more interested in the the idea of doing it again.

That’s really cool!

The general statistic is half the population has had at least one lucid dream in their lifetime, and twenty percent have reoccurring lucid dreams (once a month).

Ooh, I've got a question.

I've spent my late teens experimenting with lucid dreaming and got to the point of remembering plenty of dreams, and experiencing lucid ones every month or so. Didn't ever quite make it. I've had a reality check, an object to do it with, did it throughout the day, woke up during the night and went back to sleep again after a bit, tracked my sleep cycles, yadda yadda.... But that was over 10 YEARS ago.

I'm married now. I have a job, I'm still finishing up on school, I've got a dog last week. I've got irregular sleep opportunities, and I'm often sleep deprived.

Is there a chance in hell I could ever get back to LD? It feels like I'm never going to be able to make it now.

It’s entirely possible! If anything, you have an advantage because of your previous experience... even if you never had much success. Just go back to the basics and establish a strong foundation, and everything else will fall into place :)

I find I can become lucid but lose it very quickly ... is this common ? How do I hold onto it for longer ?

This is very common. Once you learn how to become lucid, the next step is practicing dream stabilization. I uploaded a video on my channel about that yesterday, but here’s the breakdown:

Don’t get too excited, once you become lucid spend time taking in your surroundings, rub your hands together and spin if you feel unstable... there’s many ways to ground yourself in your dream :)