So I went to bed about 3am and set my alarm for 9am. Woke up on my own about 8:15 so I figured I’d just get up then. I got up and read forum stuff for about 30 minutes before going back to bed. I was counting my breathing and trying to let the HI come, but instead I could NOT fall back asleep. The next thing I know, I got a text at 9:30, so I basically had been lying there for 45 minutes not going back to sleep. When I finally do get into a LD, it barely lasts before I wake up and I couldn’t get back into it. Do people specifically do 4 1/2 hours instead of 6 to make SURE they go back to sleep quickly?
EXACT same thing happened to me.
I was so frustrated/tired the whole day.
So I second this topic question
If it was at 8.15 in the morning you might have been to awake to Wild as you have had a whole nights sleep.
I have to wake up at 6 so I’m always tired, whenever I wake up. However I naturally wake up at around 2.30-3.30 every day. This means that I’m still tired however are nice and relaxed ready to ld. The only problem you might have then is falling asleep why trying to ld.
yeah, you can play around with the times to ajust and see what’s better for you. You can also stay up less. For example, sleep for 6 hours and stay up only 15 minutes, or even 10 or 5! Until you feel you are awake enough not to just fall back asleep, but not too awake 
I know I’ve never had good luck with 6 hours. 5 hours and 15 mins seems to be the magic number for me, but it is different for every person. Another thing that might be keeping you up is the WILD attempt. I know counting and waiting around for HI actually wakes me up, so I use VILD with WBTB. Play around some, you’ll find something that works.
Rhewin’s post raises an interesting point. In general, its recommended to set your alarm for for 90 minutes intervals if you’re initially learning dream recall, because those 90 minutes periods generally coincide with the end of a sleep cycle, and thus the end of a REM cycle.
However, trying to WILD at the end of a REM cycle might not be as effective as trying to WILD more towards the beginning of when a REM cycle would occur, because its would likely take longer to fall asleep and longer for any signs of HI or SP to occur. This effect decreases as the night wears on, because the REM cycles become progressively longer, and regular stages of sleep progressively shorter. I’d argue that WILD intervals might be better off in 45/135 or 60 minute time intervals, because you’ll have a better chance of interrupting a REM cycle and consequently it will be quicker and easier to re-enter into the dream state. For MILD however, longer is often better, because it gives you more time to affirm your intention or recognizing the dream state. This effect is drastically reduced towards the end of the night if you sleep a 9 hour schedule (which is probably the most ideal for LD related success); because by that time a good 80-90% of your time is spent in REM.
To the OP: WILDing later in the night is typically a good thing because you will have longer REM cycles, and less time in the “normal” sleep stages. If you’re having trouble falling asleep (i.e its taking longer than normal), your forcing it too much. You have to be totally passive as you wait for the onset of SP or HI. Passively observe what you see behind closed eyelids while staying relaxed. If you start wanting it, hurrying it, or forcing it, you’ll just prevent yourself from entering REM. As far as LD’s barely lasting, that’s pretty typical when your new to LDing. It’s very easy to get off balance emotionally (too excited usually) which wakes you up; it will take some practice to get better at remaining on a more even keel emotionally, and to get better at using dream stabilization techniques.