sleeping on your back

In many places it’s written that it’s preferable to lie on your back for this or that LD/dream-recall excericse. After failing to sleep on my back, I asked around in my local dreamer community and found out that it’s a common problem. So how do you cope with it? How did you learn to sleep on your back?

How it happens with me: at first I start falling asleep normally. Then I notice that I’m on my back, and the initial sleepiness goes away. Then I feel an ever incerasing urge to turn on a side, and must excericse willpower to remain supine. But of course I can’t fall asleep if I’m not relaxed.

Whenever I lie on my front, I feel relaxed mentally but a bit uncomfortable. Lying on my back is the opposite. I am physically relaxed, but mentally uncomfortable. Relaxation is a balance between mental and physical conditions, so lying on my front provides the best results.

I tried lying on my back for my 2nd and most recent WILD attempt (it failed, just so you know). I got a little farther than my first attempt, and started getting HI. My concentration broke because a motorcycle came zooming by my house. The reason why I got so far on my back was because it fits WILD: It gets your body tired and, at least for me, it keeps me mentally aware.

My opinion: You can use any technique that improves DR/increases chances of an LD in any sleepling position you would like. It’s just a matter of finding the one that works best for you. My WILD worked better on my back, and my best MILD attempt was done on my front.

Generally when I have lucids I find I wake lying on my back. Also I once had an OBE type experience with buzzing and felt like I was going down I giant rabbit hole at great speed. I had been lying on my side and it happened when I turned to lay on my back… Strange

It might be preferable, but if your not relaxed, mentally and physically, then whatever induction you choose to do will fail. So just sleep in any position that you feel more relaxed in. I don’t think sleeping positions will affect your chances that greatly, correct me if i’m wrong.

I for one cannot sleep on my back, however hard i try; i usually end up sleeping on my left side.

While i was reading about Tibetan Dream Yoga, this is the sleeping position it recommended;

“Lie on one side with your legs together and knees slightly bent. Let your bent arm take the weight of your torso by resting your head on your open hand. This is the posture of the sleeping Buddha, as he has been traditionally depicted at the moment of passing into nirvana (death).”

I always lie on my back.

I haven’t found one sleeping position preferable over another.

So, I guess to answer your question, I haven’t. I don’t sleep on my back if it’s not comfortable, and if it is, then I do.

I have the same problem. I can’t sleep on my back unless I’m sick or exhausted. I’m a little more comfortable without a pillow under my head. Best case: I doze for 20 minutes and then wake myself snoring. At that point, I feel the overwhelming urge to turn on my side and fall asleep.

All the same, if I lie on my back first, I usually fall asleep faster when I turn on my side. The weird thing is I never used to even try to sleep on my back until my cat trained me to lie flat so he could sit on me, but that’s another story.

I used to WILD while lying on my bed. Since I do it lying at my side I made progress. I’m just too bad at falling asleep to lie at my back, I barely can lying at my side.

I have an odd problem… sometimes while I’m on my back, I’ll want to go on my side. But when I do… it’s even more uncomfortable. But for some reason, my mind makes me do it. This is ususally only when I’m restless / not very tired, though.

Same with me. I feel the urge to turn to my side, because it’s more comfortable for about 10 minutes and then I think it’s more comfortable on my back etc. etc. This can get very annoying!

How do you do that? I mean breathing. Do you turn your head to the side or do you put a pillow under your chest? Isn’t it hard to breathe when lieing on your front?

It’s fairly comfortable if you keep the the arm and leg on one side straight and close to your body, and bend the arm and leg on the other side, elbow towards knee, with head facing this side…if you see what I mean!

can any of you stay in the same position the entire night? i change positions every time i wake up, and i wake up frequently.

something about beds doesn’t seem right, like they aren’t good for your health… we need to find a more ergonomic way to sleep.

Last night’s sleep was heavily monitored because I was trying out the “Waking Conscience” method. As far as I can remember, I fell asleep with my head tilted left. I woke up the first time with my head tilted right, and fell asleep again the same way. I woke up for the second and final time with my head buried under my pillow and tilted to the right. (No clue how that happened…)

It isn’t too hard to find comfortable breathing positions while sleeping unless you have Sleep Apnea.

Something with massaging capabilities, I hope! :wink:

I’ve been thinking of a recliner. Some guy, who has one, said it’s way better than a bed. Yet, I think it’s better to learn to sleep on flat surfaces (beds, sleeping bags, floors, ground) since they’re readily available unlike recliners.

Every time I have ever tried WILD on my back, I have failed miserably. Mostly because it’s so uncomfortable for me, i much prefer on my side, or some other natural sleeping position. It may differ with the person, but I personally can’t lay on my back and get results.

This night I tried to fall asleep on my back again. But this time I closely followed what happens as I fall asleep. Soon after lieing down, HI started. There was a ring suspended in the air that I could twist and turn at will. For some time I played around with it, but then it flew away. I materialised another one, but soon after scenes started changing incerasingly rapidly. I felt like I was flying through them. I felt that just a tiny bit more and I’ll be asleep. But then came a scene with a face staring at me and, bam, I was all awake. After lieing sleepless on my back for a few more minutes, I turned to the side.

I use to get LDs sleeping on my back. I’ve found that since I move in my sleep along at night, sleeping on my side or stomach helps me become more aware I’m dreaming, because somehow I know I “twist and turn” in my sleep.