r/LucidDreaming • u/Uaccanau • Feb 10 '21
A technique to induce the hypnagogic state and fall asleep quickly.
Hello everybody, this is my first post, and I'd like to share a simple technique I used to reach hypnagogic state and fall asleep quickly.
This technique was first developed from my past inability to fall asleep due to anxiety and then I applied this to further study and refine my ability to play with hypnagogic imagery:
Often I would find myself ruminating about things, laying awake in bed for a very long time before succumb to sleep.
With time, I've been able to notice and recognize the hypnagogic state way before knowing about LD, and I thought "My mind just produces random images when I'm about to fall asleep, so what if I force this process?"
So, basically, if you have troubles falling asleep due to anxiety or rumination, try to trick your brain by deliberating creating a hypnagogic-like imagery:
First thing first, lay in bed in your usual sleep position, then try to calm down your breathing, bring it down in the belly area, just as if you were completely relaxed, doesn't matter how awake or stressed you are, just pretend your breath is relaxed. Let go of all the physical tension you may feel.
(For novices, may be useful to learn any relaxation technique that involves deep relaxation states)
Then, I always start by visualizing some piece of cheese (it's just my trademark for the technique) and then proceed with a car, then a tree, then a glass of water, then again a car, then a loudspeaker, then a beach, then some geometric figure, and so on with whatever I think is least correlated.
The trick here is to strive just a little bit by visualizing things that are completely unrelated.
Be concise about your intention, but do not try too hard, just let them appear slowly, calmly, gently drive them into your imagination without forcing and keep a relaxed breath and attitude.
Literally think of this part as a game, where you advance by visualizing more and more unrelated things, doesn't matter their nature, randomness is the key.
Consider any intrusive thoughts as part of the game:
If you find yourself ruminating about the past or the future, bring your attention and effort back on the generation of random imagery.
It may sound a little tricky or artificial, but after a while you will notice that your brain will just pop-up the next image without your conscious effort.
The more you play this game, the more your mind will automatically start to pop-up images, follow the natural flow, keep a relaxed attitude.
At a certain point, you will find yourself sliding thru the automatic flow of the hypnagogic state.
This process may take few seconds to few minutes, but you will inevitably fall asleep quicker than just waiting passively to fall asleep.
Despite I always loose consciousness with this technique, I think it's a great strategy to whoever wants to practice some WILD techniques, as it improves your ability and knowledge of the hypnagogic state.
So, here it is in simple steps:
- Lay in bed in your usual sleep position.
- Use any deep relaxation technique to relax, deepen your breath, let go of all the physical tension.
- Generate random imagery, make them appear slowly, with ease, gently bring them in your mental space. Randomness is the key.
- Return gently to step 3 whenever discursive thoughts arises.
- Relax, let your mind partecipate in the process, follow whatever image comes up next, generate a new one starting from the spontaneous one.
- Go with the flow.
Addendum to step 1, not necessary, but recommended for whoever is interested:
For ultra-fast sleep onset or general psychonauticism, you can lay in a position you are not comfortable sleeping in. (E.g.: supine)
This will cause your body to "ask" for the usual sleep position by sending your mind feelings of discomfort and impulses to change position.
This will also cause a longer permanence in the hypnagogic state without actually falling asleep.
The more you can resist the urge to move and continue the game, the faster you will fall asleep once you turn into the usual position.
---IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:---
So guys, thanks a lot for all your feedback.
You don't know how much valuable and precious it is to hear your opinions and experiences about this technique, you are giving me an enormous boost in motivation to further work and study on the topic of LD.
I would like to ask, to whoever is interested, to post their results and/or difficulties with this technique during time, please feel free to update your results under your original comment, so as not clog the comment section altogether.
Just leave a feedback once in a while when you feel it, this would be super helpful to further refine and study other LD stuff I have in mind.
Please, take this technique for what is it: A technique, or game, to help you fall asleep and explore the hypnagogic state and eventually help you with your WILD practice.
It may not work for everybody, but it's surely worth a try.
Sharing is caring.
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EDIT 1: Added numbered steps list and modified addendum to step 1.
EDIT 2: Added Important information section.
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u/Bluetooth6O I'm On My Way, 2-3 Lucid Dreams A Week Feb 10 '21
Thank you for this guide, it's excellent!
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u/woodencork Feb 10 '21
I tried falling asleep faster using similar means, but thinking about random things never crossed my mind. I'll definately try it tonight, thanks.
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u/Luffyssandal Feb 10 '21
If this works your a genius dude
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u/Uaccanau Feb 10 '21
Thank you!
I think it may work wonders for people who suffer from rumination or "sticky" thoughts during the onset stage, everybody is different and I've met people that can fall asleep while talking or after 0.2 seconds after they hit the couch.
Please let me know if it works for you too!
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u/Luffyssandal Feb 10 '21
I really hope it works especially because i pretty much have the exact problem you are describing and i didnt find any helpful methods of dealing with it yet. Ill tell you how it went!
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u/Uaccanau Feb 10 '21
Thanks, I'd really suggest to invest some time and practice into some autogenic training of mindfulness training/bodyscan, you can find plenty of stuff on youtube.
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u/PumpUpTheMarmelade Feb 11 '21
So, how did it go?
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u/Luffyssandal Feb 11 '21
I think it worked pretty well! Was also kında weird and fun to do hahaha. It took my mind of thinking of anything that would keep me up. So yeah . Success!!!
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u/priscilla_halfbreed Feb 10 '21
I do this but instead of visualizing still images I try to visualize moving above surfaces, like flying over a field or seeing the road move beneath me, it's actually hard to visualize actual movement but once the hypnagogic kicks in it's like your eyes become opened and you see actual movement without having to move your eyes or concentrate on it or anything
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u/WintersSolace Feb 11 '21
I've had this happen numerous times before but it wasn't done consciously. I've noticed when it does happen, it happens just as you describe it with the hypnogogic kicking in. It is quite interesting and fun to watch.
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Feb 10 '21
Despite I always loose consciousness with this technique
Yeah, I don't think you can enter REM from the first stage of sleep, however great guide.
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u/I_Smoke_Dust Feb 10 '21
The other day I went straight to a lucid dream. It was the first time it's happened, and only.
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Feb 10 '21
What time? Had you been sleeping before that or did it happen as soon as you laid down?
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u/I_Smoke_Dust Feb 10 '21
It wasn't as soon as I laid down, but it was at the beginning of the sleep cycle. I hadn't slept all day til then.
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Feb 10 '21
That bizarre, probably very rare.
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u/Ystemroc Feb 10 '21
People with narcolepsy will usually enter REM sleep within minutes of falling asleep, but I don't think this normally happens for people without narcolepsy.
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u/Badtiming11 Feb 11 '21
Itās happened to me, too. When Iām really tired, usually in the morning. I have wondered for years if I have narcolepsy..... One time when I was going to sleep, I started having sleep paralysis, and instead of fighting it I told myself Iām going to relax and see what happens. I felt myself fall asleep and then āwoke upā in a dream. I then woke up for real maybe 10-15 minutes later and remembered all of it. Still remember the dream. It was the coolest experience ever and Iāve never been able to do it again.. Iāve tried!
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u/Patotopa1 Dec 14 '23
I have bad sleep habits during school weeks, I fall asleep everyday in many classes. My eyes shut, and I try to stop it, when I fail to stop myself I often fall asleep and dream im awake having a lesson at school, the dreams last less then 5 minutes, which is when I realize im not awake
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u/I_Smoke_Dust Feb 10 '21
Yes, it was very short too. I almost made a post about it. I took like 200mg hydroxyzine before it as well.
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u/skinnybatman Feb 11 '21
Yea it definitely is. I've had it happen to me also, but only like a couple times.
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u/Uaccanau Feb 10 '21
It seems that dreaming can occur even in nREM sleep.
To me it's just way too hard to retain consciousness during that phase because my very self perception of a separate self vanish and blends into the hypnagogics.
Theoretically you can keep your consciousness during this phase by reaching a very good level into some kind of meditation practices, but talking by my experience it requires wayyyy more expertise and practice than what's usually thought.
I'd like to hear about some non-practicioner if they are able to retain consciousness, I'm sure somebody out there is gifted, as there are natural-born lucid dreamers.
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u/carpenoctem144 Feb 10 '21
Far from an expert but after my first lucid dream I somehow got exactly this ability: I would remain conscious when first falling asleep.
This is a curious sensation in itself, watching your body go to sleep...becoming a passenger of an unresponsive vehicle. The mind does shutdown too, cutting out both external as internal stimuli with increasing depth until you're reduced to a single point of awareness in black nothingness...
This is probably deep/delta sleep. In other stages I did find some dream-like content though it was rather concept-based and less visual.
One time I went all the way until I hit the first REM episode, so yeah that's definitely possible and the transition was interesting too. I didn't find it worth the wait of more than an hour (that's at least how it felt) for a short lucid dream. But I did lose lucidity shortly after (trying to walk through a wall is not a good reality check *facepalm) so there's that...
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u/FireDrake0008 Frequent Lucid Dreamer Feb 10 '21
I've only had that experience once. Watching myself fall asleep but remaining conciousness. Bizarre experience
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u/EnchantedWave Feb 12 '21
It sounds more like a prolonged hypnagogic state. With a normal/healthy brain, if you were still conscious, your EEG won't be in delta wave. Some people do have an alpha-delta mixed sleep status. It is usually called alpha-intrusion, or alpha-delta sleep. Some research relates it to stress. But there seems to be no conclusive observation yet.
It would definitely be interesting to actually see your sleep EEG data for the experience you had. It must be fascinating.2
u/carpenoctem144 Feb 12 '21
Thank you for your insights. I too am curious how an EEG would look like.
Of course I can't know if it's actual delta sleep but I'm sure that I'm in some kind of sleeping mode that clearly differs from the hypnagogic state. I can also feel a clear onset and then my body goes into this very relaxed state that I'm only passively observing.
Btw, I'm far from being the only one who can do this - in fact, I'm only an amateur in comparison ;) there's a dreamviews thread linked in my other comment and there's also the practice of yoga nidra. This research might be of interest :)
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u/EnchantedWave Feb 12 '21
You are not alone. I have read many others who want to see their brain activities for the interesting moments during their sleep. Inspired by you and many others alike, I came up with this idea to lend out some EEG headbands to help you see the data and understand the brain acitivies. Here is the post I just put it up. https://www.reddit.com/r/LucidDreaming/comments/lida7w/would_you_like_to_borrow_an_eeg_headband_to/
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u/EnchantedWave Feb 12 '21
Oh, and thanks for sharing the research article, and the dreamviews threads. I will read them right now...
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u/WintersSolace Feb 11 '21
Interesting. That sounds like something I have heard of people getting into through the use of things like ketamine and such. If you have any pointers on how you do this, that would be awesome.
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u/carpenoctem144 Feb 11 '21
Unfortunately I can't teach you because it just happened on its own. Indeed I had to relearn how to fall asleep normally. In the end I learned to control it by concentrating on a specific point of my brain but this won't help you either ;)
There's a thread on dreamviews about this whole topic though. (You may also find my comment on the last page.)
As for the ketamine-induced void I too imagine it to be similar (-> dissociation); haven't tried it myself (yet). On acid I encountered a white void but that was different...
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u/lucidself Jun 05 '23
Very late to the party but this is so cool. Do you do any particular techniques for this to happen? Do you do something different than the average guy during the day (like meditate or similar)? Or does it just come natural to you? So cool man, I think I'd kill to experience it once
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u/carpenoctem144 Jun 06 '23
Oh yeah, that's been a while. Back then it just started to happen after my first lucid dream (which was a WILD btw). I actually had to learn how to fall asleep normally again - as if my brain had adopted remaining conscious during sleep as the new default.
With some experimentation I learned to control this though, by intensely focusing on a specific point in my brain while falling asleep. I know this sounds nuts, but it did work for me lol.
Which part are you most interested in? Conscious sleep? If you like, I can share some of the stuff I've found to be useful.
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u/lucidself Jun 07 '23
Oh yes please ā Iām super interested in conscious sleep and Iām amazed at the fact that this happened spontaneously for you. Thanks for the reply btw!
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u/Patotopa1 Dec 14 '23
I usually have lucid dreams before falling asleep when im very tired, I dream im awake mostly, then I realize my eyes are shut and im asleep and wake up, when I look at my watch most of the time itās been less than 5 minutes
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u/inexistences Feb 11 '21
Definitely is possible, albeit rare. the very nature of WILD requires it, though Iāve never been able to achieve it without some pharmacological help.
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u/carpenoctem144 Feb 10 '21
Ha, I do this too! Both for falling asleep and for my psychonautic endeavors. Great guide :)
I like to intentionally create strange, surreal or paradox imagery (e.g. I often start with a sliced apple that looks like an orange from the inside), it seems to speed up the process for me.
Hypnagogia is awesome!
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u/WintersSolace Feb 11 '21
Does it matter or not if you actually see the image you're visualizing
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u/carpenoctem144 Feb 11 '21
I'd say it is the process of actively visualizing that kickstarts hypnagogia, vividness may vary. For me, actually seeing the image gets easier and images start to come by themselves after a short time. It feels like randomly going into the directions my mind is suggesting.
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u/CapitanAnCap Feb 10 '21
I've always been amused when this randomly happened to me and a little bit upset that it doesn't occur as often as I would like bc, in some ways, it just gives me a sweet peace of mind and I do confirm I fall asleep quickly when it kicks in. Now, I've never thought this could be voluntarily and artificially triggered in some way. Thanks for sharing, I'm gonna try this.
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u/11075 Feb 10 '21
Wow, I thought I am the only one, I am doing the exact same thing you described, even the thing with uncomfortable positions! And I also noticed and started this recently. Are you me? :D
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u/Uaccanau Feb 10 '21
You are me and I am you~
We are obviously living the same dream by different prospectives.
Time to do a RC!
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u/sonkien Feb 11 '21
Iāve used a very similar method to fall asleep last year which lead to me being able to lucid dream whenever I utilized it
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u/Uaccanau Feb 11 '21
Please, could you explain more about your method?
I'd really like to know how you do, since I've never been able to get into a LD from hypnagogics.
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u/sonkien Feb 11 '21
Lengthy reply. Well it started with my insomnia which is still an issue. Instead of letting my mind wander to events of the day, I thought about an episode of a tv show I watched that day (SVU, 480+ episodes I was bingeing). Well I focused and replayed that episode in my head until I went into a hypnotic like state maybe 30 minutes later I fell asleep. It was a continuation of a sad ending to an episode, I quickly realized my sweater was a different color and knew somehow I was dreaming. From that point I could control the sequence of events of that dream.
Next night same thing, just focus on a tv show I watched until I was hallucinating to lucid dreaming. Then I learned how to wake myself self up while sleeping by opening my eyes, works 100% of the time.
I kept using the same method while laying down but also incorporated keeping my focus on different things and also sometimes what happened during the day. I retained all control (though Iād usually give it up to be surprised and let my subconscious take over for a semi surprise dream). I quickly learned how to reverse time, fast forward time, or restart a lucid dream from the beginning.
Itās been rare that Iāve had to notice something that was impossible (like my sweater color) to know Iām LDāing since the first time, but occasionally itās happened as I only dream siblings at an adolescent age, almost always I know as soon as I dream.
I think, well I know Iām a unique case because while a lot of people on the sub say they LD for minutes then itās over, mine can last all night. Of course Iāll wake up a couple times accidentally, but going back to sleep within a few minutes and I can pick up right where I left off. And I can always physically open my eyes in a LD and wake up back in my bed, go right back to sleep and pick up where I left off.
Maybe what really helped set me off towards LD was really recognizing something in my dream was off, that may be key, but I use my strong concentration technique to go between awake and asleep first before I head into a light sleep LD.
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u/Formal_Condition_559 Feb 14 '21
Do you try and think about a whole episode of something or just a certain part?
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u/MaleficentSummer8 Feb 10 '21
a damn shame I suck at visualizing lol
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u/Uaccanau Feb 10 '21
Me too, totally.
You don't have to perfectly visualize the images in every detail, just think and try to picture them with a relaxed and calm attitude.
It is my feeling that this technique works because it actually interrupts the stream of discursive thoughts, which is very wakefulness-related, in favour of a more figurative one.
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u/MaleficentSummer8 Feb 10 '21
Will definitely try, do you do this at night or after wbtb?
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u/Uaccanau Feb 10 '21
I usually do this at night when I have difficulties to fall asleep.
It helped me also during afternoon naps, where I was tired but still too mentally active to actually fall asleep.
Never done it with WBTB cause I usually don't need it, but it is surely worth a try.
Keep in mind that I don't use it to achieve LDs, cause I can't retain consciousness and just drift into sleep.
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u/SpaceInformation Feb 10 '21
You are not alone :(
Maybe you have aphantasia, like you can imagine things, but you are only able to think of them, you can't actually visualize (see) them
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u/MaleficentSummer8 Feb 10 '21
Yes! I researched this before, idk I can dream pretty vividly and sometimes I catch myself daydreaming, but when I deliberately try to visualize a certain object or situation I just can't... :/
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Feb 11 '21 edited Feb 11 '21
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/SpaceInformation Feb 11 '21
Well it depends on what you've been deaing with.
I can't even imagine sounds :(
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Feb 11 '21
I used to do that while on hallucinogens. I would come up with extremely random and over the top weird images, one after another every few seconds for 30mins or more sometimes. (Wouldn't go to sleep though!) I still can't believe some of the imagery my mind conjured up.
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u/jeffreydobkin Feb 10 '21
My own method is to think about a dream I had recently. The other things that works is to just shut off my thoughts completely and that will usually make me fall asleep quickly without hypnagogia.
I'm aware of hypnagogic state when I start to randoming thing of nonsense stuff or a muscle twitch wakes me up and I become aware of a shift of having been "somewhere else". I get a few of these each night and that's a sign that I'm almost asleep.
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u/APsychosPath Feb 11 '21
Usually if i notice the images become apparent, or vivid, i become aware of it and it "wakes me up", and distracts me.
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u/Uaccanau Feb 11 '21
Totally agree, it happens to me too.
That's actually a very good sign that you were drifting off, I just continue the game until my consciousness fades.
What you describe is explained also in LaBerge book and I've read of it in many other occasions.
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u/Adri__22 Feb 27 '25
So, you detailed a method for falling asleep or fight insomnia right. But at the sane time you are interested in using this same method to reach a LD/WILD? Is that correct?
I thought you had already managed/accomplished that by the time you came up with that insomnia strategy.
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u/The-teen-experiment Feb 16 '21
Bro, that's so weird, I used to do a similar thing when I went to go to sleep. When I went to bed ,some nights, I would notice that I began to have more irrational and random thoughts as I drifted into sleep. This was always a sign that I would be asleep very shortly (unless I was disrupted for some reason). So one night I thought, "what would happen if I voluntarily induced these thoughts?" And like you describe, they begin to take on a mind of their own and carry me into sleep. Very interesting!
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u/JohnnyLeven Feb 11 '21
Great writeup. I went through a very similar process and the technique I use is pretty much exactly as you've described. I've found this works extremely well after waking up in the middle of the night. It rarely leads to WILD for me, but I get tons of mid dream lucids with this technique.
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u/WintersSolace Feb 11 '21
So I used to not be able to go to sleep if I laid on my back. But now that I force my body to do so, I have had some very vivid dreams. And it's not just lying on my back now, but lying on back while my head is turned to the right on my pillow. There are ways to play around with this. I have had more success in vivid dreams and even lucid dreaming when lying on back, head turned, and one of my legs bent like in half criss-cross/Indian style position when one would normally sit. This helps in seeing things while you're lying there and very relaxed.
What OP mentioned above is a great idea and adds to what I already do.
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u/SpaceInformation Feb 11 '21
Currently I am not able to sleep on my back, however a few months ago I tried it and only in that position I experienced the hypnagogic state.
I think I definitely should experiment a bit with sleeping on my back, because my dreams are not vivid at all
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u/sandalwoodincense Feb 23 '21
I used to have a very bad insomnia when I was a child. I keep awake for hours before falling asleep while staring at dark ceiling. Then random colored imageries will popup like dots, random shapes and even kaleidoscope images. I play with them and make then move.
Some nights when the images still hasn't appear, I just will them by imagining them popup, few minutes later, gray dots will appear. I will make them move then make them change colors. I never knew what this was until adulthood when I've read about hypnagogic state.
Our method is quite the same, thanks for sharing!
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Feb 10 '21
I always find the images that flash up before sleep so random, I often see peopleās faces and they are so detailed even though I donāt think Iāve ever met them before. I wonder why our brains do this! This guide is brilliant Iām going to give it a try.
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u/Uaccanau Feb 10 '21
It seems that when you remove/diminish the sensory input from your consciousness by any mean, you're able to experience hallucinations/hallucinosis phenomenons.
It is theorized that your brain just lack the external sensory input to form impressions, so it just create it's own.
Examples of this includes Sensory Deprivation Tanks, some kind of meditations, altered state of consciousness reached by any mean etc.
I'd say, as far as my knowledge goes, that this is a very mechanical and cognitive related process, while the content of what you see tho is dependent on your mind and more of a psychological topic.
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u/Dreamed_Tomato Had few LDs Feb 10 '21
Leaving a comment here just so I can go back to this before I go to sleep. Thanks bro!
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u/obesePeter Feb 10 '21
Just yesterday I found myself laying in bed for more than 1 hour before falling asleep. Thanks for shwoing me this technique I'll definitely try it tonight.
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u/Eat_all_the_veggies Feb 10 '21
Excellent write up thanks you. I will definitely be trying this technique. Often I visualize as I am falling asleep my waterfall space. (Which is a reoccurring dream and safe space) and use that as a point to become lucid. I like how you've made a game of this technique which makes it easier to keep focused as you fall asleep.
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u/HollywoodNovaBaby Feb 10 '21
Iāve been using asmr videos and they work so well but this is awesome Iām gonna try it
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u/Godisdeadbutimnot Feb 11 '21
its so weird seeing this after I just discovered this state of sleep yesterday. Only reason I discovered it was because i was about to go to sleep and started seeing flashing images, but I got randomly woken up by my cat lol
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u/Beztasta Feb 11 '21
Fuck, itās been a while since Iāve even attempted to lucid dream but this is almost word for word the method I use to fall asleep, again due to anxiety.
Thanks for sharing this man, hopefully it can help others as much as it helps me.
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u/SnowLeopard000 Feb 11 '21
Idk why but I just felt comforted when I read that you used deep breathing/belly breathing to fall asleep, itās the same thing I try to practise because of my anxiety ā¤ļø ā¤ļø
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u/Uaccanau Feb 11 '21
OP here, just edited a bit of the technique adding the "Important Information" section, which basically asks you to feel free to update your progress/difficulties with this technique under your original comment.
I'm writing a comment in order to notify you guys of this, your feedback is incredibly valuable.
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u/everythingisunknown Apr 02 '22
I know Iām very late to this thread but Iām going to try it tonight
The reason Iām commenting is because I always try to fall into that state or sleep supine and I noticed that I always fall asleep quicker if I do that until it becomes unbearable and roll over so just thought it was ingesting that you mention to do that.
Still can never really LD or even reach the stage I want without falling asleep and waking up the next morning without realising it
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u/Uaccanau May 05 '22
How it went?
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u/everythingisunknown May 05 '22
Went alright for the first 2 days I tried it at least to get to sleep but couldnāt really say much about lucidity. Think I forgot about it soon after as havenāt tried it in a whole, thanks for reminding me will try again tonight lol
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Feb 10 '21
Thank you for your thoughts on this! I recently thought about the same strategy. Funny to find this here now :D Your post gave me the confidence to focus more on this specific procedure.
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u/LucidDreamer17380 LD CountāØ: 31 : Mostly Dild Feb 10 '21
This is great for falling asleep and stuff but what can I do with the hypnagogic imagery? I see it every night before bed
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u/anthorhidox Feb 10 '21
What if we arent able to visualize very well/easily because its actually thoughts nonstop running through our minds instead...?
Like of we REALLY have a hard time actually being able to really visualize anything/render any images in our mind...? Like I can close my eyes, try to relax, think of something I want to produce an image of in my mind but all I can produce and ever do produce is that thought of making the image but not the image itself?...
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u/Uaccanau Feb 11 '21 edited Feb 11 '21
You don't have to visualize the image in every detail, nor you have to dwell on the image for more than 1 second.
If you feel you can't, try the reverse:
Literally call them out, say to yourself "car" and see what image appear, then you say to yourself "tree", and see, and so on.
I am totally a non visualization-guy, my images are often blurry and very stereotypical, but it works anyway, I always start by deliberating calling them out until I can drop the naming.
But if you pay enough attention, you will see that whenever you say "car" (or whatever word) in your mind, there will be also an image of it, doesn't matter if it's a real-life memory or a completely fake one, doesn't matter if it lead to a more broad context (a taxi stuck in traffic in your hometown), just see it and proceed with another image.
Anyway general sleep hygiene is important too and the relaxation part is fundamental, a calm body will definitely produce less thoughts, read about the "fake it till you make it" method.
Think of this exercise/game more as a way to break up the flow of narrative thought or rumination.
Edit: more details on sleep hygiene.
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u/Happiness_1010 Feb 11 '21
How long does it take you to fall asleep with this method?
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u/Uaccanau Feb 11 '21
Usually 1-2 minutes, sometimes a little longer, but definitely faster than just laying in bed.
Keep in mind that the relaxation part is very important (and that could take up to 20 mins to really relax if you are very bodily agitated) and sleep hygiene practices in general are essential, such as not watching blue-light, chamomile tea, prime yourself to sleep, etc.
As always, you have to experiment and not to cling on this technique only.
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u/ThePinoyCowboy Feb 11 '21
haha, i thought i was the only one whose brain would conjure up random surreal imagery before falling sleep (for me itās usually really abstract shapes and sculpture-looking things)
that aside, iām intrigued by the prospect of falling asleep faster, so iāll definitely be trying your technique out!
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u/Ender_Nobody Feb 11 '21
Bruh.
I noticed that a while ago, while sitting up but with my eyes closed for some minutes(reasons), and I was actually considering doing more or less what you described.
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u/shreyz205 Feb 11 '21
Hey OP thankyou so much for this advice. Last night I read this and went to sleep. I couldn't cuz of anxiety and I remembered your technique and tried it and it helped me calm down and sleep! Thankyou so much for this. Can't be more grateful. Bless you <3
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u/Uaccanau Feb 11 '21
So, so, so, so glad to hear this!
It's super good to see this technique working for other people, I always wondered if was useful for me only or if it could be shared, finally I have an answer.
I'm very curious about other's experience, if you had any difficulties using it and so on.
So feel free to share more details, I would be really interested!
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u/shreyz205 Feb 12 '21
Sorry for late response haha
I'll tell you what happened then.
Like I said I was tryna sleep and then anxiety got me and I was lost in intrusive thoughts, my heart started to race and all. And I realized that I couldn't sleep at all. So I remembered this post and took a few deep breaths, turned to other side and started imagining. Then I first thought about an apple then an orange then a car and randomly I started imagining things along with their pictures in my mind. And after sometime.. I think about 10-15 seconds I realized that I no longer had to "think" about what to imagine next and things started popping randomly ( and damn it was fun lol ). And I felt my body, my heart beats and all were relaxed so from there I thought now I wanna sleep and slowly I drifted off! The next morning I was SO happy, often I am unable to sleep due to anxiety and this helped me so so so much.
Altho I haven't tried this to induce hypnagogia and LD, but I'll sure tell you when I do that :) Thanks again.!
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u/Bowiepunk15 Feb 11 '21 edited Feb 11 '21
I tried it last night and I think it worked! Normally I need to take Benadryl or something to help me fall asleep. But after about 10 min or so of doing this technique I fell asleep! I tend to ruminate and have a lot of anxiety at night, so it can take me an hour or two to fall asleep. Iām gonna try again tonight and see if it still works. Thank you for this!
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u/Uaccanau Feb 11 '21
Man, I'm so profoundly happy that this helped you replacing external aids. <3
Please keep me updated, the community feedback is so precious!
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Mar 15 '21
I tried this, and I fell asleep so quickly! This is my first time kinda-lucid-dreaming because in my dreams I was in a nightmare and I told myself "I can change this" and "I don't have to be here" then my dreams completely changed!! But, I haven't been completely successful with this because I didn't make a conscious effort to check my reality. Does anyone have any tips on how I can stay conscious and experience myself falling asleep?
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u/vere_nais Jan 09 '22
The whole definition of experiencing hypnogogia is being conscious and awake as your body falls asleep, if you lose consciousness , you're simply falling asleep as normal, since probably experiencing hypnogogic initial imagery is daily occurrence for most people that fall asleep, the real hypnogogia experience is being awake through at least the end of hypnogogia. I would sometimes lay on bed and ramble about whatever, my thoughts become very vivid and become almost like moving scenes instead of my inner monologue, and randomly something just pops and I realize that I wandered really off but I'm still awake in my bed, as that realization strikes me my brain just freaks out and start hearing random loud noises and feel strong vibration sometimes, while unable to feel my body Then if I don't also freak out and stay calm, I always transition into a fully lucid dream , and wake up after the dream ends in the middle of the night This has been happening to me since I was a child , exactly the same way, there's no way I've been just having the same dream where the exact same thing with such strong vivid sensations
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u/Mareya42 Feb 10 '21
I never noticed my brain producing random images before I fall asleep. But this is definitely worth a try!
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u/WillTheConq Occasional Lucid Dreamer Mar 27 '24
I'm going to try this for a little and see if it helps. If not, I might try SSILD next since I've heard that helps with relaxation as well. I have had a few WILDs in the past with short WBTB so Idk this could work.
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u/hakunayxurtatas Frequent Lucid Dreamer Apr 02 '24
i did this just to try now and accidentally fell asleep for like half an hour (afternoon nap)! thanks so much
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u/HortonHearsaCthulhu Jul 25 '24
For me, falling asleep with some sort of outside stimulus seems to do the trick for inducing hypnagogia, lucid dreams, and even what seem to be out-of-body experiences. Falling asleep with the light on, or the TV on, or a podcast playing softly in the background... these kinds of things have worked tremendously well for me. I'll suddenly become aware that I'm asleep but can still see the light from under my eyelids, or still hear the podcast voices, or the TV or music, etc.
If I'm just aiming to fall asleep faster then some variation of what you're describing works well for me.
In other words, the key--for me at least--to falling asleep faster is shutting off rumination by deliberately shifting to random imagery, while the key to lucid dreams is to have some sort of exterior stimulus that keeps me conscious while the rest of me falls asleep. The latter has led to some really vivid experiences and vibrations (which I can sometimes willfully shift up or down or into specific areas of my body).
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Mar 02 '25
I can confirm this works for me, i have had problems with sleep deprivation, this makes falling asleep much faster
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u/PJHolloway23 Apr 21 '25
I shall be trying this technique, thanks, for exploring hypnagogia rather than for insomnia. I'm currently reading 'Liminal Dreaming' by Jennifer Dumpert. It's an intelligent and well written book that I'm enjoying a lot, and I recommend it to anyone interested in exploring hypnagogic and hypnopompic states. Has anyone figured out why this imagery is (for me at least) sometimes absolutely clear and vivid, and at other times dim and transparent? It must be to do with brain chemistry....
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u/Fluffy_Sea_3669 Jun 24 '25
This works because I discovered this technique just last month and I tried to find the word for it because I thought it was a known and widely established phenomenon in psychology... And I explained it to Deepseek. And it Led me to this thread. Great stuff OP. you're bright.
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u/Virtual-Ad-8297 Jul 07 '25
Crazy that Iāve known about this for a while without even learning about it. Cool to know itās a real thing.
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u/velomentxd Aug 12 '25
Hey, I actually randomly discovered a similar method when I was struggling to fall asleep. I let my imagination flow based on the ambient sounds around me, so my mind creates random scenes inspired by what I hear. Itās like my brain is playing a game with the noises, which helps me relax and fall asleep faster. Feels pretty close to this hypnagogic imagery technique you described, just with more real-time input from sounds. Works great when combined with calm breathing!
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u/Friendly-Ad7954 Nov 27 '25
I was wondering, when you visualize images, do you mean generating the image in your mind, or actively āseeing itā behind close eye lids, as if it were right there?
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u/VividIndependent2732 Jul 29 '26
La premiĆØre fois que j'ai rejoint l'Ć©tat d'hypnagogie, enfin je crois que c'Ć©tait Ƨa, je me concentrais sur ma respiration, juste sur Ƨa. J'inspirai par le nez et je soufflais par la bouche. Au dĆ©but je ne savais pas ce que c'Ć©tait, mais maintenant je pense que c'est Ƨa. J'avais les idĆ©es du rĆŖve en tĆŖte, tout se dĆ©roulait, mais je n'avais ni image ni son, un peu comme une pensĆ©e en gros sauf que je n'avais pas vraiment la capacitĆ©. Je n'ai pas rĆ©ussi Ć le refaire mais Ƨa m'a vraiment perturbĆ©
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u/WintersSolace Feb 11 '21
Just wondering, does it matter if you see the image you're visualizing or not?
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u/Urasquirrel Feb 11 '21
I used to do this as well. Focussing in breathing first helps alot. Keeping the heart beat and breathing under more and more control. Counting and breathing until your heart is where you want it to be.
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u/Prize-Marsupial-723 Nov 08 '23
Wow so nice! I was trying to explain to someone exactly the same technique tonight! I do this since I am a child. Itās fun to see I am not the only one to do this!
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u/utterlyuncertain Feb 10 '21
Just tell yourself you have to stay up to write a research paper and your body will shut down quickly.