Wake Back to Bed: the alarm method

The idea: an alarm wakes you briefly in the dream-rich second half of the night. You capture your dream, practice a technique and fall asleep again. In research this is called Wake Back to Bed.

In the largest study on it, the share of nights with a lucid dream rose from 5 to 16 percent within one week. A study at home found 18 percent on practice nights and 6 percent on other nights. In the sleep lab it was up to 54 percent.

How it works

1. Night option: alarm about 5 hours after falling asleep.
2. Morning option: on the weekend, 60 to 90 minutes before getting up.
3. Stay awake for 10 to 20 minutes, capture your dream, practice your technique.
4. Lie down again and fall asleep.

Every alarm night interrupts your sleep. That’s why Finally Lucid plans at most two per week and none after a short night.