Sleep Masks And Lucid Dreaming

You may perhaps know sleep masks from your last long haul flight. Even if sleep masks may look slightly odd or silly, they are a simple and effective that blocks light and other outside distractions so that we can find sleep and peaceful tranquillity pretty much everywhere. Some folks use sleep masks because they also make an excellent aid for meditation, deep relaxation and for lucid dreaming.

BENEFITS OF A SLEEP MASK FOR LUCID DREAMING

Did you know that a sleep mask can also make a very good aid if we want to achieve lucidity during dreaming? A sleep mask does not just make it easier for experienced lucid dreamers to intensify their lucid dream experiences, they are also especially helpful for those folks who are new to it and want to learn it. There are several ways how a sleep mask can help us with lucid dreams.

SLEEP MASKS HELP US REMEMBERING OUR DREAMS

We have the habit that we forget our dreams (and this can include even the most exciting ones!) quickly and as soon as we wake up, sometimes within just a few minutes. When we wake up in the morning we can face many distractions as we’re about to get ready for a new day. Our dreams become less important for us and our memory of them will be buried in the back of our minds and in no time may vanish altogether. Yet, one of the keys to improve our dreams on the way to learn lucid dreaming is that we remember our dreams. A sleep mask can make this a lot easier.

A sleep mask helps us that our transition from sleeping and dreaming to waking up is less abrupt with fewer of these distractions. Even after we have awoken, we still have the darkness that the mask provides. We have a few moments to better focus on what we just experienced in the dream-world and this helps us to remember our dreams much better.

SLEEP MASKS HELP WITH THE WAKE BACK TO BED LUCID DREAM TECHNIQUE

One method to make our dreams lucid is called the Wake Back to Bed (WBTB) technique. This may sound complicated but it really isn’t. The WBTB lucid dreaming technique means that you wake yourself up early but with the intention to quickly fall asleep again. This method has shown to give us some of the most intense dreams that are a lot easier to make lucid. The sleep mask, with its ability to keep distractions away when you wake up, can be a great help if you practice the WBTB technique for lucid dreaming.

SLEEP MASKS HELP BALANCING OUR INTERNAL CLOCK

The circadian rhythm is our body’s internal clock that decides when we are sleepy and want to go to bed or when we feel awake so that we can take on the challenges of a new day. What’s important to know here is that this internal body clock can be influenced by light. Not just natural daylight but also artificial light sources, and this can include street lights, the light from your computer monitor or even just some light from your alarm clock at night. It can confuse our internal clock greatly. The undesired result of this can be that we may have problems winding down when we want to go to sleep, or cause us to wake up still feeling tired and exhausted.

A sleep mask can help us block out any source of light so that we can let our body know that it’s time for sleep.

SLEEP MASKS HELP WITH LUCID DREAMS VIA FALSE AWAKENINGS

One method often used by lucid dreamers to trigger lucidity during dreaming is to perform reality checks. The best way to do these reality checks and become lucid is doing them during what’s known as false awakenings - meaning you have dreamt you have woken up.

If you use a sleep mask for your lucid dreaming you can simply use the mask as an aid for your dream reality checks. If you happen to do your reality check in a dream and experience that you can actually see, this can be your easy trigger to enter lucidity. You can also add the habit of removing your mask to your reality check routine. With some practice, and just by doing these simple things, you will be on your way to experiencing many more lucid dreams.

SLEEP MASKS HELP WITH MEDITATION AND WAKE INDUCED LUCID DREAMS DURING THE DAY

Some folks are using sleep masks as an aid to meditation to block out stimuli. And it’s during meditation practices that we can also trigger what is called Wake Induced Lucid Dreams (WILDs). For most people, the best time to do their meditation with the aim of inducing a WILD is the very early morning hours. Most of the time however, this is when it’s already light outside, which can make it more difficult to naturally fall asleep again.

Since a sleep mask can help block out the light in these early morning hours, it makes an excellent support for getting back to sleep and entering a Wake Induced Lucid Dream.

Many types of sleeping masks are available today. Some sleeping masks may come with all sorts of fancy features while others are simple and practicable. The Zamnesia Blind Spot 3000 is an affordable sleep mask that does a great job without any unnecessary gimmicks. It is a great sleep mask to have if you want to delve into the exciting world of lucid dreaming, and of course it will also serve you well if you simply want a good night’s sleep.

Adam Parsons

Professional cannabis journalist, copywriter, and author Adam Parsons is a long-time staff member of Zamnesia. Tasked with covering a wide range of topics from CBD to psychedelics and everything in between, Adam creates blog posts, guides, and explores an ever-growing range of products.

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