Two new milk advertisements by the dairy industry have been making their rounds on American television. Both ads suggest that drinking a glass of milk before bed will prevent awakenings in sleep and give you better dreams. Unfortunately, the evidence for a good night’s sleep thanks to a glass of milk is a little thin.

Or should I say skim?

Here’s one of the ads:

How could milk give you longer dreams?

To do so, the properties of milk would have to have an effect on the structure of sleep, by increasing the length of REM sleep (dreaming sleep), for example, or delaying a shift into wakefulness. There’s no clinical study that’s ever looked at this correlation directly.

However, several studies have looked into the effects of a key ingredient found in milk: melatonin, an amino acid that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. A 2000 study published in the journal Sleep and Hypnosis found that taking 6mg of melatonin at night for two weeks significantly increased bizarre dreams for college students.

The second milk ad really seems to key into the bizarreness of dreams. Check it out.

By the way, in dream research lingo, bizarreness is often another way of saying creepy and nightmarish. Bizarre dreams are not necessarily populated by milk goddesses.

There’s also some clinical studies on larger doses of melatonin (over 5mg), which have been linked with increasing REM sleep in general, at least in some people, such as patients who are suffering from REM sleep deprivation.

On a purely anecdotal level, I know of many dreamers who have reported vivid, nightmarish and lucid dreams after taking very high doses of supplemental melatonin (over 10mg. It’s not safe, don’t do this).

So, at first blush, it seems there may be something to the dreamy effect of milk.

Tryptophan and Melatonin

Click the picture for more about the tryptophan effect

Besides melatonin, milk contains trace amounts of tryptophan, which is another amino acid that’s found in a lot of foods, including most meats as well as scores of seeds and nuts. 

Tryptophan is synthesized in the brain as serotonin, and finally melatonin.

Because of this relationship, tryptophan can also have a drowsiness effect when a lot is consumed at the right time.

But here’s the rub:

Compared to other foods, milk doesn’t really contain much tryptophan. Half a glass of milk (4 oz) contains about .08grams of tryptophan, compared with the same or equivalent amount of soybeans (.59 gram), spirulina (.9 gram) and dried white egg (1gram).

According to sleep doctor Michael Breus, you’d need to drink a gallon of milk for the tryptophan effect. So you’ll be interrupting your dreams by going to the bathroom every 20 minutes.

Milk doesn’t have much melatonin either; certainly much less than those 5mg mega-doses you can get from over-the-counter supplements.

Creepily enough, there is a new kind of milk currently being tested called night milk, which is taken from cows at night that are fed a lot of tryptophan in their diets. It’s patented and supposedly contains over 25 times the melatonin of ordinary milk.  It’s pretty controversial. Still, even “sleepytime milk” has a hundredth of a typical dose you’d get from a typical melatonin supplement.

Drinking Milk Alone Won’t Do the Trick

Drinking milk alone is sad.

In any case, the amount of sleep-inducing amino acids that you consume before bed is not the only issue here.

To affect sleep, tryptophan needs to be absorbed more readily than other amino acids, and the best way to do this is to eat foods with complex carbohydrates, which cause an insulin spike to clear out the sugars and those competing amino acids.  

Guess what?

Milk by itself doesn’t have many complex carbs; it’s mostly simple sugars. So, to get the (ridiculously small) tryptophan effect from milk, you’d need to take it with a bowl of cereal or with some toast.

This is a good idea anyways, as eating a small, healthy snack an hour before bed can help you lose weight.

Milk’s secret weapon?

There’s one more potential for milk to help with falling asleep.

Milk contains some casein proteins, which may have a slight relaxation effect. Four of the six proteins in milk are casein proteins; the others are whey.

Athletes and bodybuilders swear by protein shakes high in casein to help with slowing muscle atrophy during sleep, although I don’t know if this use has been clinically demonstrated.

According to some recent European research, casein proteins may lower cortisol levels and blood pressure, both of which are helpful for drifting off to sleep more quickly.

Still, there’s a lot of other dairy products that have more caseins proteins than milk –most hard cheeses and cottage cheese for example.

Got Curds?

Speaking of curds, there’s actually some evidence for the effect of fermented milk on sleep health. In fermented milk, the bacteria Lactobacillus helveticus may help with falling asleep and also lower blood pressure.

Lactobacillus helveticus is the bacteria that is responsible for making cheese, and as a probiotic it’s also been linked to preventing infections and improving immune response. So that’s another reason to have cheese rather than milk before bed (because those bacteria are still in the cheese–it’s a live food).

Go for cheddar, mozzarella or Swiss cheese. Even better, make some cheese toast, and get your complex carbs too.

Seriously though, did I mention my new book yet?

Drinking milk is probably not going to transform your dream life. But a glass of milk may be a healthy part of a bedtime snack that could make it easier to fall asleep. Make it a warm glass of milk if you want to add that special “just like Grandma did” effect.

Do you really want to remember more dreams and get better sleep? 

Sign up for notifications about my new book: Dream Like a Boss (Book one): Sleep better, dream more and wake up to what matters most. It’s dropping next month, so stay in touch!

Below is a video I produced that addresses the question of dealing with the corporate culture of sleep deprivation.

Short answer: Take a Nap!

Let me know what you think and pass it on.

You can find more responses to this question at TEDMED.

Next month, I’ll be giving an invited talk at a dream conference in Weston, Massachusetts.  I’ll be showcasing examples of how people throughout history–and especially today–have used their sleep paralysis-induced hallucinations for creativity.

The Creepy Neurological Architecture of Sleep Paralysis Visions

To be sure, most isolated sleep paralysis-related visions and hallucinations have a creepy nature to them, and it’s not the first place you’d expect to have a creative insight.

We have the architecture of the state to thank for that: sleep paralysis visions occur, by definition, when we are aware of the body’s paralysis during REM sleep, which triggers bodily metaphors of being held down or pressed upon.

Not very nice. 

REM is also a state of awareness that is characterized by strong emotional surges, and during sleep paralysis, it’s very easy for fear to turn to terror because of this neurological priming. 

Unwanted dizziness, vertigo, and other strange bodily feelings (including the feeling of out-of-body experience) are also typical.

And lastly, we have the sensed presence of the Intruder and the full-on hallucination of the Incubus figure that can violently interact with the dreamer. Traditions around the world have been built upon the experiential reality of these spirits, including the Old Hag, the Kanashibari, and the Succubus or Incubus.

But Attitude is Key

As I’ve suggested in my ebook and in numerous articles and presentations, the dreamer is not automatically a victim.

We co-create the experience, and just like in lucid dreaming, our expectations often become entangled in how the hallucinations unfold.

This is simply the nature of self-awareness: how we respond to the world affects how the world, in turn, responds to us.

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein was inspired by a vision of a humanoid monster lurking by her bed, mostly likely a sleep paralysis hallucination

So I’ve been documenting cases of brave and creative sleep paralysis “sufferers” who have used their visions to spur on their creativity, from writing, art, music and even fashion design.  These dreamers had these results because they interrupted the fear-cycle to observe what was happening around them, and by responding with curiosity rather than terror.

You may be tempted to think that the key to going deeper with these visions is shielding yourself with the scientific truth that there’s nothing to be feared in sleep paralysis (except fear itself), or by taking solace in the idea that the visions are meaningless tricks of the brain.

This is not sufficient.

It turns out that sleep paralysis visionaries also have something else in mind. They don’t dismiss their hallucinations as empty or random, but rather envision them as encounters with something intelligent and wholly Other than their own rational awareness.

Rather than letting fear shut the encounter down, they respect who or what shows up, even if this can lead to some morbidly fascinating scenarios.

Sometimes the visitations of sleep paralysis — and some lucid dreams too –  really feel like a meeting of the minds. It is absolutely weird… the very definition of uncanny.

These are the moments that new truths and observations are revealed.

Enter The Muse

And that’s basically what I’ll be talking about in May at Regis College: the provocative and empowering concept of sleep paralysis visitors as manifestations of a Muse or Daemon, that transpersonal aspect of our awareness through which creative insight and innovation can pour into us.

By transpersonal, I mean beyond the confines of your individual personality, the ego.

Every encounter is a relationship, and we are not in control. The surrender is part of the experience.

It’s actually a practical attitude, as well, as many people (myself included) have found that sleep paralysis encounters become more enjoyable –and sometimes lead to visionary experiences– when they stop fighting and surrender, go with the flow.

For more of this ancient outlook on creativity–as well as historic antecedents to it–check out this great TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love (if you haven’t seen it already; it’s one of the most viewed talks of all time).

Also, check out the brilliant work of Matt Cardin on this topic, whose explorations have stretched my own ideas about how the muse may relate to sleep paralysis visions. 

Got a story of sleep paralysis affecting your creative life? Either through providing direct insight or by nudging you a certain direction?  I’m all ears.  Comment below or feel free to contact me if you’d like to remain more anonymous.

First Image: CC Wikipedia. The nine muses—Clio, Thalia, Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Calliope, Terpsichore, Urania, Melpomene—on a Roman sarcophagus (2nd century AD, from the Louvre)

Avoid the couch as a first defense and your relationship will thank you

If you sleep next to someone, chances are there have been times when your partner’s sleep troubles become your problem. Truth is, working with the problem, rather than automatically heading for the couch when times get tough, is actually the most sustainable way to get better rest. Not only that, but the process is a powerful opportunity for couples to grow in resilience and deepen in intimacy too.

It’s not You, it’s Us

We tend to think of sleep as a solitary thing. But sleep is actually a social activity, with implicit rules that every couple or family enforce at the household level. The first maneuver is to stop thinking about your sleep as an individual right but a family concern.

Think “our” problem, not “your” problem.

If your partner is disturbing your sleep (by snoring, for example), sit down and tell him your concerns without blaming. There’s a healthy chance that organizing some aspect of your life together can result in better sleep for both of you.

Many snoring issues, especially related to sleep apnea, can be healed through lifestyle changes like increased exercise and healthier eating. Working together with meal planning and taking regular walks together are supportive ways to help your partner snore less, so you can both sleep more. 

Sleep researchers also recommend that couples attend sleep doctor visits together and work together to improve the conditions that may be irritating the sleep issue.

Negotiation not Blame

When we had a newborn baby last year, my wife and I realized we were both losing sleep unnecessarily because of the baby’s erratic sleeping, and, like many first-time parents, we were concerned it may soon affect the quality of our relationship. We were both crabbing out at each other a lot more than usual because we were so sleep deprived.

We decided on a first shift/second-shift approach to diaper changes and soothing during the night. Of course, she still had to feed the baby intermittently, so I had the better deal. But I also took the baby with me when I made breakfast, giving her a bonus sleep cycle most mornings for the first two months after the birth.

The negotiation worked, and we both got better sleep and felt closer because we were tackling the problem together.

Hidden Expectations: Falling Asleep Together

Another prime territory for improvement is when you or your partner erratically stay up late to work, making it hard for the other to fall asleep. This is something we know well in our family, because I do the bulk of my work after the sun sets.

Guys need to know this in particular because it’s not in the relationship handbook that women may be especially sensitive to the social aspects of sleep, including the desire to fall asleep together.

This social aspect of sleep has only been recognized by scientists in the last decade, who are finding a relationship between sleep timing and women’s perception of the health of their relationship. Another group of researchers have found that women with a stable sleeping partner get better sleep and have less sleep conditions than single women.

Many women prefer to go to bed at the same time as their partner, even though they may not voice this expectation explicitly.

There’s opportunity here to make some new habits together. One compromise could be as a few nights a week where your partner comes to bed with you, and a few nights that he’s free to do his own thing.

Find the sweet spot, find what works.

Togetherness while winding down

If your partner is routinely a night-owl and you’re a morning person, switching up bedtimes could actually be a bad compromise, as many people sleep better with routine bedtimes.

An alternative could be to focus on other times to make up for the nurturing intimacy of going to bed together, carving the time out in other times of day to relax and be close.

For example, make a practice of a “togetherness ritual” before you go to bed and he heads up to the home office. Put away the computers and the tablets, and instead listen to music together while catching up on the day.

Or rub each other’s feet while watching a favorite sitcom.

Or make a small evening snack that is rich in carbohydrates and proteins, another healthy habit that improves sleep and brings us closer (and also can help us lose weight in the process).

Winding down and relaxing before bed is also a natural aphrodisiac. And let’s not forget that sex releases oxytocin, a neurohormone that also helps regulate the sleep/wake cycle. Cuddling leads to more sex, which leads to better sleep, which in turn can lead to even more intimacy and romantic energy to burn.

It’s a sleepy, sexy feedback system. 

So before heading to the couch for a late night rerun, make a new commitment to sleep with your partner. Think about our sleep –rather than your problem–and your relationship might literally improve overnight.

What works for you and your partner?  I’d love to hear your stories below.

PS There’s still time to ask questions to me and the other TEDMED sleep panelists about how to deal with sleeplessness in society (as individuals, families, business leaders, health professionals and policy-makers– we all have a role to play). Click here to add your question.

First Image: CC 2009 people sleeping on the couch are fair game by opacity

This Friday, March 15, is World Sleep Day, and one of its mission is changing the perception that sleep is for the weak. All over the globe, sleep educators are working to remind us that sleep is actually a biological necessity, not a hedonistic lifestyle choice for slackers and hippies.

Sleep has also been called the missing pillar of health, because a well-balanced diet and a regular exercise routine without good sleep hygiene amounts to a lot of wasted effort.

It’s a good year for sleep education, as TEDMED has also included Sleep Deprivation as one of the twenty most important health challenges facing the medical community today.

TEDMED, organized by the same company that funds TED talks, regularly tackles difficult issues like this by addressing health issues holistically with a diversity of viewpoints. 

What Really Keeps Us Up at Night

The real sleep problem isn’t just about educating ourselves about the personal benefits to getting better sleep, but also addressing the reasons why sleep is often not valued at institutional levels, or mirrored by our thought leaders.

I was invited to weigh in on this topic, joining a panel of sleep doctors, researchers and business leaders. We are rolling out new sleep-related content over the next few weeks, but for starters, check out the roundtable discussion we had last week.

In this video below, we talk about some of the risks of sleep deprivation, but also what we can do as parents, bosses, and community leaders to support a healthier attitude about sleep.  I get to riff about how to create a better sleep sanctuary, and also talk about the role of sharing dreams for reducing stress and remembering who we really are.

What can you do for World Sleep Day?

I would recommend doing nothing. (Ironically enough, given the whole sleep is for slackers vibe, this is also a good way to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Big Lebowski, a film about the Dude, who knew how to take things in stride without getting caught up by other people’s expectations about how to get the job done.)

Take a load off, turn off the email alerts on your smartphone, and settle down this Friday evening for some rest and relaxation.

Okay, if you must do something, check out some of the videos by sleep experts that will go live on Friday, including one by dream expert Allan Hobson.

And here’s where to keep up with the Sleep Challenge at TEDMED.

You can still pose questions to the team which may get picked by the moderators for us to address. I’ll be tweeting updates when they do go live, so make sure to follow me @ryanhurd.

This includes my popular and lauded Lucid Immersion Blueprint (Advanced Edition only) as well as the useful Sleep Paralysis Kit. 

Or you could get “everything and the kitchen sink”  – the Ultimate Dreamer’s Kit — and save even more, for a total of 60% off.

Why a Spring Sale?

To be clear, Dream Like a Boss is not available yet. This sale’s proceeds will help me fund the project’s completion.

Ya’ll know I only do a couple sales a year.

This time, I am “bootstrapping” my next ebook series, the two volume set Dream Like a Boss. Proceeds from this week’s sale will get this new project off the ground sooner than later!

Sale ends Monday March 11 at Midnight, Eastern Daylight Time.

For specs, reviews, pricing and ordering, check out the products page here, and find out what works best for you. 

Dreams can provide a quick path to connecting with our direct ancestors. They are waiting to remembered. The road has simply been covered by a few inches of cultural plastic debris whose gods are industry and ecological warfare. But the older path is still laid, hidden in the dreams, folklore, and sayings of our families of origin. Exploring ancestral elements in dreams helped me move beyond gross stereotypes of my Irish, Scottish and German heritages, into a deeper connection with my past. They also, in general, keep me grounded. Thinking about ancestry, after all, has some clinically noted benefits, including boosting intelligence, confidence and self-esteem.¹ This is the Ancestor Effect.

When I began exploring the ancestral connection to dreaming, it was a box of Lucky Charms that presented itself first. I had to laugh; could there be a more stereotypical image of Irish culture than a befreckled leprechaun hawking marshmallows at the end of the rainbow?

Ancestral dreams come when we lay out a strong intention for them, but they also can come when we need them. Sometimes ancestral dreams simply help with reframing a situation with a deeper significance.

Other times, they may lead to unconsciously held information that is embedded in your own dream mythology and has been passed down for generations.

The trick is recognizing them, and then honoring them in waking life.

Remembering the Bigger Picture

My wife and I recently had our son baptized. Even though I am comfortable with Baptism on an intellectual level, I had some trepidation about the ceremony, simply because I come from a different background (I was raised Unitarian and chiefly as a humanist).

My wife’s uncle officiated the ceremony, adding another layer of inclusion and also (well-meaning) social pressure.

The night before the baptism I had the following dream:

My wife’s uncle is preparing a mine cart ride in the front yard of his home. I walk with him to make sure the path of the cart is clear. As we walk along, I am surprised to see there are no rails, but rather a stone path barely visible beneath the grass. Some large clear quartz crystal boulders line the path as well. We kick debris such as sticks from the path and I see how the stones making up the path look very old, consisting of interlocking carved stones with intricate designs all over them. The patterns include spirals, concentric rings and other sacred geometric patterns. In the dream, I wonder if they are Celtic in origin, or if they are Native (American). They seem to be both. (12/8/12)

As I fried up the bacon and eggs the next morning, I reflected on how the dream revealed some of the designs that one often sees in the architecture of the church (the amazing Bryn Athyn Cathedral)  where the ceremony was to be held. I puzzled over how it was a different uncle in the dream than who was presiding over the ceremony later that morning.

I then had an “A-HA” moment when I remembered another significance: I also have my own family roots in this area of Pennsylvania.

In fact, I’m a direct descendent of an Irish pastor who, in the 1680s, baptized members of his congregation on the banks of the Pennypack Creek, which happens to flow less than a quarter mile from the cathedral.

Bringing the dream back into waking life

Remembering my own family legacy on this land, and its association with the rites of Baptism, allowed me to relax completely about the ceremony.

All day long, as I walked along the grounds, I imagined those intricately patterned stones at my feet, connecting me to my own ancestry as I prepared the way for my son’s spiritual “path-clearing.” (As it turns out, the iron spiral bannister pictured above from the Bryn Athyn Cathedral also throws spiral shadows onto the stones, much like the dream, as can be seen here).

And after the ceremony, I spoke to both of my wife’s uncles about my ancestry and the dream. This was a move I made spontaneously, while most everyone else was eating coffee cake. I felt very vulnerable as I told the dream, but it opened up new dialogue and connection with both men that had not been previously possible.

Coming to a Kindle near you!

Announcement! This article is adapted from my new, upcoming ebook Dream Like a Boss: Sleep better, dream more and wake up to what matters most. 

The ebook will be out sometime next month exclusively on Amazon, and free to Amazon Prime members.

Be sure to subscribe for updates

First Image: Stairway by la fattina CC 2008

Reference:

¹ Fischer, P., Sauer, A., Vogrincic, C., and Weisweiler, S. (2010). The ancestor effect: Thinking about our genetic origin enhances intellectual performance. European Journal of Social Psychology. 41 (1), 11-16.

Fortunately, the world of medicinal plants offers many remedies to help with sleep. As a practicing clinical herbalist, I have seen many people’s sleep problems be aided by herbal remedies. I want to introduce an herb you probably haven’t heard about, but first let’s take a look at sleep problems in general.

My first introduction to herbs for sleep was personal. As a young adult I suffered from chronic insomnia. I was able to fall asleep but would awaken around 3 or 4 in the morning and be unable to fall back asleep. Luckily, one of my roommates recommended that I try an herbal formula of skullcap and valerian.

I started to take the herbs and was surprised and pleased at the immediate effects. I was able to use the herbs to help me sleep through the night. The quality of my sleep, my dream life and my waking life all improved dramatically.

What’s keeping you awake?

There are many reasons people have a hard time sleeping.  Here are some of the top reasons I see in my clinical practice that affect people’s sleep:

• Mental-emotional stress: Including worry, anxiety, depression, mind chatter (repetitive thoughts).
• Physical tension: Many people hold stress in their physical body. Without proper movement and exercise, the body is tight and tense and has a hard time relaxing and going to sleep.
• Emotional pain and trauma: Huge loss, like death of a loved one, can cause problems with sleeping. Sleep can also be disturbed by experiencing traumatic events like accidents, violence, sudden emergencies and natural disasters.
• Digestive problems: Eating too much or too late at night can cause digestive distress that leads to insomnia.
• Chronic deficiency and illness: For some, sleep disturbances are caused by deeper imbalances in the body. 
• Over-stimulation: The body and mind can be overstimulated by many things that  disrupts sleep. This includes caffeine, electronic devices of all kinds (including television, the computer and video games), bright light, exercising too late in the day, and staying up past one’s natural bedtime.

Herbal allies for sleep problems caused by stress

In herbal medicine, herbs are classified according to their actions in the body. Herbs that work to nourish and support the nervous system are called nervines. 

In general, all herbal nervines help to calm the nerves and to release nervous tension and stress. Therefore most nervines can be useful for helping with sleep problems caused by stress.  Herbal nervines include many of the popular remedies for sleep including skullcap, lavender, valerian, and chamomile.

Skullcap, scutellaria lateriflora:  the remedy for nervous agitation

Skullcap is an excellent remedy to relax the nerves. It has a special place in my heart because it helped to cure my own insomnia. According to herbalist David Hoffman: “It effectively soothes nervous tension while renewing and revivifying the central nervous system.”²

Skullcap is indicated to use when a person feels stressed, edgy and agitated. It helps with all kinds of nervous system agitation, including tics, twitches, spasms and seizures. Skullcap has a broad range of clinical application and is used to treat anxiety, depression, pre-menstrual syndrome, nerve pain, and delirium tremens. 

Skullcap is an excellent remedy for insomnia caused by stress. It is perfect herbal remedy for someone who can’t sleep because they feel tense and irritable. Skullcap also helps relax the body and mind and to ease restless, interrupted sleep.

Safety considerations

Skullcap is a safe herbal remedy for most people. Do not take skullcap if you are taking sedative medications because it can potentiate their effects. Always consult with your health care practitioner before use.

Traditional preparations and dosage of skullcap³

Skullcap can be taken as a tea or tincture. To make a good strong tea, use 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dried herb to one cup of water.  Place the herbs in a teapot or mug and cover the herb with hot water and let steep for 20 minutes. Take this at bedtime. 

A recommended dosage of the tincture is 10-30 drops thirty minutes before bedtime and another 10-30 drops right before going to sleep. In case you wake up at night, keep you skullcap tincture next to your bed. Dosage of 10-30 drops can be repeated when you wake up to help you fall back asleep.

Skullcap can also be taken during the day to calm and quiet the nerves.  In this case, I usually recommend smaller dosages so that the person feels relaxed but not sleepy. 

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A few years ago, I took a flight from Atlanta back to my home in San Francisco. I was sleep deprived after a late night out with old friends. The afternoon I arrived home, I drove down to Ocean Beach and took a nap in the car, leaving the window open for the ocean breeze. My seat was reclined most of the way and I fell asleep on my back. I instantly slipped into sleep paralysis.

The feeling of sleep paralysis is like being stuck in the threshold between sleep and wakefulness, and can trigger intense fear if you have never experienced it before. However, you can easily learn how to shift from sleep paralysis into a lucid dream or an OBE, especially by zapping negative expectation with an affirmation or a gratitude practices.  After 20+ years of this peculiar altered state, I knew the drill.

I kicked myself out of my perceptual body and began drifting down a dark river.

It was dark and quiet. The air was noticeably cool.

I relaxed, looking at the lights of stars overhead. I woke myself up by wriggling my little toe, and feeling refreshed, spacious and focused.

This nap vision didn’t occur randomly. I was primed for some weird REM sleep effects because I was sleep deprived.  But it was the posture of laying on my back, and slightly inclined, that brought me to the threshold.

Posture not only can increase the likelihood of out-of-body experiences, but it can bring on some rich lucid dreams too, particularly wake-initiated lucid dreams (WILD) in which you fall asleep and maintain awareness. I have personally had excellent results with WILDs when my head and upper torso are comfortably propped up in bed.

Why does a slight incline work?

In short, it appears to increase mental vigilance compared to laying completely flat.

Sleeping Guard by Bernard Strigel, 1521

We know from historical sources that we are more likely to awaken if propped up rather than fully prone.

For example, a common practice for soldiers in the 19th century American frontier included round-the-clock guard duty. Soldiers on duty slept on an inclined wooden bench, with their musket close at hand, a practice called “sleeping in the leather.”¹

A group of Buddhist monks in Scotland used this practice to an extreme: sleeping completely upright in a box for less than five hours at a time. 

Ani Lhamo, secretary to the abbot at the Samye Ling monastery, was quoted as saying, “If you are more upright when you sleep, when you wake up you haven’t slept so deeply, and it is easy to wake up quickly and get going.”

Indeed, Tibetan Buddhists have practiced secret sleeping postures for hundreds of years. Buddhist lama Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche suggests that “using a high pillow will help keep sleep light and generate more lucidity in dreams.”²

Another practice in Buddhist dream yoga involves reclining on a stack of pillows and sitting cross-legged. After a period of counting breaths, you fall asleep and dream. Tellingly, this particular practice is recommended for early morning, about four hours into the sleep period, when arousal rates naturally hiccup.

The call for night vigilance can also be seen in the historic European tradition of the night watch, the time of contemplative wakefulness in between first and second sleep.³

Most clinical research about sleeping supine (on your back) versus prone (sleeping on your stomach) has been conducted with infants in the search for the cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The infant is safer sleeping on his back, especially in the first three months of life. Privy to this conversation: infants who sleep on their backs have greater cortical arousal, and more awakenings, during REM sleep.

Put it to use tonight

For out-of-body experiences, position yourself semi-elevated and then try these recommended exercises.

For lucid dreaming. try combining a slightly elevated posture with a wake-back-to-bed method (WBTB) in the middle of the night. WBTB is about rousing (by alarm) for a short period of nighttime wakefulness in the very early morning.

Spend your time reading, journaling, or meditating, as all three of these activities are simultaneously relaxing and known to increase cortical arousal.

A warning: don’t substitute video games or computer work for your middle-of-the-night vigilance, as light in the blue spectrum may stall melatonin production and can make it hard to get back to sleep at all. If you look at monitors at night, I recommend warming up the color spectrum. Here’s a great free program called f.lux that does this automatically. (I’m using it right now in fact).

Also, make sure you are staying safe and are securely positioned on your mattress or comfortable surface.  Falling asleep standing up can be dangerous because you completely lose muscle tone in REM sleep.

Combining the mental agitation with the natural increase of the relaxation-inducing hormone known as prolactin in the middle of the night⁴  is the perfect recipe for peaceful clarity. And that’s the basic secret to wake-initiated lucid dreams in general: blend positive stress with relaxation, close your eyes, and let the great show begin.

Try it tonight and let me know how it goes!

This article is adapted from the Lucid Immersion Blueprint.

Additional sources

1. Moore, R. and Haynes, M. (2003). Lewis and Clark: Tailor made, trail worn. Helena, MT: Far Country Press, p. 33

2. Wangyal, T. (1998). The Tibetan yogas of dream and sleep. Ithica, NY: Snow Lion Publications, p. 109.

3. Naiman, R. (2006). Healing night: the science and spirit of sleeping, dreaming and awakening. Minneapolis: Syrene, p. 90.

4. Wehr, T. (1999). The impact of changes in night length (scotoperiod) on human sleep. In F.W. Turek and P.C. Zee (Eds.), Neurobiology of sleep and circadian rhythms, (pp. 263– 85). New York: Marcel Dekker.

First Image: Sleeping Lion (CC, 2009) by Rennett Stowe