Some of you may be wondering whether or not you have to lay on your back in order to have a lucid dream. Some of you are wondering if it even makes a difference to whether or not you’ll have a conscious dream. I’m going to set the record straight.
Probably the most popular sleeping position is the side position.
Sleeping on your right or left side, usually with your legs slightly tucked up towards your stomach. This is by far the most common, although there are people that swear by sleeping flat on their back!
For me, it’s always been the sleeping on my side position. That, with one leg inside the duvet and one leg outside it. This way, I don’t overheat, and it’s not uncomfortable having my knees grind against each other! (I have knobbly knees, annoying I know).
For lucid dreaming
The vast majority of lucid dreaming techniques don’t REQUIRE you to lay on your back, or on your side.. Or in any specific position. They work regardless of how you sleep. The operative word there being ‘sleep’.
You need to sleep in a position that is comfortable enough to actually let you fall asleep. It sounds stupid, but for example if you DON’T feel comfortable laying on your back, then you won’t find it easy to fall asleep that way.
There are some techniques (I’ll go over one in a second) which involve you focusing on your body and doing a relaxation routine. For this, most people find it EASIER to lay on their back so they can more easily focus on the different parts of the body.
When performing a WILD
A wake initiated lucid dream is SLIGHTLY different, because of how it works. For this technique you’re waking up and then going back to bed (Usually) and trying to enter a dream directly. ONE WAY of doing this is to using a focusing technique where you ‘sweep’ across your body and relax each area separately.
For this technique, it’s much easier to lay on your back because you’re able to focus more easily on each body part, compared to if you were lying on your side. This is probably the only lucid dreaming technique which is easier if you lay flat on your back.
Of course, you can absolutely perform a WILD in ANY sleeping position, but I’m referring to the times where you do this ‘sweeping’ focus technique.
I’ve found that myself any many others find this easier lying on your back, because you can more easily notice the ‘heavy sheet’ that presses down on you as you enter sleep paralysis and go into a lucid dream.
The best sleep posture for lucid dreams
Basically, the best sleep posture is one that lets you rest your spine without it being all bunched up. You also need to be able to breathe properly, so don’t choke yourself with the duvet by wrapping it so tightly up to your neck that you overheat in the night.
Also, consider that you need to be able to move around at least a little bit, as the body naturally shifts and wiggles in the night.
If you’re pinned to the bed, you won’t be comfortable and you’ll more than likely wake up in the night. I’ve had this happen to me many times, and it’s annoying because you have to start all over again, and sometimes it’s hard to fall back asleep.
Useful tips
- You don’t HAVE to lay on your back to have a lucid dream! Lay however feels comfortable for you
- Don’t suffocate yourself by wrapping your duvet too tightly up to your neck
- Make sure you’re not overarching your spine
- If you’re having trouble falling asleep, try this. If you’re having trouble having lucid dreams, go through our rut busting course and if you’re having trouble remembering your dreams, read our huge guide!
