New Lucid Dream Tricks:
The "Stop, Drop & Roll" Sleep Command

A guest article by Nick Newport of Lucidology.com

The next lucid dream tricks you're going to learn involve the "stop, drop & roll" sleep command to fall asleep quickly.

In the last section we found that waking sleep paralysis is most likely when you wake up and fall asleep again without moving at all. So to do that you need a way to fall asleep quickly and reliably. The question is, how do you do that?

Mind Body Independence

The key is in the principle of "mind-body independence". Mind-body independence means that your mind and body never know precisely what the other is doing. For instance, your body is growing hair, transcribing DNA, digesting food, making blood cells and regenerating tissue. Your mind is mostly unaware of all these. If you had to think about each one you'd never get anything else done. This is mind-body independence.

Mind-body independence also works the other way. When you mind falls asleep your body never really knows completely for sure what happened and if your mind is really asleep or not. So how does your body know when to enter sleep paralysis?

The key is that even though the mind and body act independently, they still communicate using a language. By learning the words in this language you can talk to your body biologically and make it fall asleep when you want it to.

Your First Word in This Language

Your first word in this language is called the "roll over signal". When your body has been very still and relaxed for a long period, your body starts to wonder if maybe your mind has fallen asleep. It would be a very serious mistake if the body went to sleep too early, so the body sends a test signal to the mind. This test signal feels like a strong urge to roll over.

The Roll Over Signal

If the mind is asleep, then mind does not respond and the body decides that the mind really is asleep and shuts down. If the mind does respond to the roll over signal and you move, then the body knows the mind is still awake and does not fall asleep. So this a major mistake that you need to avoid: never respond to the body's roll over signal because it sends a message to stay awake rather than fall asleep. This can be difficult because the signal can become so strong that it's excruciatingly painful. So the question is: what can you do improve this?

The 4 Types of Roll Over Signals

There are four types of roll over signals you'll encounter.

1. Fast Relax - The first type is the 'fast relax' case. This happens when you relax quickly and deeply and the body decides to just go ahead and paralyze without sending much of a roll over signal, if any. This is a good case to have because it happens quickly.

2. Slow Relax - The second type is the opposite case. If you're tense but stay still long enough and if the body is tired enough, the roll over signal builds and builds until it becomes very painful and extremely hard to ignore. However, if you're too tense the body won't paralyze no matter how long you've been still. This is called a "signal swell".

3. Urge Surge - The third type is called an "urge surge" which is a very useful case. In an urge surge, the body sends out a strong signal out of nowhere. If you're able to resist the signal for three or four seconds the body ends the surge and paralyses all at once. If you're not relaxed enough, this will probably result in only partial sleep paralysis which is not ideal. We'll cover ways to transform partial sleep paralysis into a successful exit in Lucidology 102.

4. The Quick Switch Roll Signal - Finally forth type of roll signal is called a "Quick Switch". If waking sleep paralysis is the holy grail for new OBEers, the quick switch signal is the holy grail of urge surges. It happens quickly and rewards you with nice and deep sleep paralysis almost instantly. It's also a very unmistakable feeling which is extremely useful because it lets you know what's going on.

The Two Cases That Cause a Quick Switch Signal

This usually happens in one of two cases:

First: when the body is really tired and wants to go to sleep right now.

Second: when the body was very recently asleep and is deeply relaxed.

In order to make those cases more likely you need a way to bring on the roll signal as fast as possible. So how do you do that? The trick is to use the right body position.

Body Position is Key

The body position that brings it on the roll signal faster than any other position is to simply lay flat on your back with your arms at your side. When you lay with your arms at your side you will probably tempted to place your hands on your stomach or cross your ankles. This is a veiled form of the roll over signal. If you get that sensation it means you're on the right track, just make sure not to give in. Keep your arms at your side and your ankles slightly separated.

Using this simple bit of information we can eradicate the single biggest cause of insomnia: the toss and turn syndrome.

The Tossing and Turning Syndrome: Big Time Cause of Insomnia

When you toss and turn in bed, what you're doing is resetting your body's internal sleep timer each time you roll over. The body is trying to go to sleep by sending you a roll-over test signal but you keep telling it not to sleep when you move. So you end up stuck in a toss and turn loop and never get to sleep. This results in insomnia.

So you may be thinking is that it?? You just lay there? Not quite... There are a few things you can do actively to speed things up and tell your body to fall asleep.

3 Body Positions

What we do is add body positions before and after the hands-at-your-side position. The first position is to lay with your hands above your head. The final position is where you roll over and then fall asleep in that position.

We choose these positions very carefully so that when you move from one step to the next you release the maximum amount of tension possible.

"Stop, Drop And Roll" Releases Tension in Chunks

This way instead of haphazardly releasing small amounts of tension by tossing and turning over and over, you release it in exactly two calculated big chunks and get it over with all at once:

Make The Body Ask to Sleep Then Tell it "Yes"

Here's what is happening at each step.

1. "Stop" - The Relax Step: In this step you have your arms above your head and relax as deeply as you can. Once you feel you've relaxed as far as you can, "drop" your arms down to your side which releases all the shoulder tension that you couldn't get rid of from just laying there. This is the purpose of the first body position - to get rid of shoulder tension all at once.

2. "Drop" - The Ask Step: When you drop your arms down to your side and relax the body will seriously start to consider that maybe the mind is asking it to go to sleep. This position will make you want to roll over which is what you want. The stronger the roll over signal, the more the body is asking for permission to sleep. If you get to a point where it feels like it's plateaued, slowly roll over which puts you in step 3.

3. "Roll" - The Yes Step: In this step you tell the body, "yes it's time to sleep." Simply roll over and then don't move until you're asleep. Your goal is to not move again the rest of the night.

Roll Over Signal Changes Depending on Your Position

The sneaky thing is that the roll over signal changes based on how you're laying and that may trick you into moving. The roll over signal when you're on your back tends to center in your chest. However the roll over signal when you're on your side tends to make you want to move your legs. Don't fall for that! Don't bend them or straighten them or anything. Keep your legs perfectly still. The urge to move your legs is actually a disguised form of the roll over signal and you must resist it at all costs!

Best Body Position for Healthy Sleep

Here's the best final body position that's the healthiest for your back according to researchers at the University of Cleveland. You want to lay on your side so your neck and spine are neutral and relaxed. Bend your hips and knees a bit to lower pressure on your spine. To relieve sciatic nerve strain, put a pillow between your knees. Sleeping on your stomach is not recommended because it puts your back in an odd position.

Bonus Secret to Build up The Roll Over Signal

We have one last very powerful trick in reserve that you can use when you have a really hard time falling asleep.

The key is to build up a super strong roll over signal before even getting into bed. Rather than trying to fall asleep in your bed, lay down on the floor next to your bed on your back and relax.

This is unpleasant and after forcing yourself to lay there perfectly still for 10 or 15 minutes, when you finally allow yourself back into bed your body will be so grateful that it will grab the chance to fall asleep as quickly as it can.

In extreme cases you can even lay on an uncarpeted floor such as in your kitchen which will build up the roll signal very quickly.

In the next section we'll cover 5 more powerful sleep commands you can use to trick your body to fall asleep while you keep your mind awake to have OBEs.

About The Author

Want to lucid dream tonight? Nick is the author of Lucidology 101: How to Trick Your Body into Falling Asleep to Have Lots of Amazing Lucid Dreams. You can download this video free and learn how to use sleep paralysis to lucid dream.

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