False awakenings when lucid dreaming

A false awakening is a dream of waking. Usually you are in your own bedroom, everything looks right, and you have no reason to doubt it.

They become more frequent when you take up lucid dreaming, which is worth knowing in advance rather than discovering.

Why they are useful rather than annoying

A false awakening is a free opportunity. You are already in a dream and you already believe you are awake, which is exactly the belief a reality check is designed to test.

Practitioners who habitually check on waking convert false awakenings into lucid dreams routinely. It is one of the more reliable routes there is.

Building the habit

Reality check every single time you wake up. Not when it occurs to you. Every time, including the times you are obviously awake. The whole point is that a false awakening does not feel like one, so the check cannot depend on suspicion.

Use a check that works in a dream:

• Read something, look away, read it again. Text is unstable in dreams.
• Pinch your nose shut and try to breathe in. In a dream you usually can.
• Look at your hands.

Light switches and clocks are also traditional, and less reliable.

Chains of them

Waking several times in a row, each one false, is a well-documented experience and is unsettling the first time. It ends. If you notice it happening, that noticing is itself lucidity. You can either check and take control, or wait it out.

The one thing not to do

Do not conclude that because you cannot wake up, something is wrong. Nobody has ever failed to eventually wake up. Sleep architecture handles it whether you cooperate or not.