Need help extending the length of LDs

I have been having fluent lucid dreams since about last thanksgiving and I am satisfied with my ability to induce them, but so far I have not broken the 5 minute barrier on my LDs. I have gotten to the point where I have no trouble with RCs or have any trouble remembering my intention to have an LD, but I just can’t control the length of the dream. I don’t get excited, and I also make sure I keep involved with the dream too. Hand rubbing works for me to increase the clarity of my dreams, but in the long run, has no effect on the duration of the dream.

How long is everyone else's LDs? Are they continuous or do you have to keep using dream reentry techniques? If anyone has any tips to keep a dream going longer, or any other techniques to reenter a dream besides spinning then help me out.

I have the same problem and my longest one was just over 1 minute. Most of mine seem to be under 30 seconds. And if I do something to get them more stable i usually get 5-10 sec more of lucidity.

i here spinning helps keep control of you dream.

Ill tell you what Ive been told and what I have read repeatedly.
Spin and/or rub your hands together.
Either or both of those actions will stablize your dream a whole lot better than you may think.

I agree with the rubbing hands trick and it really is the only tool I have been using to keep my LDs going as much as they have. However, you honestly can’t expect to be constantly doing it the entire duration of the dream. There wouldn’t be any spare time to do anything fun. That’s exactly where one of my problems lie. The dream usually will stay stable until I stop and will eventually fade a bit later. I am looking for a way to keep the dream stable by itself for at least about 10-15 minutes I don’t have to worry about all that during an LD constantly.

my tip is… dont panic… just say to yourself i can control the length of my lucid dream… it works really well i learnt that a little while ago and my lds can last an hour or so

Have patience and in time your LDs will naturally grow longer. One reason why it’s quite difficult to prolong your LDs in the beginning is because the mind hasn’t experienced the lucid state enough to become adapted to it. You really have to try the best you can if you want to have a few minutes longer. The more you experience lucidity, the more the mind becomes adapted to the lucid state and the more your LDs will become stabilized by themselves in the long term, and so the longer they will last in general. All those techniques of spinning, rubbing, etc… can be good short-term solutions, but if you want long-term results there’s only one thing you can do: practice a lot, experience lots of LDs and your mind will do the rest :smile:

I have gone from on average 5 secs to perhaps 30 - 50 secs. Sometimes 1-5 minutes.

Hope you’re right mystic i’d like to have longer and longer LD:s n ow that i have finally started to get the normal 4-5 LD:s per month (that i think most people here are getting).

As soon as you become lucid do something(what ever technique works best for you) to stabilize the dream right away. Then a little later into the dream do it again before the dream starts to fade. In time, you won’t have to do so much stabilizing. As you experience more LD they will get longer.

Personally, i swear by the “looking at details” method, it is easy, interesting, and brings the overall lucidity levels up, and greatly prolonging the dream. That’s assuming there is anything to examine (ie. the dream is still “there” enough to have anything in it)

My LD’s usually last between ten minute and half an hour. I don’t know why…