Walking After Midnight

Almost everyone wakes up in the night, sometimes for a minute, other times for much longer.

I’ve found that if I can imagine myself walking I can usually drift off again without trouble.

“Lucid Dreaming” is what this process has sometimes been called. I’ve used mental images of

my daily walks to Verturbæjarlaug (a neighborhood swimming pool in Reykjavík.) I find that I can often not get even half-way to the pool before falling back into slumber.

Make sure you are physically comfortable before starting this, get up to pee first if needs be.

Go into step-by-step detail, i.e., donning shoes, putting on your jacket, opening the door, etc. If you find your thoughts wandering don't worry, that’s a good sign, just go back to the walk.

A few times I have made it all the way to the pool so I continue the “dream” there: getting undressed, showering, even taking some laps. Repetitive behaviors are good for this trick.

Although I ‘discovered’ this on my own, there are others who espouse similar ideas.

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