SSILD: Cycles of Sight, Sound and Touch

SSILD stands for Senses Initiated Lucid Dream. Instead of rehearsing a dream as in MILD, you gently move attention between what you see behind closed eyes, what you hear, and what you feel in your body. Then you let yourself fall asleep normally.

It is the guided program's alternative when MILD's rehearsal is difficult or a plateau review suggests changing the technique. You do not need to add it to a MILD night.

Why this alternative

In Aspy's 2020 study, SSILD and MILD were similarly effective; combining them into a hybrid did not add a benefit. The study also found that general dream recall and returning to sleep within ten minutes predicted successful induction. These findings support choosing one technique and keeping the return to sleep easy. Aspy, 2020.

The earlier 2017 study supports the program's starting approach, WBTB + MILD; it was not a test of SSILD. Aspy et al., 2017.

How to practise

Use your planned WBTB wake-up, roughly five hours into sleep. Keep the room dim and return to a comfortable sleeping position. Follow the sensory sequence used in the 2020 study:

1. Sight: with your eyes closed, passively notice the darkness or any shapes. Do not strain your eyes or try to create images.
2. Sound: notice whatever you can hear, without searching for a special sound.
3. Touch: notice bodily sensations such as the bedding, temperature or your body's weight.

That is one cycle. Do four quick cycles, spending just a few seconds on each sense. Then do four to six slower cycles, roughly twenty seconds per sense. Keep the timing approximate rather than counting seconds. Finish by letting go of the exercise and going to sleep normally.

You do not need unusual sensations, vivid pictures or a sense that something is happening. If your attention drifts, move gently to the next sense. Trying harder is not the goal.

Change one thing

If you switch from MILD, keep the same planned nights and wake-up time at first. Replace the rehearsal with SSILD rather than alternating techniques every night or repeating a MILD phrase during the cycles. The program's plateau change is a fourteen-day trial; this is a practical way to observe a change, not a research-backed deadline for becoming lucid.

Keep the dream journal. In the morning, record what you remembered, whether you practised, and how quickly you returned to sleep. A night without a lucid dream still gives useful information about recall and sleep.

If the exercise leaves you alert, use the falling-back-asleep adjustments before adding more cycles. Keep WBTB to the program's three planned nights per week and leave the other nights for uninterrupted sleep. If your sleep suffers, take a break from planned wake-ups.

References

1. Aspy DJ, Delfabbro P, Proeve M, Mohr P. Reality testing and the mnemonic induction of lucid dreams: Findings from the national Australian lucid dream induction study. Dreaming. 2017;27(3):206–231. doi:10.1037/drm0000059
2. Aspy DJ. Findings From the International Lucid Dream Induction Study. Frontiers in Psychology. 2020;11:1746. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01746