To dream and be aware that you’re dreaming is a pretty amazing experience. Lucid dreams can be fun, exciting, interesting, bizarre, and even frightening, but they aren’t always easy to achieve. If you’d like to improve your odds of having lucid dreams, give one of these ways a try.

1. EAT YOUR WAY TO A DREAM

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Believe it or not, food can influence your dream state. Try eating tryptophan rich foods such as turkey, salmon, eggs and dairy for dinner. Evidence has also shown that eating a little cheese before bedtime can help induce a more lucid dream state.

2. FOLLOW YOUR NOSE

Scents impact the brain’s limbic system and often evoke powerful memories and emotions, which can spill over into your dreams. Use a scented “dream pillow” and it may just trigger your sense of smell during sleep, leading you to that lucid dream.

3. HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON

Sometimes hitting the snooze button can get you back into the REM stage of sleep after being in a conscious state. This is more likely to produce a lucid dreaming state. Another option is to set your alarm to go off after 6-7 hours of sleep, then go back to sleep again.

4. INCUBATE A SPECIFIC DREAM

Before you fall asleep, incubate a dream you would like to encounter. Maybe you want to walk along the streets of Paris or drive a racecar in the Indy 500. By starting with a predetermined theme you are more likely to realize you’re dreaming during actual slumber.

5. KEEP A DREAM JOURNAL

It may sound cliché, but keeping a dream journal can lead to more lucid dreams. Get in the habit of writing down your dreams when you wake up in the morning. Over time it will help you familiarize yourself with your own personal dream state and dream triggers.

6. MEDITATE

Meditation is a powerful tool for lucid dreaming. It helps you create different states of awareness and improves your sensitivity to subconscious messages, which often come through in dreams.

7. WORK WITH TECHNOLOGY

If old-fashioned methods aren’t cutting it for you, why not try a little technology? There are plenty of subliminal videos and MP3s available to alter brainwave patterns and put you in a more receptive state for dreaming. Before you know it, you’ll achieve that lucid dream!