So far I’ve had 27 lds since I started nearly three months ago. The problem is that they still don’t last very long despite my remaining calm and looking at my hands. This is really frustrating because I can’t have in a ld that only lasts for seconds. Can anyone give me some advice based on their personal experience as to how they overcame this roadblock.
mbb809 thats because you recognize your dreaming at the end of rem sleep 
If you want to have longer lds then recognize sooner your dreaming in a dream. Read more about lds everyday before sleeping (books) not the net. And practise daily the idea that all daily things are happening in a dream. Dream diary to would help.
Good luck!
Jeff
I agree with Jeff. But I wonder…
Is it somehow possible to extend an REM period. I mean, actually force yourself to stay in that state so you can keep dreaming? 
Try to notice when the dream starts to fade away, then try spinning, looking at the ground, looking at your hands, or other techniques that can prolong the LD.
yes Sage you can if u use selfhypnosis in a dream to create enough alphawaves so there are not many beta waves so your cortex brain part never will be dominant. I only succeeded with that to get from an average of 2 to 3 minutes to 15 a 18 min lds…but not forever lol. theta waves u need to or the neurotransmitter thats so active in dreams will be broken down and u then to will wake up. So to have a real long ld u need to generate alpha and theta waves. Also depends on who u are neurological.
How your brain network works 
Jeff
To answer sage’s question,Yes you can make your dreams last longer.
When you are LDing and you feel yourself starting to wake up(getting heavy,blurred,or whatever) you can fight this and make yourself dream longer. I have been practicing this for a long time now. At first I would get a few extra seconds. Now once I fight it off I can go on for what seems for days in my dreams. The only bad part is after 12 hours of sleeping, I will automatically wake up and can’t sleep no more. Also after I fight of waking I go even more lucid than before. Few have actually been TOTALY LUCID. OOhhhhh Yeah 
I’ve had the same kind of problems too, but I’ve heard that rubbing your hands together is also an effective way to prevent you from waking up. Nevert tried it though, coz I haven’t been lucid in a while… 