To consciously attempt to enter the phase means that you need intent and you need to remember to do it as well. I usually employ the deferred method. I wake up around 5am, get up and use the toilet if I have to and then go back down...
If I happen to fall asleep I catch the next awakening to do indirect techniques...or... I enter the phase via dream consciousness. Sometimes, I just go back to bed and meditate by focusing on an object and bringing my mind back to it every time it gets lost. Often, there is no perceived loss of consciousness and I just lucidly separate from the body and into the dream world.
In the latter example, you are quite literally falling asleep consciously.
