Two things, either don't lay down or practice staying conscious. After awhile you will notice you will stay conscious longer. Also at night when going to sleep try to stay conscious and "watch" yourself fall asleep. Don't try to stay awake but try to stay conscious as long as you can while allowing your body to fall asleep. Try being aware and conscious of what is going on around you throughout the day.
I have had an OBE while sitting in a chair, but I was not trying to do so at the time. It just happened. I prefer to lay down but it is all up to what you personally prefer. You can have an OBE or do energy work in any comfortable position.
When I do energy work or any other kind of meditation I often fall asleep (not always but most of the time).
Just today I was doing some energy gathering ( I separate my energy work into 2 parts 1)gathering energy and 2)NEW, still gathering energy but mostly diverting it toward the subnaval center), and like usual I started to feel vibrations (at first it was only energy but then my puls got quicker and it added to the experiance, like always) so I did that for like 20 min and then I turned on my side for a sec. and when I came back it was 10 minutes later.
Latly I began to work on OBE. The thing looks the same, I usualy fall asleep. I only had 1 OBE, after I woke up [8D], and then a diferent time, also after waking up, I was in a deep trance and felt myself exiting the body, but I didnt get past that point during the attempt.
There are many more examples of me falling asleep but I dont want to waste time.
SO I ask, is there a way to stay awake ? (and Yes I do the "my body falls asleep but my mind stays awake",) maybe if I used a diferent position for meditation I would stay awake, did anyone ever have a OBE while not lying down?