Did i Astral Project by accident?

Hello, i'm new here. So after reading a lot about this subject, i thought it was very interesting and would be fun to try. I also learned that people do it by accident all the time and that if you remember your "dream" clearly, it is most likely an astral projection. And if you have a "jolt", then you just returned to your body from astral but may not remember it or remember as a dream instead. Anyways, to the point now...when i was a kid, i had this one "nightmare" that i remember up til now, that i was walking in my house (everyone asleep) and when i went to the living room, i saw this very scary looking tall creature standing behind the couch....then i got that "jolt" because i was scared as ****. Also one more thing, u will lol at this. If i had a very vivid "dream" of being chased by a dinosaur, then having the "jolt" from being scared as **** was that a regular dream or astral? Also, can someone give me their best technique to do to project at night when i go to bed? I appreciate it! thanks!