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Sleep, Dreams and REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
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Sleep, Dreams and REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
Mahalia Cohen
The discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep suggested that sleep was not, as it was thought to be, a dormant state but rather a mentally dynamic one. Your brain is, in fact, very active in this state, almost to the level at which it is when a person is awake. Yet during this active stage in which most dreams occur, the movements of the rest of the body are completely stilled. To imagine this paralysis during dreams not occurring is a frightful image, since in many cases dreams are violent and active. When the neurotransmitters that control the movement of the body do not work properly the person develops REM sleep behavioral disorder (RBD).While we are sleeping the sensory world is essentially revolving around us without our knowledge. Our senses of hearing, touch, taste, sight, and smell no longer function as they do when we are awake. Except for the threshold for each of these senses that each of us has while we sleep, our inner systems are working essentially free of input from the outside world. And yet people are able to have vivid dreams. The cortex can only pass into sleep mode with the help of the are of the brain called the thalamus. The thalamus is one of the two structures that make up the diencephalon, the lower part of the fore brain. Its main function in mammals is as the relay station of sensory information its way to the cortical center. Specific regions of the thalamus, as well as different nuclei process different sensory information on its way to the cortex.
In normal sleeping patterns a person usually passes through five phases of sleep, the fifth being REM. The sleeping human passes cyclically through these five phases throughout a night's rest. These phases can be defined in electrical activity of the brain; much like the activity of the heart is often defined. The technique of measuring the electrical activity of the brain is call Electro-encephalogram, or EEG. When the electrical events of a person's brain are graphed on a electrical magnitude versus time axis the graph of a person who is in different stages of being asleep or awake appear to have different levels of electrical activity occurring in the brain. (See (14))
During the cycle of the phases each lasts for a different period of time during the time we are sleeping. The first stage is the lightest stage of sleep and is characterized by drifting in and out of sleep and slow muscle and eye activity. When people are awakened during this phase they usually have fragmented visual memory of what they were experiencing while asleep. The second stage is the one in which the most time is spent, close to fifty percent, during this stage three electrical activity, measured by electrodes, slows down except for infrequent bouts of rapid waves called sleep spindles. Stage three and four are considered stages of deep sleep, delta wave appear during phase three and are produced almost exclusively during phase four. Delta waves are extremely slow brain waves. Though there is no consistent eye movement or muscle activity during these two periods, they are the phases of sleep when some children experience bedwetting, night terrors, or sleepwalking ((12)).
The next phase is REM sleep, after reaching stage four the pattern of progressively slower, larger brain wave and deeper sleep, reverses and sleep becomes lighter until the REM sleep state is reached. REM is the most active part of sleep, in which the rain waves, when viewed using EEG have a pattern the most similar to those of person who is awake. REM sleep and dreaming, which occurs mainly during REM, are triggered by the pons, a bridge that connects the brainstem with the cerebellum, and neighboring structures of the brainstem (See illustration ((10))). A pathway originates in a group of acetylcholinergic neurons located in these rostral pons. These neurons project to the sensory areas of the thalamus and to the reticular nucleus. In the sensory areas of the thalamus control whether the gate that allows information from the outside world pass into the brain is open or closed. The acetylcholine produced by the pons' neurons sensitizes these neurons of the thalamus to sensory input by slightly depolarizing, and hence changing the level of potassium. By contrast the reticular nucleus is inhibited by the acetylcholine, as a result the thalamus lets sensory information through , and the cortex is highly active. This process is very similar to what occurs when a person is awake. In the other stage of sleep in which the brain is less active the system works in the opposite manner. The acetylcholine system is inactive, the reticular nucleus is uninhibited and can thus inhibit the thalamus, as a result the cortical neurons move in a slow rhythm , very different from the active state they are in while the creature is awake, or in REM sleep.
The majority of the Dreaming that occurs during a sleep cycle occurs during the REM or paradoxical sleep state. As described above the brain literally awakens internally during REM sleep. In a person with normal sleep behavior the REM sleep stage is one of near paralysis for the entire body other than the muscles of the eye and the middle ear. This occurs because of descending inhibition, in which a group of cells in the medulla that descend down the spinal cord and inhibit motor activity. RBD, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, is characterized by the afflicted person acting out their dreams, which are usually violent in nature. The violent nature of these dream enactments is very distinct from the person's normal waking personality. This suggests that RBD is not only a motor control disorder, but a dream disorder as well. When the person awakens they can remember their dream vividly but cannot recall their physical actions during the dreams. Most of the incidents that occur within the dream are similar in affect to those that the individual was enacting, in one instance an adult male nearly strangled his wife while dreaming that he was saving her from drowning ((13)).
The majority of patients afflicted with RBD though there are cases of females and children having this disorder. About 25% of diagnosed patients tested reported limb twitching, talking, yelling, jerking and a progressive decline in motor control during sleep ((9)). These symptoms starkly contrast to the typical atonia, lack of normal muscle tension, which is associated with the REM phase of sleep. In very few isolated cases have any family history of RBD been found. In approximately half of the cases chronic RBD is associated with several different neuropathologies including: vascular insult, tumors, degenerative disorders, etc. In instances where RBD is not a consequence of some other affliction it may be a warning sign of Parkinson's disease.
RBD and other similar dissociative disorders bring up interesting questions about the self. In one respect an individual self is more active during these phases of sleep since there actions and functions are more similar to those that occur when that individual is awake, and supposedly has full use of the self. Yet during these sleep stages the individual loses awareness and control of there physical and mental self. The dreams that they experience, as seen in cases studies, are rarely attributed to what occur in their daily life, and thus are the vivid images are not provided for by their memory bank. Furthermore they have little control over their physical presence, which is controlled by the dream sequence and have no recollections of the actions that took place after they are awakened. These two opposing standpoints leave the question: is the self retained when awareness of the individuals own actions is lost?
WWW Sources
1) The Study of Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Dreaming. By M. Jouvet and D. Jouvet2) Paradoxical Sleep- A Study of its Nature and Mechanisms. By M. Jouvet
3) Paradoxical Sleep Mechanisms. By M. Jouvet.
4) Why Do We Dream? By Jarrett Carberry.
6) Why Don't We Act On Our Dreams. By Silvia Helena Cardoso, PhD.
7) The Science of Sleep and Dreams
8) States of Consciousness: Concepts and Definitions
9)REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Neurologic Dissociative Sleep Disorder. By Niels C. Rattenborg.
10) Brain Briefings: REM Sleep.
11) Cortical Arousal During REM Sleep, LDEs and OBEs.
12) Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep.
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Continuing conversation
I have a question that brought me to your Web site. Is it possible for vivid dreams to disrupt the normal functions during sleep? To rephrase, is there such a thing as the mind being too focused on the logical events of a dream that it fails to get enough rest? Sometimes I wake up in the morning after having a vivid dream and it's very difficult to get out of bed or I can't immediately focus on the world around me. This has occurred fairly often in the past two months, so I wanted to do some research. I'm not sure if you respond to individual e-mails, but I'd definitely appreciate it if you could reply. Greg Davidson
In response to the previous inquiry--sounds like you are having lucid dreams. Welcome to my world--I am experiencing a LOAD of problems due to this type of sleep.
AS THE ABOVE READER I TOO DREAM ALL NIGHT LONG. I WAKE UP SO EXHAUSTED I CAN HARDLY FUNCTION DURING THE DAY. EVEN WORSE THAN THAT I REMEMBER THE DREAM THE ENTIRE DAY AND IT I CLOSE MY EYES THE DREAM IS STILL GOING ON. WHEN I TELL PEOPLE MY DREAMS THEY THINK I'M CRAZY. MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN AWAKENED NUMEROUS TIMES TO FIND OUT WHO I AM TALKING WITH, ETC. MARY
I also have a very similar problem. Since I was a child I have always had very vivid dreams that feel like they last all night. Many times I talk (often panicked), sit up or stand up in the bed, get out of the bed, etc. The dreams in which I talk are typically nightmares like snakes in the bed, trapped somewhere, someone trying to "get" me, etc. The really frightening ones (devils, spirts, etc) often wake me. Not all of my dreams are bad, but many are. In the morning, I literally have to drag myself out of the bed. When I was an adolecent, my mom would try to wake me up in the morning to go to school and I would be so mean - just b/c I really did not want to get up b/c I was so tired. I can easily sleep 12 hours plus - dreaming the whole time - before I wake up on my own. I am really looking for a natural treatment so that I feel rested in the morning and get the restful sleep needed to be healthy.
After reading your article and the continued conversations at the end, I would also like to ask about "too much dreaming"...is my brain spending too much time in REM? I've read other articles that suggest diet has an affect (i.e. too much protein before bed). I'm a vegetarian and rarely get too much protein at any time of the day, so that can't be it. I'm considering finding a sleep research facility in my area and have an EEG run while I'm alseep to determine, in actuality, just how long my brain spends in REM and how long it spends in delta waves. Bring on the delta waves!
Hi, my husband is 28 years old and has had night terrors his whole life. We recently read in articles like yours that 40% of adults that suffer from night terrors go on to develop Parkinson's disease. Naturally, we are very worried about this. My husband wants to put off going to see a doctor or specialist for a year or so because this coming year will be a very busy and important one for him at work. But I keep trying to tell him that his health and emotional well-being is more important than work. Even if there is nothing the doctor can do to treat the night terrors, I feel that talking to a professional about it will help to ease his mind if he can get some answers about Parkinson's, etc. Ever since he found this information out, I can tell it is bothering him. How do I get him to go see a doctor? Thanks!
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I have a 3 year old who can run for about 4.5 hours with very brief rest periods aprox. 3mins. He can not be in school because he is too active for the structured environment. I had to quit my job. He sleeps between 8pm - 9pm each noght.
He wakes up between 6am - 7:30am. He twicthes a lot when he is almost asleep. Not violently but I notice toes , fist and occassional his head twitch. When he wakes up in the morning, till about 11:30am, he will complain that he is soo tired. I thought it was boredom so I kept taking him to the park after he had painted, and done other projects he wanted to do. (that causes him to run /play for hours). I try to let him rest his body or sleep if he can before we go out. In any case immediately after he wakes up, he asks me if I am as tired as he is. He is always complaining that he is too tired. He is only 3 years old and this worries me. I am going to make an appiontment for him to see his pediatrician because I am confident he knows the difference between being bored and being tired. Any ideas? ... Catherine, 16 February 2006
I've had vivid dreams my entire life. I am 32 years old, so at least as far as I can remember. I used to have horrific nightmares growing up, and loud sounds like trains, or racing cars, for long periods of time. I've had several obe experiences, and have woken up only to see what can be described as ectoplasma in the shape of a human,leaving my presence. I've seen things standing above me that have taken my breath away, literally like it was actually sucking the air from my lungs. I could spend all night writing about my experiences, but I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep tonite, since I have a little girl who needs to be tended to. My most recent experiences outside of the dream world, have been hearing loud conversations directly in my ears, between two or more people speaking to each other. I feel like I'm awake and it can be very annoying, because I want to write down what they are saying, but I am not physically able to move, although I dream to be awake and get up to see if I'm really sleeping. Something similiar happened within the last year, where I heard loud music, almost as if I was in a church. It sounded like a soft worship song of a woman singing. A song I had never heard before, but was a beautiful sound. At first it was pleasing, but played over and over until I woke up. I waited to long to address it, then forgot what I had heard or made of for the lyrics. I can't find any reason for these occurances, but I would really like to find out as much info as possible. I am becoming more and more concerned now. Last night, it was two men talking to one another, and it was very loud for an extended period of time. Please respond. I don't take any medications, nor use mind altering drugs that would affect my sleep like this. I'm wondering if I need to seek a sleep disorder specialist, or I'm just tuned in to the spirit world. I don't know at this point. Thank you for your time ... Keli, 6 April 2006
hello, i've been taking the antidepressant, Effexor XR for over 5-years and experiencing vivid dreams, but mostly when i wake in the morning it takes 45-minutes or more to convince myself to get out of bed, and sometimes when i get out of bed i have feelings in my head that i'm going to drop from still being extremely tired. everyday this happens. shall i chalk it up to NOT being a morning person OR Sleep Behavior Disorder caused by taking Effexor XR? this is effecting my daily routine and being able to get to work on time. i can not stop taking the Effexor XR because i seem to be totally dependant on it. your opinion is greatly appreciated. my email is cr5759@yahoo.com ... Carlos Tomas, 26 June 2006
I am having a difficulty usually about 3 am. I think I am waking up while I am still dreaming. Real world superimposing onto the dream world. The best example of this I can give is a nightmare I had (my Mother was in reality standing in my doorway having a actual conversation with me) which I was concious of while I was also vividly dreaming a nightmare about someone who was killing people was superimposed over my room and Mom. I even told her the name that I was dreaming as I dreamed it. My worry is that this seems to be happening more frequently as I am getting older. Am I missing a vitiam or something? ... Anne, 15 August 2006
I also have the problems with my sleep that affects me alot like the people described here. I think I spend too much time in REM mode and it is really affecting my life. I have been dealing with this for over a year now and no one seems to be able to help. I was wondering if anyone on here has figured out exactly what is causing it? ... Faith Mrzlock, 25 August 2006
I experienced an awareness of the REM phase of sleep and it was very strange. I was lying in bed half asleep where I could not move but was aware that I was in bed. I moved my eyes to the left and heard and felt the wind sweep across the back of my head to the right side. I the moved my eyes to the right and the opposite happened. I thought maybe I was hearing the wind outside so I stopped and nothing happened. I then repeated it. The sensation across the back of my head felt good. Shortly after my eyes started twitching in different directions, not moving to the fullest extent in any particular direction. Along with the movement I felt zapping in my eyes. I then started to breathe faster and started to try to whimper so maybe my wife could hear me, but didn't make a sound. I then woke up with a little whimper.
I wanted to see if this is a known experience ... William, 22 September 2006
i have nightmares all the time and every time i shut my eyes to sleep, and during my dreams something bad happens, and it always ends at one section and the next night when i go back to sleep it carrys on where it left off and worst things happens it's just like a non- ending nightmare it's been going on for about 6 months know but i haven't told anyone yet no even my parenrts, okay well canu please email me and tell me what i can do thank you very much ... Elisabeth Carter, 19 October 2006
Hi. My name is Kayla. I'm 17 years old. And I have horrible nightmares. I honestly can't remember when I last had a good dream. I have these dreams that keep reocurring. Sometimes they'll stay for long. And then just go away. But they come back. And i'm very confused 'cause some of the dreams I have are really strange. And have nothing that I can relate to in reality. All of the dreams that i've had have always had my family and friends in them. Mostly my family. And something bad is always happening. But my dreams arent the same everytime I fall asleep. I fall asleep the first time and have the dream. And sometimes am so scared I wake up. But then if I can fall back asleep the dream continues. And it's the same dream. But everything get's harder. And every time I fall asleep and go back into the dream more occurs. For instance, in one of my dreams that i've had recently I'm in my room and my brother is standing next to my bed and I wake up and he's just staring into the hallway. And this guy comes in.. But he's nor a normal guy he's like rubbery texture. Like a mask. but his whole body is like that. And it's as if he comes from tv or a video game. But I have the instinct that I have to protect my brother. So I get up and fight him. And then after I kill him theres another guy that I have to kill. But it's always easy the first couple of times. But the more I wake up and then go back to sleep the harder they get to fight. And it's just odd because my brother just stands there not saying a word. Just watching. No emotion. I think the dreaming comes from somewhere. 'Cause my little brother also has Night Terrors. Horrible ones. Where he's half asleep and half awake. And it's so hard to calm him down because he doesnt see us as us. Normally were people that he's afraid of. And one time while one of his Night Terrors was happening my sister kept asking him what was going on and that time he kept repeating himself "They won't let me tell you, they won't let me tell you" While rocking back in form screaming and him trying to breath. But when he wakes up. He can't remember a thing. He's never been able to. And they used to be quite frenquent. But i'm not sure what exactly this all means. If at all possible, please email me back and try to explain. 'Cause some of the research i've been reading is scaring me ... Kayla, 18 January 2007
I have a friend and he just told me that over the past 6 months he has had very vivid dreams in the middle of regular activity during the day and they only seem to last a few seconds. He was in a parked car in the middle of the day and he looked out the window and saw sticks on the windshield and the moon coming through and thought he was in the woods when he was really on a street and a few sec. later it was over. Then one day he was driving and it happened again but this time he had clear recollection of sitting at the dinner table with his parents for a few sec. and when he came back he was still driving. I am concerned. He doesn't do drugs and is on no medication but he is anorexic and experiences some insomnia. Please help ... TJ, 27 January 2007
I have the same problem. I go to bed and I feel as though I'm in a very deep sleep. If I wake up at night I feel drowsy and it feels as though I've been in a deep sleep. Yet, in the morning, I wake up and I just so tired and I feel like I am not getting enough sleep ... Marisa, 7 February 2007
I have a problem to which I have no answer. Since childhood I can never remember actually dreaming and also cannot visualise or have no imaginative thoughts when i'm asleep and am wondering if there is a diagnosis for this condition as it truly does bother me. Please help me out on this one. I am a 38 yr old man am would like this problem solved ... Michael Alderman, 12 April 2007
I was recently hospitalized and was taken off my ADD Meds(Adderal-an amphetamine). I had been on this medication for several years. I roommate told me I talked a lot in my sleep. I don't remember this. Because I am aware that when I have discontinued this medication in the past I am more sexually driven, I am concerned that I may have acted out inapproriately. What are the chances of this happening? And what are the chances that I said embarrassing things while I was sleeping at the hospital? Would I have acted out in ways I never would while awake? It feels like I may have done somthing(s) that I should be embarrassed about! ... B. Oldham, 25 June 2007
MY HUSBAND YELLS KICKS AND SCREAMS ALL NIGHT LONG. WE HAVE TO SLEEP IN DIFFERENT ROOMS. HE SCREAMS SO LOUD THAT EVEN THE NEIGHBORS CAN HEAR. HIS SNORING IS ALSO VERY BAD. BUT NOT AS BAD AS THE YELLING ALL NIGHT LONG. IT PREVENTS THE HOUSEHOLD FROM SLEEPING. HE STARTED THIS ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND ITS VERY HARD TO TOLERATE. WHAT CAN BE DONE? ... Yvonne, 27 November 2007
I'd highly appreciate it if you could help me with a problem i have. Every month or so I have a sort of episode when i sleep. When it happens its like I'm aware of everything around me, (people talking, noises, ect.), but I'm in a deep sleep. I feel pressure on my chest and head, as if someone was pushing down on me, and i can't breathe for at least ten seconds. I try and wake myself, but anytime i can seem to get my eyes open its only for a quick second and then they automatically close again, back into the deep sleep. When i can finally bring myself to completely wake up, I'm gasping and usually crying. I'm sixteen, and generally all around healthy and i don't know what causes these episodes, or even what they are. I hope you can help. Thanks ... Christy, 27 December 2007
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Comments
PLEASE READ - not being able to wake up!
FIRST MEMORIES OF THIS:
Ever since I can remember, sleep and waking up during the night and every morning has been an issue. When I was young i remember picking up my dolly that had fallen out of my bed, yet i was still asleep, still dreaming, but i was able to lean down and pick up my dolly and can remember doing this all the time!
DOCTORS ARE NO HELP ABOUT THIS:
I am now 17 years old and a few years ago my mum took me to the doctors because she was fed up of the stuggle she went to to wake me up every morning. I had blood tests and a check for amnemia and all sorts just for the doctor to say that i was "a normal lazy teenanger", but i could not descirbe that i knew it was more than that.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENS EVERY MORNING:
When my alarm (used to me mum) goes off, i turn it off or put it on snooze, but i am still dreaming. This continues until i finally wake up and realise that i am meant to me either at work or college! On many occasions i have turned off my alarm with only slight recolection of turning it off rather than putting it on snooze or waking up, though it should wake me! Then throughout my day i start to remember my earlier dreams and get 'flash backs' or my dreams and feel like i am still dreaming, (like a woman has previously said on here!!). Its so bizarre but i really srtuggle to wake up and want help because i do not know what to do about it and how to help myself wake up. It really wore my mum out and she hates having to wake me up. She used to shout several times for me to wake up yet i rarely did wake up and id answer her saying that i was in the shower alread but would still be alseep!! I became so bad social services even got involed with it at one point because i was always late for school, from not being able to get up on time!!
I also randomly get 'flash backs' of dreams i have from when i was very young. I can list thousands if not more, dreams in vivid detail and decribe all sorts about them but i just want to be able to wake up and not be replaying dreams in my head all the time!!
CAN I HAVE HELP PLEASE:
So what i am asking for is maybe some help. Possibly, if this is a diagnosed illness, or whatever, just any way i can then get treatment and not have to feel so tired during the day.
I really hope some clever person can help me, or for those who alo think they experience this to get in contact with me and comment to share you experiences. Also what is the real name for this experience/illness/whatever it is,(its hard to describe) because i would love to be able to research it more! :)
Sleep
So hope things have gotten better with your sleep. Sad to read. I know how tough it is
Glenn
Soo I have the same issue.
Soo I have the same issue. Like last night for instance. I was awake until 130 am or so cuz I had a really bad nightmare and was afraid to go to sleep cuz they're really really vivid. Anyway, I had another nightmare but woke up to my phone vibrating cuz of a text. I vaguely remember checking it but then fell back asleep and two hours later I actually woke up and I had a whole conversation on my phone. Slightly freaked me out. That happens with the alarm thing. I will wake up turn it off and then fall asleep and awake two hours later and not realize I over slept till I look at the clock and don't remember the alarm ever going off when it was set. This problem occurs a lot.
Oh and the flashbacks, I haven't ever heard of anyone else having that issue. I thought it was just me..I mean, they just suddenly happen to be remembered and I don't know what triggered them or why all of a sudden my brain thought I needed to remember them. It's awful. I have insomnia from the fear of nightmares cuz I had them so much when I was little and still have them frequently but not as much as I used to. Gosh, I'm glad I'm not the only one with sleeping issues..
re not being able to wake up!
Hi, I noticed your question and just wanted to respond to it. I do a similar thing: wake up, go back to bed for an hour or two every morning during which time I have really intense dreams, sometimes while hitting the snooze all the while. and then wake up for real and go to work, but I don't have this problem of oversleeping because I set 2 alarms on my phone. Sometimes I'll leave 2 hrs between them if I go to bed late. Then I snooze for those 2 hours and then a second alarm on my cell phone tells me that it is time to wake up "for real." If the first alarm on my cell phone doesn't go off and I don't get that weird hour or two hours of "semi sleep" I am a MESS and have even overslept before, even though I have actually been in a deeper sleep longer.
Anyway, my analysis of the whole thing is that I somehow NEED that hour or two of intense dreaming/snoozing that happens after the alarm "first wakes me up" and I can ensure that I get it by setting a first alarm way before I actually have to get out of bed.
I do not, however, have the issue of "dreaming during the day." I will REMEMBER my dreams during the day, but that doesn't really bother me. What you're describing sounds like the guy in the movie "The Science of Sleep."
re not being able to wake up!
Hi, I noticed your question and just wanted to respond to it. I do a similar thing: wake up, go back to bed for an hour or two every morning during which time I have really intense dreams, sometimes while hitting the snooze all the while. and then wake up for real and go to work, but I don't have this problem of oversleeping because I set 2 alarms on my phone. Sometimes I'll leave 2 hrs between them if I go to bed late. Then I snooze for those 2 hours and then a second alarm on my cell phone tells me that it is time to wake up "for real." If the first alarm on my cell phone doesn't go off and I don't get that weird hour or two hours of "semi sleep" I am a MESS and have even overslept before, even though I have actually been in a deeper sleep longer.
Anyway, my analysis of the whole thing is that I somehow NEED that hour or two of intense dreaming/snoozing that happens after the alarm "first wakes me up" and I can ensure that I get it by setting a first alarm way before I actually have to get out of bed.
I do not, however, have the issue of "dreaming during the day." I will REMEMBER my dreams during the day, but that doesn't really bother me. What you're describing sounds like the guy in the movie "The Science of Sleep."
is there any connection?
I have only been experiencing vivid dreams when i sleep with my boyfriend next to me. What is the meaning or is there any explanation to this?
sleep
Did you find any answers to this?
I have the same problem, i only seem to have these dreams with me boyfriend next to me.
Would love to kno why this happens...
sleeplessKnights
Hi This is Namrata Shah I am nt able to sleep at Knight properly,B'coz of my stupid i am nt able to sllep.Some times the person is not all in my contact,I dont no that person just i have seen him he comes in my mind & i dream of him or very vulgar dreams comes which make e guilty.I am not able to wake until & unless that dreams has not finished.When i wake up in morning i am very tierd.I have very incomplete seep.
REM sleep behavior disorder
I have read about great book for a troubled teenager and in a person with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), the paralysis that normally occurs during REM sleep is incomplete or absent, allowing the person to "act out" his or her dreams. RBD is characterized by the acting out of dreams that are vivid, intense,and violent. Dream-enacting behaviors include talking, yelling, punching, kicking, sitting, jumping from bed, arm flailing, and grabbing. An acute form may occur during withdrawal from alcohol or sedative-hypnotic drugs.
Crimes in your sleep
Did you hear about the man in the Uk who murdered his wife in his sleep as he thought he was fighting off an intruder. Instances like that are very are but still very disturbing.
NO REM on sleep study
Does anyone know what would cause you to sleep yet not enter REM
I just had a sleep study of almost 24 hours done and I never once entered REM
Sleep issues
Over the last few years over sleeping has caused me to lose many things in life. I will sleep most of the time more than 13 hours a night some days i do not get out of bed at all. I do wake up many times but i always go back to sleep. I always remember what i am dreaming and sometimes go back to sleep into the exact same dream right where i left off when i woke up. No matter how important something is that i need to be awake for.. i will not bring my self to get out of bed and do what needs to be done. It is affecting my life in a horrible way. my family is always angry with me for missing things i am not making it to school and failing each year because of my attendance.
is there anyway you know what could be wrong with me??
Not Sleeping?
I am laying in my bed... I am not sleeping, I am not dreaming, I am trying to sleep, but my mind will not let me. I am aware of everything that is around me, each noise... I do not understand why I can not sleep... whats wrong with me? I do not drink, i do not do drugs, i work, and spend time with family... I use to dream when i was younger, i use to sleep til these past months... i'm 26 and i have not dreamed since i was 13 years old. is something wrong with me? Now i am not sleeping, i have my eyes closed forcing myself willing myself to sleep but i am not sleeping... and then before i know it my alarm for work goes off.. I think through all this random stuff through the night... seriously am i the only one whos going through this?
Reason for no sleep
Hi,
Just wanna tell you I been suffering the same , but thank God I have recovered , it was really a torture.
I struggled hard , and found a way to get out of it , may be the same way u could get out of it too.
I have discovered that, it's just ur fear it could be any like worrying about feature , life I mean could be any now u need to find it out what actually worrying u, is there any thing like that?which u even don't know , but believe me something in your mind disturbing u, you need to find out what is it
I need to help a friend
My best friend had a dream last week on Tuesday night. She had a dream her and her daughter were running from a demon. She awoke and was upset. She immediatly called her boyfriend and told him about it. She calmed down and went back to sleep. Her phone started ringing and it was her mom freaking out. Her mom said that she had called her and all her mom could hear was her daughter screaming for 12 min. When my friend came to she was standing in the kitchen. her daughter was fast asleep, but she had to have been in her daughters room for her mom to hear her screaming like that. Last night she had the same dream, woke up, called the boyfriend and it was at the same exact time as last week. 3 am. she has been putting tape on her door to know if she had been sleep walking. anyway, after talking to her boyfriend she went back to sleep. she awoke at the same time as last time and she was standing in her daughters room and her daughter was asleep.
She is freaking out because it was exactly the same as the last time but she didnt call anyone and it was exactly a week later. She is scared she is going to hurt her daughter.
She had really bad night terrors as a child and hasnt had problems in years. but once as a child she walked to her school and woke up when her feet got cold.
i just want to know how to help her....
Help sleeping
I have been building a website about sleep aids (it's just getting off the ground), so I've been doing quite a bit of research on this topic. I have been a long time practitioner of meditation and whenever my mind is very active at night, meditation for 10+ minutes usually calms it right down. Listening to soothing music, drinking boiled milk, and avoiding food/drink too close to bedtime can make a big difference as well. Find more info at . Hope this helps!
Sleep Apnoea / Sleep Paralisis
I suffer from sleep apnoea and sleep paralisis. I wake up and can't move, can't open my eyes and can't speak. I have had the experience of not being able to move and having my air supply cut off at the same time, as my neck is in the wrong position. It is very frightening. I try to call for help, but can't get any sound out. I once managed to sit up, but then I noticed that my body was still lying down. I quickly lay back down again. Very frightening!
increasing dream issues
I know exactly how this is going to sound but Im not taking any type of drugs, nor do I drink (i just turned 21 and still dont drink, I had a beer on my birthday though) but anyway For a while now I've been having little snippets of dream that turn out to be actual events in my life. Whether it was something trivial like buying a bottle of sprite or one of the scariest ones where I dreamed my friends were going to get into a car accident and later that night they did. Mind you i was one state away. When I was younger I remember waking up and my heart was racing, I don't remember the dream but I remember thinking my heart was going to explode because of how fast it was beating, which was way faster than a precession of quarter notes right after another on a song sheet. I've also experienced sleep paralysis where upon waking I can't move for what feels like about 3 minutes.(i put a clock by my head one day and timed it) And most recently just this morning I had a dream (like a few before) where I was fighting off some guys who were trying to beat me to a pulp. I had a wax staff(martial arts weapon) but it was one from a show I used to watch as a kid, but anyway I woke up and I was out of breath and my arms were tired and felt as though I had actually been blocking hits and swinging the staff around. No one came in my room (3 family members in my house) so I wasn't making any noise (I left my door open last night). Now I didnt mind the dreams about meeting up with someone for a movie and having it actually happen, but things like the waking paralysis and now feeling as though i was fighting an armada is just too much. I've had other issues too but these stand out the most right now Any inkling as to whats wrong?
Sincerely,
Vivid yet not vivid dreamer Javi
My meditation saved me.
Well, I have got my sleep back. I am happy, every thing is back to normal, its been more then 2 months that i have recovered it totaly, and i don't remember that how those sleepless nights were like.
jennifer my meditation was different, I am a Muslim! and i believe praying in front of my lord regularly saved me.
I was jobless,Depressed, love thing scared me, was so feared. I was thinking that I am going to die; I can’t make it and things like that.
So all I have to say , all of you people! please try to overcome your fears, your doubts. Don’t think about tomorrow, just live your life. Things beyond your control! just let them go, keep yourself busy in some work, find yourself a good company, and a good cause to live. if u wanna ask any question here is my e-mail
Meditation sounds like a
Meditation sounds like a solution for us. The type of concentration meditation may help us to focus our mind. For all of you that have vivid dreams (no always nightmares but also nonsense dreams)Does anyone one practice meditation? I fell that is time to besides talking about our problems, start suggesting solutions or at least share what experiences had been helpful.
Is also important to me to know if you have problems concentrating. For me is so hard focus on my studies or whatever I have to do, my mind wonder and I do not now is this is related with the sleep issues. Please let me know is this happen to you as well.
Thanks for those of whose are going to sleep studies and sheering their progress.
I will try to meditate, consistently and let you know. Mean while I am wondering what is the positive side of our issues with the dreams.
Dreaming in a Dream Active Live Dreams
I just had my second occurrence of having a dream with in a dream. I have such active and real dreams that I wake tired from doing so much in the dream. The last occurrence with the double dream had me tired in the dream from dreaming, so when I got up it was double tiredness if that is possible. It was quite an amazing thing to feel, and it's exciting to be living these other lives, but it's tough living this normal and simple life when there is so much more to be expected and experienced in my dreams.
I created full worlds and places in the dreams. I've went though full days of activities, went to bed, and work up all in the same dream. There are places and occurrences that I can recall as if they happened yesterday in "real" life. I wake up in the morning tired, go back to bed for a 5 minute snooze, and go back to the dream for what seems like an hour or so of activity, then wake up, still tired, and then go back to the dream for more time. It's crazy, and I feel like there is something going on with me.
I've also had dreams of future events that I can recall exactly as having known or done them before.
I feel like I have psychic abilities of some sort, and have shown some ability to people, however I am not trained up to high standards.
If the government or someone would like to contact me I am willing to take on a position, I'm currently going for my Masters in Statistics.
some suggestions & a request to share ideas
My husband is experiencing RSBD. It began maybe 4-5 years ago with just little jerks here and there, but has been slowly escalating to the point that I'm a little bit afraid to share the bed with him. He's amazingly strong (weight lifter) and I have almost no strength; there is no way I could fight him off if he acts out a physical scene. His side of the bed is very near the wall, which makes me concerned about him throwing himself into it as others have described doing. I tried a couple of times to wake him while he was flailing around, but ended up almost getting injured, so now if he's making larger movements I will quickly jump out of the bed and then just hope he doesn't hurt himself. They say to not awaken a sleepwalker, so I'm assuming it's kind of the same thing with someone in this RSBD state.
I appreciate the suggestion of a sleep sack. My husband loves to sleep with his arms out of the sheets/blankets, so I don't know how successful that might be, but he's open to trying it.
I have read that for some people, taking melatonin can be helpful, at doses up to 12 mg. I had him start with a 5 mg dose but after almost a month nothing has changed, so we're going to try 10 mg. I also read that sometimes L-tryptophan can be helpful when added to the melatonin, so we may try that soon. Maybe that will be helpful to others struggling with this - but be sure to get a high-quality product, not the general junk off the grocery store shelves.
Good luck to all. I hope folks are still monitoring this post and that anyone with remedies will share them.
That is scary! I would
That is scary! I would suggest getting a new bed, as others have done, so you don't share with him. You should also talk to your doctor about this problem before attempting more self-medication.
what are the odds of a person
what are the odds of a person answering a question while they are asleep, i know its rare in somniloquy but i was just wondering if anyone knew the answer.
dreaming
Recently I have sleeping problem and this also bring me to this website.It had been a week or more not sleeping well. Every night i will dreaming and when i woke up i will feel extremely tired, feel like i didn't sleep at all the whole night.I will feel headache also every time when i am awake. I have no idea what's going on, on me.I have tried lavender fragrance oil to help me sleep better during the night, but it doesn't work at all.I am really tired with this thing, i cant even concentrate with my study. Can anyone help me with this?Thanks!
Please Help!
Wow. Alot of people have similar probelms...
I need help. It only happened one night, but I'm scared and very curious! I woke up (I could see all this), went out into the hall way, but my Aunt was there, she scared me then asked what I was doing, I said I didn't know and went back to bed. Later that night, I woke up, went into the kicthen and stood there, my Aunt asked me once again what I was doing and I answered in a holw voiece "I don't know. I'm going back to bed" just like before!! THEN at 5:30 exactly, I went out to the kitchen, stood there for about half a minute, looked out the window, then literaly woke up! I had no idea why I came to the kicthen, thought to myself: I don't know. I'm going back to bed.
This only happened once. I was wake and yet sleep waking. My mom said people don't talk when sleep walking. I'm really worried!
It felt like it wasn't me. I wasn't me. I couldn't feel anything. I need an answer from someone who knows whats wrong with me. I'm begging.
Please. Laura
My girlfriends sleeping issue
My girlfriend repeatedly wakes at night in a very angry and vicious state. She often says things that either don't make sense or are strange and freaky. Last night she woke up facing the other side of the couch as i was on the computer, grabbed me and asked, "What the fuck do you want!" with an extremely unusually vicious look and tone. In the morning she never has any recollection of what took place, in fact she is even extremely nice in the morning. It happens between about 3-3:30. Last week she even set her alarm for 3 AM without realizing in her sleep. She has also woken up in panic that she can't move. I don't know what's going on here it's really starting to get out of hand.
So many of you have symptoms
So many of you have symptoms of narcolepsy with the sleep paralysis, vivid dreams and feeling like you are awake even though you are dreaming.
my brother told me that at
my brother told me that at night I was awake and doing things, and even responding however I have no recollection of this. Is this normal? It has happened twice and he also said that previously I also was talking to myself even though I was asleep.
I'm 40 now, but ever since I
I'm 40 now, but ever since I was a child I have had lucid dreams; however, this doesn't bother me, I rather enjoy them. I wish I could control them better. What I do have a problem with is sleep paralysis, it's very disturbing. I often start dreaming as soon as I fall asleep, especially during a mid-day nap. Sometimes I feel as though I'm awake and I feel an ominous prescence, but I can't move or speak; I keep trying and eventually I'm successful in waking myself up. Last night was no exception. As soon as I fell "asleep" I felt and heard "something" scamper across my bed and my pillow, I could hear "it" breathing. I could even see the wall right next to my bed, but I could'nt move or speak no matter how hard I tried; this is a very stressful sensation. Eventually, when I felt whatever "it" was that I may have been imagining touching my lower leg with what felt like tiny little claws, I was able to kick at "it" with my other leg and sat up yelling. I know I sound crazy, but this is all very real to me, and this happens quite often. Any thoughts...anyone?
My boyfriend has been talking
My boyfriend has been talking in his sleep, yelling, twitching, getting out of bed and standing for several minutes until I ask what he's doing. Punching, kicking, sitting up and has put a few holes in the wall during sleep but does not remember anything. Last night he fell asleep drunk. I asked him to cuddle me, which he LOVES doing, but he starts YELLING at me. I ignore that because he was drunk and trying to sleep, so I fall asleep myself. Two hours later I wake up to him repeatedly punching me in my back, arm, back of the head, and even my face. His eyes were open and he was yelling and calling me names. I was like, "What are you doing?! Stop!" and he finally stopped after I threw myself partially on the floor. He then just goes back to sleep. I am absolutely scared to death of him at this point and I try to wake him up, as I am bawling crying and very afraid of him... to which he got mad at ME! and ignored the fact that I am crying my eyes out, he falls back asleep again. Minutes later he is saying (in his sleep), "see, that's why you shouldn't f*** with me while I'm sleeping. I told you. I told you. that's what you get." stuff like that. So Im wondering, was that "episode" something that he actually wants to do to me in real life, but dreams of it instead? Or did he just think I was someone else? Because I can't even look at him anymore without being terrified. I am scared to death to sleep with him and even being AROUND him makes me very nervous as if he's going to snap at any moment. How can I fix this?
your bf
Sorry but he needs to stop drinking or you need to leave him. Drinking will only make these dreams worse. I went through the same stuff, but I quit drinking completely and it went away completely. At least the violent part of the dreams. I still talk in my sleep and I still move around a lot more then I should. But i don't get violent anymore. Good luck
REM Behavior Sleep Disorder SAFETY IDEA
I have REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. I have all the recognized symptoms. I am writing to offer a way to protect oneself from injury when you are having these 'dreams'.
On this last new years eve i wound up at the ER after a violent dream episode. In the dream i jumped from a speeding car into my BEDROOM WALL! I injured my neck and split my knee open. The ER doctor said it may as well have been an actual car crash!
After discussion of using restraints - even a strait jacket... I came up with my own solution - I went to a local camping store and bought a SLEEPING BAG 'LINER'.
It is simply a Zip Up insert normally used to increase the warmth by 10 to 15 degrees in the usual sleeping bags people use.
It helps so very much to CONTAIN / CONFINE my movements which protects both myself and my wife. It is quite comfortable. There is plenty of room to toss and turn and yet as i say - my wild movements - punching, kicking, jumping from the bed - leading to a serious injury ( as I mentioned above)have been controlled so much that I don't fear the risk of injury when falling asleep anymore!
I felt i had to share my experience as it may actually save many from personal injury or even worse!? Loved ones will appreciate this idea as well.
It has provided real peace of mind for me - please consider getting yours ASAP! Pass this message on to other sites and blogs too.
Be Well ALL.
Mac McDonald
can any one tell me about the cure?
i am not the last one, i must say! i have read it all the posts , my problem is the same, i use to had sleep disorder at first,i made it wrost by taking pills, i quit taking pills but suffering side effects like; severe pain in my eyes,headache and stress in my pons.
however i am trying to get my sleep back, yet facing REM sleep, vivid dreams that wakes me up no matter i slept only for an hour. i wake up everyday i feel that i did'nt sleep whole night. well now its almost two years, since the last mail had been posted here, so does anyone succeeded in getting control over it, have you found the cure? please let me know.
sleep walking and talking :o
hello..Ive been having trouble sleeping lately..i share a room with my sister and she says that ive been sleep talikng and walking. the 1st night i told my mum to take her earrings off and the second night i got out of bed went to the cuboard and got out scissors then said to my sister that she told me to whilst waving it around everywhere..then i put it back got back in bed and woke up. Its scaring my family and me to, what does it mean is it just something that will go away? HELP! thankyou x
Recurring nightmares right after falling asleep
I have been having recurrent nightmares for over a year now. 10-30 minutes after falling asleep, I feel like something evil is trying to "get" me. And the strange part is that I know when the nightmare is about to begin because I feel sort of like I'm falling and hear a loud noise all at the same time for about 2-3 seconds. I can actually feel my body "becoming" paralyzed when this happens, as I try to fight it by waking up but can't. Then, I know I'm asleep but I'm always in my bedroom, in my bed, and am aware of everything, even if that particular night my daughter has climbed in my bed for the night. My husband knows that if I start breathing loud and fast, or can sometimes get a whimper out which I am able to physically do, he is to immediately wake me up. Well, the other night when my husband got up to go to the bathroom, I was aware of it in my sleep. I imagined (know) that I saw him leave the room, and at the precise moment he walked out the door, a black figure walked in (a man) and came up to my side of the bed. At this specific moment, my armpits were being visiously tickled by this black figure. I could feel it as if I were awake and had to pray for it to go away, which it did. I dreamed of this "tickling" sensation before, but I think a spirit is doing this to me. I have been stressed totally out over a situation for the last year and believe this is the cause. I have these nightmares at least 3-5 times a week and am totally aware of my surroundings, and it always occurs right after falling asleep. Please help!
hi i am a 23 year old female
hi
i am a 23 year old female and i dream alsmost everynite just minutes after i close my eyes...somtime only 5 mins after closing my eyes..
i was wonderin if anyone could inlighten me on this as its only started over the past 6months or so..
most nites i get up to 8 hours of sleep.. but i feel tired all the time
i am a very light sleeper and waken often through the night but seem to fall asleep quickly again.
thankyou
vivid dreams/nightmares but no rest
Alicia, my gf has the same symptoms, I have read everywhere and still dont know what this is, she falls asleep and sleeps for 8 hours but she wakes up several times during the night, sometimes a nightmare will wake her up, her dreams are so vivid. When you see her sleeping you would assume that she is sleeping peacefully but she is not, she never gets a restorative sleep. In the morning she wakes up so tires like she never slept, this is every night for the past 1+ years. This causes her to be irritable and also causes her depression. Do you have any ideas on what is this and how can we find help?
I have a simple question and
I have a simple question and it is out of curiosity. Is it possible to go through the REM state without dreaming?
Constant Dreaming - Wake up very tired.
I have had a feeling of lack of sleep for well over a decade. If I sleep 8 hours, or more I still wake up feeling really tired, especially in the eyes. I am dreaming before falling asleep and dreaming upon waking up. Dreaming the whole time. Often aware of the room most of the night.
Dreams are good, entertaining, often worthy of a screenwriter, sometimes trivial work details, rarely bad. I believe it's because I've learned power over nightmares as a kid and have a constant knowledge of having a lucid control while dreaming, the conscious seems to not give up the helm at night.
My eyes feel the lack of sleep most and the one thing that seems to help is to not think about visions and eyes at all, but instead focus thoughts on hearing and maybe a bit of feeling (skin senses). So I put on wave sounds, imagine sitting on the beach and just listening, visuals are discouraged, I just focus on sound and breeze. This seems to help take the load off of my overworked eyes.
I believe I am not getting much stage 2, 3 and 4 sleep and just stage 1 and REM, only the active stuff.
Ambien puts me to sleep, Restoril keeps me asleep for 4 hours on a good stretch. Other sleep meds too strong, ineffective, etc.
Had a sleep apnea test which detected blood oxygen throughout the night, no apnea here. As a followup I've been to a sleep clinic where other members had various sleep disorders. I was the only one with constant excessive dreams. Other members had sleep disorders ranging from apnea to frequent wakeups and having to move to another location to fall back asleep.
It is comforting to discover this blog/forum posting where other people report excessive dreaming. When we connect, there will be solutions that will surface. That is the good news ;-)
too many dreams
i have at least 5 dreams a night and wake up after EVERY one of them. i can fall asleep pretty quickly afterward, but still this robs me of sleep time and i wake up tired. mostly my eyes like you. did you ever find a solution to your problem. please share if so. thanks!!
Excessive constant dreaming
I had no idea there were so many people with the same condition. I dream in great detail, like I'm watching a very strange movie that just goes on and on for hours. When I get up in the morning, it takes me at least an hour to acclimate back to the real world. I feel like I am getting absolutely no regenerative sleep. Some are horrible dreams, some are just ridiculous and nonsensical. My parents were the same way and it's a big joke to the family when I tell them some of my dreams. I don't always remember them, but I do remember being constantly active all night. I usually say I just go from one life to another life and never really sleep. I live a double life. It's to the point where it's becoming debilitating and I don't know what to do. I thought I might find an answer online, but so far, I've just found a lot of people with the same problem. Have you found any answers yet?
Inhibitions during sleep walking
Would one possibly engage in behavior during sleep walking that ordinarily wouldn't occur during a waking state due to inhibitions ??
Lost control after waking up from a dream.
Hi,
I am having a starnge experience in my dream and now it is almost like a condition. Firstly some of the background checks..
1. I sleep 4-5 hrs every day.
2. I smoke 3-4 cigs every day
3. I drink about 400ml of whisky every week, but evenly distributed over the week.
4. I smoke cannabis but very very very rarely.
Now this strange thing mostly happens when I am into 60-90 mins into my sleep(I guess..case how can one be sure). I start having very strange dreams and then I pop out of it. I can see the room very clealry and then I want to get up for a glass of water or a cig. Before I was not able to get up, something like a sleep/dream paralysis, which I later realise was also a dream(me seeing the room and wanting to get up) and pop out of it in a very anxiety mode all sweating over.. This, I guess is quite normal.
But now, its got worse somehow.. My dream is fooling me. I have lost control over it. I dont know how thats possible but after a strange dream, when I want to pop out of it, I get fooled by my brain that I am not in sleep paralysis and I am wide awake roaming about the room, drinking water..Once I switched on the TV too..Once I remember vaguely I was lighting a cig. Starngest of all, Once in woke up and it was 6am(I saw the time) and I went out to collect the newspaper and saw the date on it.
After sometime I finally pop out of it and I can remember everything very clearly. I got really scared yesterday when I wanted to pee, and in my dream, I got up and went to pee and came back all relaxed and went back to sleep. After soemtime I woke up my urge to pee was up the roof.. Luckily i did not wet the bed..
I thought i might be dream walking but thats not the case as my partner , who was once up all night told me i was fast asleep all the time. this was the case when i lighted a cig.
Is this a serious sleep disorder. its getting stronger every time. Should I consult someone. Cause I think if it continues, I might consult someone in my dream, like call take an appointment and drive to the doctor.
PS: sorry for my english, may not be very correct.
Thanks in advance.
Strange Phenomenon.
Hello,
Firstly I want to state that I have used only two drugs in my life: Cannabis and Salvia divinorum.
I've noticed as of recent that I have these strange 'awake and in-between' states of conscientiousness when I rest. It doesn't really happen that often when I go to bed at the end of the day, but if I take an afternoon nap it does.
It started with me sleep talking. I know this is quite common in people when they're going though the first stages of sleep, so it's possible that I was still connected with the physical reality, and not the 'dream-world', so to say. What happened was-- I was resting and I thought I heard my friend call my name and ask me a question. I answered, 'No' for some reason-- then realized that everyone in the house was gone and I was the only one there. I stopped resting to think about why my brain would act out such an incident.
Today's was a bit more odd, and frighting, to be honest. I had a long day today (had school from 9am-3pm) I usually stay up until about 3am watching tv, fall asleep, then wake around 8am and start my day. Anyhow, I came home from school, kicked off my shoes and rested for a while.
I fell asleep. Woke up 30 minutes later, drank water and went back to rest. About 20 minutes from that point, it felt as though my circulation was being cut off from how my arm was laying, so I moved. The feeling stuck there for a while. I tried to stretch out my arm, but the feeling stayed.
My body felt heavy. Kinda like the feeling I would get if I were under the influence of Cannabis, or Salvia, but I had not taken any of those substances for at 3 weeks, if not longer. My body was heavy.
The strange thing was that when I moved my arm, I still saw my arm in the same position as it was. It was like I did not move it, but I knew I did because I squeezed my shoulder. To make sure I was not dreaming, I slightly bit my tongue. I felt my teeth against it so I knew I was not dreaming, or in any form of REM sleep. The image of my arm faded thereafter. When it faded, I could see 'though' my arm. I could see its bones and the pattern of muscles, which line around the bone. My sensory transmitters were slowed down. It took a few seconds for my brain to see that I had moved my arm, vs knowing you moved a limb instantly.
I tested it several times. Moving my arm, squeezing my body. It happened every time. I panicked quite a bit, and felt my heart rate increasing. I felt paralyzed, in a way-- and it frightened me. I wasn't sure of my mind had randomly slipped into some type of coma-- or what was going on, but I was scared.
A few minutes afterward, my room mate came home, shut the door and I snapped out of whatever was going on.
Now, I was wondering if there was any sort of medical term for what I experienced, or if it's the beginning stages of some disorder; schizophrenia-- etc, or if it physical-- as in a tumor, or a cancer of some sort (I smoke tobacco.)
I'd greatly appreciate some feedback on this, or if any one else in the world has experienced something like this before. I must note that it happens at random, and always when I'm resiting during the day. I also must note, again-- that I have not touched any other psychedelic but Salvia, and I have not used either Cannabis or Salvia for a while.
Thank you,
-Anonymous.
Wow, it sounds like you've
Wow, it sounds like you've hacked into the matrix!
More seriously, it sounds like HPPD? I don't know though..
sleep paralysis
Sleep problem
You responded to my ?'s about acting out in sleep many months ago. Thank you and I apologize for taking so long to read your message(s). I'm a little new at the computer and didn't know how to get to the place I am at now - which was really very simple once I figured it out.
I appreciate the article by Hiro Takahashi VERY much ans will print out a copy to pass onto my doctor. (When I mentioned the alzheimers' comment I had heard on TV she said that there was no proof of that at this point or something to that effect.) Hiro's article makes alot of sense to me, especially since I experienced the "sleep paralysis" (entity or whatever sitting on one's chest) once when I was a child and perhaps one other time (do not remember) so I guess I fall into the category of some of Hiro's explanations. (By the way, as unpleasant as it was, even as a child I seemed to feel it was some sort of natural (but weird) experience and let it go as such. And I have had quite a few "supernatural" experiences in my life but did not perceive this as one of them. Thank you again; it has lessened my concern substantially and Hiro is my HERO!
Bad Dream
Hello my name is piper and i came to this site for a little help trying to understand one of my dreams. I my dream i was stabed. I have looked this stuff up and i keep comeing to a dead end. Could you help by telling me what it MIGHT or could mean. I would appriciate it.
RBD
I have had 3 episodes of "acting out" in my sleep while dreaming that are as you explained - correlated w/ what is going on in the dream. HOWEVER, these actions wake me up and so are not as described by your article where the person does not recall the activity. (I suppose there may be instances that I am not recalling do now I have something else to worry about.) December 26, 2008, I heard a remark on the news that "acting out" during dreaming is an indication of developing Alzheimer s which will proceed on FIVE years! Now I see a reference to Parkinson's and my paternal grandfather developed this but he was in his 50's (I'm in my 60's).
The above information (being awakened by the action) may be new to you. Would appreciate any feedback possible before running off to the neurologist! Worried!
Thanks.