Sleep Quality/Dreaming

Postby **shafnutz05** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:59 am

Figure we all spend roughly a third of our life doing this so it was an appropriate thread for discussion.

Does anyone else frequently have long, vivid, memorable dreams? I'll open the topic:

I had a dream last night that I was in my old neighborhood growing up in Altoona, with a circle of friends from a much earlier period in my life. One of them got his hands on a working A-bomb (this is where it gets weird), and detonated it for the lulz, basically (it was in his basement). I was able to survive by running across the street during the countdown and hiding behind a car, and the rest of the dream was us trying to get out of the immediate blast zone. After traversing through some woods, which included this old, rotting building that looked like it used to be a campsite for kids, we came out to a business district featuring a Shoney's (wtf) where everything was as it normally should be, and the dream ended.

I'm not even sure what to make of this one.

I remember hurriedly packing my bag *after* the bomb went off in my old duplex which was about 15 yards from the detonation site. Despite the fact nothing was fully destroyed, I was still worried about fallout and getting out of there ASAP.

Postby **meow** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:03 am

I'm an odd sleeper. I never remember any dreams. Ever. I also pull my corner on the covers down, crawl into bed, fall asleep within 10 seconds and wake up when my alarm goes off and pull my corner back. It looks like no one slept in my side of the bed. There are days I'll wake up with my ear absolutely throbbing because I've been laying on it for 7+ hours without moving.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:09 am

Lucky man. According to my watch I get a good amount of deep sleep (4 hours 33 minutes vs 2 hours 41 minutes of light sleep last night), but not like that.

Postby **mamaemeritus** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:14 am

I'm a horrendous sleeper. I have to medicate myself like Elvis just to fall asleep. The room has to be pitch black (I wear a mask) and completely quiet (earplugs). Its kind of hell. But I gotta do what I gotta do.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:20 am

Oof...yeah the thought of sleeping in a completely quiet room gives me anxiety. I keep a fan on year round (an actual circulating fan) for the white noise.

Postby **Freddy Rumsen** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:36 am

I have very vivid dreams and can remember them almost like real life. It takes me forever to shut my brain off enough to fall asleep though and I always wake up 2 or 3 times a night.

Postby **Kane** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:47 am

I sleep similarly to meow, just less rigid. Once it's time to sleep, I'm out fast and I stay asleep for 7 hours on the nose. I never remember dreams, either.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:52 am

5-7 hours and a 20 minute nap in the afternoon/evening and I'm feeling wonderful. 8+ and I'm sluggish the next day. If I use some legal medicinal help in the evening, I sleep like a champion with terrific dreams and it doesn't really matter how many hours I get, I seem to always wake up refreshed.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:55 am

Keeping the door shut and not letting cats up does miraculously things to my sleep too. I'm generally a light sleeper and can be in a deep sleep, but if I forget to fill the oil diffuser and it shuts off randomly in the middle of the night, I'll immediately wake up at that point.

Postby **NailedPenguin** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 8:29 am

One of the most maddening things is trying to remember your dream, you feel like you were alert the entire time, but only being to remember the bare minimum. The entire story is "on the tip of your tongue" so to speak and it just slowly fades away the more time passes after you wake up.

I'm also fascinated how humans all experience the same types of dreams. We've all heard people talk about the not being able to run type dreams, or forgetting about an exam etc. I still frequently have dreams where I'm in college and cannot remember my daily class schedule and theres always the one class where I just completely forgot to go to all year.

Postby **Viva la Ben** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 8:31 am

I have recurring dreams of walking around vaguely familiar unnamed cities.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 8:53 am

Source of the post I still frequently have dreams where I'm in college and cannot remember my daily class schedule and theres always the one class where I just completely forgot to go to all year.

same. also locker combination from high school (which is weird, because I still remember it being 37-1-23)

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:16 am

It must have been at least 10 years ago I began studying (i.e. reading the internet) lucid dreaming. It was something that used to happen to me as a child rather frequently, and I learned on the google machine that it could be something experienced through training. Sure enough, I was able to have a few lucid dreams at that time and it was pretty cool.

Dreams have always fascinated me. It's like your brain needs to take a **** every night, and this is how it does it.

Postby **MR25** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:31 am

The woman was a dream I had, though rather hard to keep
For when my eyes were watching hers, they closed, and I was still asleep
For when my hand was holding hers, she whispered words and I awoke
And faintly bouncing around the room, the echo of whomever spoke

I've been having this recurring dream similar to the lyrics above, where I'm having a conversation with someone. Their appearance changes, yet every time it feels like it's the same person, and I feel like I know them well, but I couldnt tell you where I know them from. Everything about the interaction feels real.

Then I wake up and come to the realization it was all a dream.

In between that one coming back I'll have some related to classes, like where I've missed a class for so long then will randomly show up and it's exam day, or I go to study and the textbook is blank.

But I think these vivid ones only happen if I get more than like 7 hours, and that hasn't really been happening recently for a variety of reasons (mostly blaming dek hockey games or lifting and still having adrenaline left over).

Postby **mac5155** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:39 am

i feel like I'm a pretty good sleeper.

I've been using CPAP for about a year now and I use it nearly every night with no issue. Some times I do forget to put it on or wake up and have taken it off though.

It hasn't happened to me in a while but this phenomenon happens to me often. I'll be lying in bed, nearly asleep or sometimes just fallen asleep, and I'll have this feeling that I cant breathe and something bad is happening but I can't move or wake up. I've read that it's sleep paralysis but it just feels like more than that. When it happens, it usually happens to me 3-4 times in one night before I can fall asleep. One night I even recall hearing a beeping noise... and I've heard that a CPAP will beep after you stop breathing. But I can't confirm that. It may just have been part of the phenomenon. Anyway, I figured that Benadryl exacerbates this as I used to pop one before bed in the summer to help my allergies.

Postby **mac5155** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:41 am

It must have been at least 10 years ago I began studying (i.e. reading the internet) lucid dreaming. It was something that used to happen to me as a child rather frequently, and I learned on the google machine that it could be something experienced through training. Sure enough, I was able to have a few lucid dreams at that time and it was pretty cool.

Dreams have always fascinated me. It's like your brain needs to take a **** every night, and this is how it does it.

Yeah, I have been able to lucid dream a few times. If only for like 20-30 seconds, but it's a cool feeling.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:02 am

The woman was a dream I had, though rather hard to keep
For when my eyes were watching hers, they closed, and I was still asleep
For when my hand was holding hers, she whispered words and I awoke
And faintly bouncing around the room, the echo of whomever spoke
I've been having this recurring dream similar to the lyrics above, where I'm having a conversation with someone. Their appearance changes, yet every time it feels like it's the same person, and I feel like I know them well, but I couldnt tell you where I know them from. Everything about the interaction feels real.

Then I wake up and come to the realization it was all a dream.

In between that one coming back I'll have some related to classes, like where I've missed a class for so long then will randomly show up and it's exam day, or I go to study and the textbook is blank.

But I think these vivid ones only happen if I get more than like 7 hours, and that hasn't really been happening recently for a variety of reasons (mostly blaming dek hockey games or lifting and still having adrenaline left over).

Haha dreaming in Phish songs. Now that's a cool trick!

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:06 am

Source of the post It hasn't happened to me in a while but this phenomenon happens to me often. I'll be lying in bed, nearly asleep or sometimes just fallen asleep, and I'll have this feeling that I cant breathe and something bad is happening but I can't move or wake up.

Ever experience "the hag". Look it up. I've had this happen to me, but it's been a long time.

I would say it is sleep paralysis, as your body releases endorphins so you don't act out your dreams. When you wake before those endorphins wear off, you end up "paralyzed".

Postby **MR25** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:54 am

Funnily enough, I only made the connection with the Phish lyrics well after the fact. This has been a thing long before I got into them.

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 11:40 am

I don't sleep very much and when I do, it's not particularly well...I remember maybe a couple dreams a year...

I did have the weirdest deja vu ever this weekend with a bunch of people I had never met prior...but other than that, I don't really recall much...and I find sleep to be boring, so I don't do it a lot...

Postby **tifosi77** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:14 pm

Maybe twice a month I have extraordinarily life-like dreams that I can recall in exacting detail and feel more like lived memories. For years, I had recurring dream where I was in Washington DC when the Galactic Empire showed up and attacked; I was on the second floor of the NASM watching AT-AT's walk down the Mall just blasting the sht out of everything, then the X-Wings and Falcon showed up and all was good.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:15 pm

5-7 hours and a 20 minute nap in the afternoon/evening and I'm feeling wonderful. 8+ and I'm sluggish the next day. If I use some legal medicinal help in the evening, I sleep like a champion with terrific dreams and it doesn't really matter how many hours I get, I seem to always wake up refreshed.

This is a great conversation so far.

I'm not sure what "medicinal" help you are referring to, but as an aside cannabis/THC has always been known to completely inhibit dream activity because it prevents our brains from going into REM sleep.

Postby **Troy Loney** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:23 pm

I rarely remember my dreams. My wife seems to remember every dream she ever has and feels compelled to explain them to me almost every day. Which is actually kind of my nightmare.

Postby **eddy** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:40 pm

Source of the post I'm not sure what "medicinal" help you are referring to, but as an aside cannabis/THC has always been known to completely inhibit dream activity because it prevents our brains from going into REM sleep.

just checked with myself from last night and this is false.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:41 pm

Source of the post and I find sleep to be boring, so I don't do it a lot

OK Elon