Thread: A study listing six possible causes of Nightmares

yea... I've been very ill these last weeks. Lotta stress from work...
And I'm having the worst streak of nightmares ever... They just get more and more intense.
I can also relate to some of the other points.
Except I almost never drink alcohol.

i dont beleve it

I don't know but I noticed periods of heavy cannabis use (I said heavy) totally hinder my regular dream recall let alone occurence of lucids which is kind of annoying since I'm usually pretty consistent now otherwise (seems to greatly suppress REM recall atleast even though I get a good sleep). A couple of sleep aids I tried (which didn't do much for me but I just wanted to attempt it) ended up just giving me really vivid nightmares on those couple occasions but I'm not sure if that was by chance or not. Stress and anxiety I can vouch for as well as I'm sure the majority of people can.

Originally Posted by Lusense

I don't know but I noticed periods of heavy cannabis use (I said heavy) totally hinder my regular dream recall

totally agree with that. If I suddenly stop for a period, I start dreaming again.
this time it's only nightmares..

Haha, ya I went hardcore again for a period of time recently and last night after recently quitting (even though it was really cool) I had a pretty freaky LD that was only partially under my control and involved everyone trying to kill me and sawing off close family/friends limbs . I also had to walk around with both of my legs almost completely chopped off and even though I realized it was lucid since I didn't gain complete control had to resort to indirect measures to get them back haha (had to call 911, then the police, then the fire department, etc.) and finally ended up just looking for a sowing kit and using that lol.

I've been a smoker for very long, and I've had a lot of off-times. Every off time seems to be full of dreams. But it's the first time it's that intense, that often and only nightmares.

Originally Posted by Lusense

I don't know but I noticed periods of heavy cannabis use (I said heavy) totally hinder my regular dream recall let alone occurence of lucids which is kind of annoying since I'm usually pretty consistent now otherwise (seems to greatly suppress REM recall at least even though I get a good sleep). Stress and anxiety I can vouch for as well as I'm sure the majority of people can.

Originally Posted by crazydreams

totally agree with that. If I suddenly stop for a period, I start dreaming again.
this time it's only nightmares..

Originally Posted by crazydreams

I've been a smoker for very long, and I've had a lot of off-times. Every off time seems to be full of dreams. But it's the first time it's that intense, that often and only nightmares.

Yeah, THC definitely suppresses REM sleep and impairs dream recall. But I've noticed that I had pretty crazy (actually good) dreams whenever I do remember my dreams after a smoking session. I cant say that Ive ever had nightmares because of pot or alcohol (never remember my dreams when I drink). But if you've been smoking daily for a while then stop all of a sudden, then you're almost certain to have very vivid dreams due to REM rebound; whether they're good or bad, I cant say.

Originally Posted by Lusense

A couple of sleep aids I tried (which didn't do much for me but I just wanted to attempt it) ended up just giving me really vivid nightmares on those couple occasions but I'm not sure if that was by chance or not.

What type of sleep aids were you taking? Was it Melatonin or 5-HTP by any chance? Those two are well known for increasing REM sleep and sometimes inducing nightmares in some people (usually when taken it for the first time(s).

Originally Posted by Lusense

Haha, ya I went hardcore again for a period of time recently and last night after recently quitting (even though it was really cool) I had a pretty freaky LD that was only partially under my control and involved everyone trying to kill me and sawing off close family/friends limbs . I also had to walk around with both of my legs almost completely chopped off and even though I realized it was lucid since I didn't gain complete control had to resort to indirect measures to get them back haha (had to call 911, then the police, then the fire department, etc.) and finally ended up just looking for a sowing kit and using that lol.

I am interested - What sort of dreams are normal to you when useing cannabis?

I have only ever smoked that by accident in Europe where I had given up nicotene and went out to an open air club near a river and asked for a cigarette and wondered why all of a sudden I felt really removed from things. I was told that the person thought I wanted cannabis. I slept for three days and with no gallbladder, I felt sick and gluggy. I could understand after that why people would become relaxed and want to remove themselves from the stresses of the world.

Haha, well I just used Melatonin I think 6mg or 10mg? I don't remember 2 of the 3mg or 5mgs though I think the 5s. Don't really need it anyways now so I don't use it since if you don't get a TON of sleep you feel dead tired all day atleast in my case.

My dreams are pretty much the same with cannabis imo except that I don't remember them as much like I said earlier and usually just frames. I don't really notice a big difference except sometimes I randomly will smoke in a dream or do an activity I'd normally do when I smoke but I think that's just a byproduct of having built that habit.

Your belief system is what causes nightmares. If you believe your vulnerable and prone to all these dangers then your gonna have crazy dreams getting tormented by all these illusory dangers.