Non REM Dream States: Well worth a read.

**moonshine** · 11-09-2008 06:41 PM

Just read this from a musty old dream book. Though it worth sharing:

Dreams were once thought to be exclusive to the REM state, but researchers later discovered that dreaming also takes place during other stages of sleep.

Dreams arisign during non-REM sleep are shorter and less visual and vivid than their REM counterpart. Usually concerned with current problems, they often involve logical reasoning and don't seem like dreams at all; many people experience them as periods of being awake and "just thinking."

Well I've been there often enough, especially when stressed.

Dreams also occur during the Hypnogogic state - that transitory period between wakefullness and sleep. These dreams usually involve strange body sensations, surrealistic conversations, and hallucinations. They are similar to REM dreams in nature, but are shorter and don't involve Rapid Eye Movement.

Not news to many I guess, but I though it was a good summary.
Especially the "just thinking" bit. I often slip from REM dreams into that headspace. This is were you need to wake yourself up of you want to remember a dream.

Theres been the odd occasion (especially when stressed) that I've had thoughts rattling around in my head all night - sometimes with no rhyme or reason.

**Licity** · 11-09-2008 06:44 PM

So those times I lay there thinking about random things could actually be N-REM dreams? I might have to do a reality check next time I do that.

**Dizko** · 11-09-2008 07:07 PM

I think ive had this before.

I put my head on the pillow and after what must have been around 30-60mins later i caught myself going frantically over the biology notes i had studied that day. It was weird, i just sort of noticed my brain doing all this work.

As soon as i noticed though, i was knocked unconcious. Lol weird.

**gigaschatten** · 11-10-2008 01:35 AM

That's no news, but that information did not reach many people yet. They simply woke people in a sleeping lab that were in various sleep stages and asked if and what they dreamed. The result was that people infrequently dreamed during all stages of sleep or at least that dream recall was more or less clear for varying sleep stages. REM stage had the most positives though.

**imj** · 11-10-2008 01:44 AM

Does the book explain further on brain function/activity during the sleep stages? Like is there any inherent thought patterns etc. I find only certain 'frequency' of thoughts get through but question is does it come from stage 2 right before REM or when REM happens.

IMJ

**gigaschatten** · 11-10-2008 01:46 AM

Originally Posted by imj

Does the book explain further on brain function/activity during the sleep stages? Like is there any inherent thought patterns etc...Thanks.

IMJ

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep#Stages_of_sleep

**seeker28** · 11-10-2008 06:25 AM

Thanks for the wiki link gigaschatten!

I've recorded several non-REM dreams, some of which have been lucid. Generally these non-REM dreams seem focused around problems solving or perhaps memory forming functions, with quick images, sounds, thoughts, etc but really no plot whatsoever!

**gigaschatten** · 11-10-2008 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by seeker28

I've recorded several non-REM dreams, some of which have been lucid.

What method did you use for that? WILD?

**seeker28** · 11-12-2008 06:53 AM

If I work at waking after all of my dreams (which I am often too lazy to bother with) I end up waking briefly after EVERY dream, even my non-REM dreams. Makes for a very up-and-down night!

I seem to be naturally lucid in many of my non-REM dreams (I'm a natural LDer), especially for the first 3 or so hours of the night. I just notice that HEY! I'm not in my bed anymore, and HEY! This is not at all normal reality!

Sometimes when I do DEILD and "fail" at it, meaning I don't quickly and easily re-enter my REM dream state, I'll fall alseep and have one or two quick non-REM dreams before I get back to REM.

I hope this is helpful!

**smcmaho** · 11-12-2008 03:13 PM

i was sick with a bad cough and sore throat just two days ago. It was keeping me up all night and to the point where i can never lose consciousness. I think I know what this post is saying because I spent an 8 hour period just thinking, but at the same time, i knew i was not fully awake as well. ITs a very ambiguous state.

**GestaltAlteration** · 11-12-2008 03:41 PM

Hm, so this is why I "woke up" this morning trapped in my own random thoughts for about 30 minutes. It took that long before I realized I was awake.

**JET73L** · 11-12-2008 10:08 PM

Cool. So when this sort of thing hapens, it's probably nREM dreaming. I'll have to look into this some more.

**Robot_Butler** · 11-13-2008 12:44 AM

This reminds me of something I read a while back that said many people who claim to have insomnia really do not. They just dream that they are lying in bed awake with restless thoughts. When observed, they are really sleeping for most of the night.

**The_Patient** · 11-13-2008 02:26 AM

Originally Posted by Robot_Butler

This reminds me of something I read a while back that said many people who claim to have insomnia really do not. They just dream that they are lying in bed awake with restless thoughts. When observed, they are really sleeping for most of the night.

This is really interesting, I think this may have happened to me a couple of days ago. I was laying in bed, I think I was awake, but later I had this really crazy sequence of about 7 false awakenings hitting me one after the other. They were all really short, but maybe the actual dream was the part about the insomnia.... Wierd...

**Abra** · 11-14-2008 05:00 AM

I often catch the surreal conversations. It's very hard to remember it when you try to analyze one while aware. If you try to analyze while in that state, everything makes sense (even though it is nonsense) and everything feels perfectly true. If I become aware, I can either wake up, or pretend I didn't notice (and then I can slip back in and "watch" myself ramble).

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