Ok so I've started meditating to rest myself and get rid of stress while revising. It makes me feel slow and calm, but not for long. I hear my heartbeat and I can feel it in my ears which tickles quite a bit. I also get a tingling at the front of my head towards my hairline. I use mantras but sometimes I make them complicated so that while I am learning them other thoughts don't surface. Once I've learnt the mantra I try to not let my mind wonder by making the mantra louder and faster if I notice myself losing focus. I notice that if I slow down the mantra, it feels like I am getting more relaxed. I am finally starting to notice grey movement in the darkness of my closed eyes. Then my mind starts to drift off in imagery, but as soon as I notice that I've lost focus, I am forced back into darkness (I'd rather get lost in the imagery). Another thing I've noticed is that if I concentrate on certain parts of my body they start to feel different.
I don't know if meditating has affected my dreams, but I have noticed I am much calmer in my dreams.
I have different methods of meditation I want to try out, but the one I discussed is what makes me feel the most different.