Thread: When do you start dreaming?

It starts when you fall asleep. You should try to estimate how long it takes you on averge to fall asleep from the time that you lay in bed, and add this time to the time to which you set the timer. So if it takes you 25 minutes to fall asleep, and you want to wake up after 90 minutes of sleep, you should set the timer to 115 minutes.

If you're planning on waking up every 90 minutes by an alarm, you might be pretty tired come morning.

The first REM cycle is also the shortest so it might be good to skip the alarm on that one and let yourself get some sleep, then either set the alarm 3, 4.5 or 6 hours after you go to sleep.

As the night goes on your REM cycles get longer and longer, so they'll be easier to peg with an alarm. After 90 minutes, the REM cycle might only last like 5 minutes, so the chances of waking up in the middle of a dream because of an alarm are slim, I'd think.

And the next morning, I'd be pretty angry if an alarm had gone off every 90 minutes, all night long =)

It's really easiest if you can wake up naturally after a dream, then you don't need to worry about timing an alarm just right. Maybe if you're doing MILD or something similar you could work in a "wake-up-after-I-dream" thing.

Originally Posted by Bear

If you're planning on waking up every 90 minutes by an alarm, you might be pretty tired come morning.

The first REM cycle is also the shortest so it might be good to skip the alarm on that one and let yourself get some sleep, then either set the alarm 3, 4.5 or 6 hours after you go to sleep.

As the night goes on your REM cycles get longer and longer, so they'll be easier to peg with an alarm. After 90 minutes, the REM cycle might only last like 5 minutes, so the chances of waking up in the middle of a dream because of an alarm are slim, I'd think.

And the next morning, I'd be pretty angry if an alarm had gone off every 90 minutes, all night long =)

It's really easiest if you can wake up naturally after a dream, then you don't need to worry about timing an alarm just right. Maybe if you're doing MILD or something similar you could work in a "wake-up-after-I-dream" thing.

I know that i will be tired, but like in this week i got COMPLETLY nothing to do, so i'm amazingly bored anyway, so i can sleep whenever i want really, so shoudnt be to big of a problem!

Thanks for the hint on that the first REM period is the shortest, ill put it on 3 hours then!

I have no idea how to wake up naturally, read something about telling yourself when you want to wake up and then sleep, so ill try that to, but put alarm on to to be sure :p

and didnt MILD need dream recall? im doing this since my dream recall is horribly really.

Personally, I don't think dreaming is tied to the REM cycle. From what I've noticed, sleep starts with hypnagogic imagery which turns into dreaming right away.

Originally Posted by The Cusp

Personally, I don't think dreaming is tied to the REM cycle. From what I've noticed, sleep starts with hypnagogic imagery which turns into dreaming right away.

HI doesn't occure for all people all the time, however. Could it be that some people enter REM right after sleeping, and that's what causes the HI? This is an important question for me; I don't see HI often, if at all. I would like to learn how, however.

Also, would purchasing one of those REM-detecting alarm clocks help with waking up during/after REM? I'm with AngelGirl; I can't wake naturally from REM so far.

Hey there,

The idea that we dream only in REM is fairly outdated in scientific circles already. More commonly accepted is the theory that we dream all the time, right from the onset of sleep. However, dreaming is certainly at its most vivid during REM sleep.

This has led scientists to make a distinction between REM-dreams and non-REM dreams, the latter of which seem less visual (or less keyed towards our senses in general), and more abstract. Nevertheless, as with just about anything regarding dreams, there is a huge variety between persons.

Personally, speaking from experience, I can say that I've had very vivid dreams right at the onset of sleep.(and after a full day of being awake). I'd fall asleep, and wake up about an hour later, having come out of a very real dream. I've even had lucid dreams in this period. This leads me to believe that these Non-REM dreams might not even be so different from REM-dreams, but that the biggest difficulty lies in remembering them. Because they are so much harder to remember (likely because in REM we are much closer to being conscious then in deep sleep), they appear to us as vague, abstract, and sometimes even non-existent.

Ofcourse, in your particular case, trying to recall non-REM dreams might not be the best way to start

-Redrivertears-

RedRiverTears, I think I dream almost completely in NREM. It would explain perfectly why most of my dreams are, as you describe, vague, abstract, and even non-existant. It also explains why I have a rough time recalling them. It ALSO explain why I wake up feeling so groggy and crappy most of the time; waking up in NREM is supposed to be very uncomfortable, while waking in REM is pleasant.

I gotta say, I really think you're on to something, here! Maybe this is why so many people have problems with dream recall, dream vividness, and generaly lucidity!? It makes logical sense to me.

Quote:

"It ALSO explain why I wake up feeling so groggy and crappy most of the time; waking up in NREM is supposed to be very uncomfortable, while waking in REM is pleasant."

This part here struck me. It sounds to me like your sleep pattern is disturbed, somehow. As if you're not getting into the deep restful sleep, but only the first phases of sleep. Before working on your dreams, it might be sensible to make an analysis of how you sleep, and maybe make changes there.

-Redrivertears-