Thread: Vividness of dreams affected by alcohol?

Hopefully some people here will have some insight. A friend of mine once mentioned that his dreams at the end of a night of drinking (binge drinking, not social) his dreams are always more vivid than any dream.
I'm the only person I know who experiences the same thing. I always have dreams that seem to be a continuation of the night, same people, similar places, atmosphere, everything. It's sometimes extremely hard to distinguish dream from reality.
So, anyone else have similar experiences, or different types of dreams after consuming alcohol?

Also, even though this isn't that forum I feel i should note that I have had one DILD when drunk, which I entered after asking my friend what time it was, and being confused that it was earlier than when I knew I had gotten home.

According to an article from the Journal of Neurology:

Hypnagogic imagery was significantly quicker to produce and more vivid. However, REM sleep was fragmented and shortened. Although the dreams were reportively more vivid and recall was higher than control groups with no alcohol.

So, yes, alcohol does increase the vividness of hallucinations, dreams, and hypnagogic images. However, it also shortens REM sleep durations.
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MrBeelzy, I have definitely experienced the same thing, and know exactly what you mean. My dreams do seem somehow different than normal dreams when drunk(but for me mostly when hungover).

O'nus's scientific take makes sense, but I'm just going to go off of personal experience.

I think we all know when you're hungover, you're not able to sleep very well. Your breath becomes shallower, and you just don't feel great. I think this is conducive to 'shallower' sleep-meaning not being in a deep sleep. This would seem to mean that we're more awake in our dreams in this state, and so dreams would be more vivid.

This is what I've always assumed about the subject-and I'm purely going off of personal experience.

Weirdly I had my first dream after hitting a bit of alcohol...

Originally Posted by alwaysforward

MrBeelzy, I have definitely experienced the same thing, and know exactly what you mean. My dreams do seem somehow different than normal dreams when drunk(but for me mostly when hungover).

O'nus's scientific take makes sense, but I'm just going to go off of personal experience.

I think we all know when you're hungover, you're not able to sleep very well. Your breath becomes shallower, and you just don't feel great. I think this is conducive to 'shallower' sleep-meaning not being in a deep sleep. This would seem to mean that we're more awake in our dreams in this state, and so dreams would be more vivid.

This is what I've always assumed about the subject-and I'm purely going off of personal experience.

Just wanted to note that I was saying the samething but with empirical evidence. I just wanted to make sure it did not seem like I was saying contrary to this...
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I understood that, and both are helpful. Personal evidence is probably more relatable on an individual level, and empirical evidence carries more weight.

Thanks for the clarification though.

That all makes sense. The shortening of REM cycles explains why I always wake up half a dozen times, even if I don't have to use the bathroom or get a drink.
I wonder why the imagery does become more vivid, and easy to produce though.