Thread: Can sleeping position affect dreaming position?

I don't mean anything like 'Sleeping on your right side makes you have lucid dreams', I mean 'Sleeping on your right side means that if you have a false awakening, you wake up on your right side in the dream.'

I'm wondering because I had some experience of this during my dream (lucid) this morning. I kept having flase awakenings during the dream, but kept doing reality checks (because I knew these were just false awakenings) Everytime I woke up, I was lying on the floor (I was sleeping on the floor in real life so that I could listen to my trance induction lucid dream CD) and my head was hard to move. I could try to get up, but it was difficult, and for the first ten seconds or so after each awakening, my head and vision was stuck, tilted to the right, and was difficult to getback to normal.

Now, when a little after I woke up, I realised that my head had been tilted right, and was a little sore and stiff when I woke up, because of the position I slept in. So it seems that it did make a difference in my actual dream. Obviously dreams take in some sensory input from the outside world, but I wouldn't have expected it to take into account that position of my head.

Comments?

I've had many similar frustrating LD experiences, especially when I put my hands between my knees or under my head (fetal position), sleep on my back with my hands behind my head, falling asleep while sitting on the couch, etc. These kinds of sleeping positions tend to make me feel very restricted in my LDs (I cannot move out of them or at least feel partially paralyzed, etc.) and are frustrating since I can do most of what I would normally do in a LD like run, fly, jump etc. but like some cartoon charcter, I can't move out of the position - yet I don't feel like waking myself up just bceause. I think it has to do with the blood circulation and the physical position creating sensations that translat eover to dreamland. I've learned to go to sleep on my back with my hands resting gently on my chest since this seems to be the best for blood circulation and the most natural sleep position. Other times it does not seem to matter though, so it may depend on what level of sleep you're in, or how sensitive or aware you are of your physical body while dreaming... I've also fallen asleep while on my knees in prayer and consequently had dreams where I am hovering around in the kneeling position, or straining to stand up or to straighten up my posture. I think this phenomena carries over to dream paralysis - where your mind and your body are "overlapping" so that although you are totally aware of your physical body and its position, but since your brain has shut off communication to your physical body...

I had an odd one a couple of weeks ago. After falling asleep, I dreamed that I was trying to get to sleep, and did a WILD. In the dream, I was sleeping on my stomach before "rolling out" of my body. But when I awakened from the LD into reality, I was on my back.

I sleep in the same position.

I know FAs take in account of where you are (aka floor/bed). Further, my experience with them (although not a lot) is that sleeping orientation seems to figure in as well. However, the only instances I remember is when I am on my back. Maybe more input from others will better confirm this.

The only one I've had was where I was sleeping at the library, and I woke up, checked my watch, put my stuff away, and went part of the way to class. I even remembered what time it was when I checked the dream watch. I think your mind may copy where you were to make it more realistic.

Why???
What is the point of FA's?

I always sleep on my back....i used to sleep in other positions in the past...but now I can only be comfortable sleeping face up

I suppose it makes sense. Your mind, although creating its own internal sensory input, still takes some sensory input from your surroundings, so that you can wake up in the morning (e.g. when it becomes light) or so that you can wake up in an emergency.

So I guess some of that sensory input could be your sleeping position, for when you have false awakenings. The idea of circulation makes sense too.