Thread: Why do I struggle to breath? Lucid Dream

Sleep paralysis can cause you to even feel like your not breathing at all. Don't worry you won't physically die as long as your heart doesn't stop for more than 8 seconds

I'm having the same problem. at wild. the problem there is we can't sleep when we are having the "can't breathe" paralysis. you're gonna be gasping for air. thus losing the relaxed state of the body. I mean its a bit complicated to explain. but it really is a hinder. hope you can help us with a more "detailed" answer. sorry for the tone of the message i just kinda hate that too and I cant find a way to deal with it

Here's the thing...you have to learn to ignore it. It may feel like you can't breathe, but you are. Your body isn't going to just stop breathing. First thing, try to remain calm...tell yourself to relax, and that you're completely fine. The reason it feels as though you can't breathe, is because the smooth muscles of your entire body, including those in your throat and chest become paralyzed during SP. Just realize that this happens every single night, and every single time you dream, it's actually called REM atonia. Except that you aren't normally aware that your breathing has changed, because you aren't normally conscious when it occurs. Learning to lucid dream is not just learning about mental processes, but also physiological ones. Most people do not realize this, and it should be taught more. Even though it may feel like you can't breathe, this is only because those muscles are paralyzed, and your breathing rate slows down a whole lot. You need to get used to this feeling if you're going to become more experienced with lucid dreaming. It's completely normal, natural, and necessary in order to have REM. There are going to be a lot of other strange things going on with your body that you've never been conscious for before...just relax and tell yourself that it's all normal (because no matter how weird or disturbing it feels, your body is just doing what it always does). Once you relay that message, that even though you are breathing shallow, you are fine, your body/mind will respond, and you'll notice yourself calming down. That's one good thing about the WILD/LD transitional states...you'll learn to have better control over certain physiological body functions that the sensory nervous system typically never has control over (such as heartbeat), but when you are in those states...just tell your body to relax, breath slow, decrease your heartrate etc. and see how it responds.

^ I woulda typed that, but I use my phone ^_^

as long as it is not sleep apnia you can ignore it. if you have apnia you can stop breathing.

Originally Posted by rbear71

as long as it is not sleep apnia you can ignore it. if you have apnia you can stop breathing.

The OP is clearly referring to Sleep Paralysis, not Sleep Apnea, the latter of which typically occurs in severely obese individuals, the elderly, people with diabetes, and drug abusers. Also, people with Sleep Apnea don't know they are suffering from it. Which is why it is only diagnosed by an expert after you spend the night in a lab hooked up to a polysomnogram.