Effects Of External Stimuli On Dreams.

I've been wondering... my sleeping habits include sleeping with a loud-ish fan on and no lights whatsoever so that my room is nearly pitch black..

I then heard that sleeping in a completely black environment can be disorienting when waking up and if thats what im used to then if i had a false awakening wouldn't i imagine it as a completely black room?? And could the fan noise have any bad effects on my dreams or remembering dreams or anything??

I guess what i'm asking is, does anyone here sleep with a small like on to help with lucid dreams and how do steady, ambiance noises affect your dreams? Thanks in advance.

A few weeks ago, they were talking about lucid dreaming on Coast to Coast AM, which i commonly fall asleep listening to. I was actually listening to the program while I was dreaming. In my dream, I was at my grandmother's house and a radio which looked exactly like the one I listen to was sitting on the bench by the table. They were talking about induction techniques and everything, and I was telling my grandmother how I've done lucid dreaming before and how cool it is. When I woke up, I had assumed it was a dream, until they were still talking about induction techniques! I thought it was cool, while at the same time, kicked myself for not taking such a BLATANT dreamsign.

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Originally Posted by mini0991

A few weeks ago, they were talking about lucid dreaming on Coast to Coast AM, which i commonly fall asleep listening to. I was actually listening to the program while I was dreaming. In my dream, I was at my grandmother's house and a radio which looked exactly like the one I listen to was sitting on the bench by the table. They were talking about induction techniques and everything, and I was telling my grandmother how I've done lucid dreaming before and how cool it is. When I woke up, I had assumed it was a dream, until they were still talking about induction techniques! I thought it was cool, while at the same time, kicked myself for not taking such a BLATANT dreamsign.[/b]

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Ya I hear ya haha, I often don't notice such obvious things. The other day I had a false awakening and actually guessed I was having one... did a RC, it checked out I thought I was good to go but I still wasn't even convinced I was lucid dreaming... what a mess.

but there is no disadvantage to lucid dreaming in sleeping in a completely dark environment?

Well, sounds are really distracting, but light isn't so bad. Sleeping in light can actually be easier for some people.

As for light's effect on lucid dreams, I'd say that it makes your dreams literally brighter! From experience, the few dreams I do remember are commonly dreamt in the daytime, and thus the dreams are also in day. When I DO dream at night, the dreams are in the night. Hmmm, maybe that could be worked into a dreamsign? Still, I dunno if everybody gets this effect. I'm really aware of my body while I'm sleeping, so I dunno.

Many of my dreams involve a body of water. I sleep next to a beautiful 30-gallon fishtank, with a quiet motored filter that emits a pleasant trickling noise. It helps me relax, and it's become a dream sign. Two birds with one stone!

As for light... My window position is horrible. Car headlights periodically flash into my eyes while I sleep, though I never notice. I imagine it disturbs my sleep.

I find completely dark rooms to be the easiest to relax in, and I've heard that light is distracting while trying to remember dreams (people always say that it's easiest to recall in the dark, or when your eyes are closed).

I just got a 12 gallon tank a couple of months ago, so like Abra, I sleep with the pleasant water tickling sound. A couple of years ago in college, I got to the point where I could only sleep if the noisy-as-hell air conditioner was turned on, and it was right behind my bed. :roll: I'm liking the fish tank much better... hehe. It really depends on you and what makes you feel most comfortable. If the constant noise of the fan helps you sleep, then keep it on.

Abra, that's neat that your tank causes dream signs. I haven't noticed that my dreams have been around a body of water, but I'll pay more attention to that from now on. What type of fish do you have in your tank? I have a betta, 4 harlequin rasboras, 2 african dwarf frogs, 3 ghost shrimp, and a golden apple snail, and plenty of pretty live plants. I want to get a couple more small fish, but I think that may end up overstocking my tank.

My fan just seized up. Beleive me, running a fan helps block out noise. Losing that fan sure hasnt helped my dreaming.