narcoleptics and lucid dreaming?

[theSheep]

Hey guys. I recently met a girl and she told me she was had narcolepsy. I knew it had something to with sleep but I wanted to learn more so I went to wikipedia. I find something that I think could be interesting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcolepsy Normally, when an individual is awake, brain waves show a regular rhythm. When a person first falls asleep, the brain waves become slower and less regular. This sleep state is called non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. After about an hour and a half of NREM sleep, the brain waves begin to show a more active pattern again. This sleep state, called REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep), is when most remembered dreaming occurs. Associated with the EEG-observed waves during REM sleep, muscle atonia is present (called REM atonia). In narcolepsy, the order and length of NREM and REM sleep periods are disturbed, with REM sleep occurring at sleep onset instead of after a period of NREM sleep. Thus, narcolepsy is a disorder in which REM sleep appears at an abnormal time. Also, some of the aspects of REM sleep that normally occur only during sleep — lack of muscular control, sleep paralysis, and vivid dreams — occur at other times in people with narcolepsy. For example, the lack of muscular control can occur during wakefulness in a cataplexy episode; it is said that there is intrusion of REM atonia during wakefulness. Sleep paralysis and vivid dreams can occur while falling asleep or waking up. Simply put, the brain does not pass through the normal stages of dozing and deep sleep but goes directly into (and out of) rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This has several consequences: * Night time sleep does not include as much deep sleep, so the brain tries to "catch up" during the day, hence EDS. * People with narcolepsy may visibly fall asleep at unpredicted moments (such motions as head bobbing are common). * People with narcolepsy fall quickly into what appears to be very deep sleep. * They wake up suddenly and can be disoriented when they do (dizziness is a common occurrence). * They have very vivid dreams, which they often remember in great detail. * People with narcolepsy may dream even when they only fall asleep for a few seconds. Any opinions? Shouldn't that mean that it's easier to WILD without WBTB?

[Tarsier]

Interesting. You should introduce your friend to LDing if they don't know about it already.

[Supernaut]

I have narcolepsy. I don't start dreaming right when I go to sleep at night, though sometimes when I sleep in class I'll begin to have not so vivid dreams.

[craig]

This reply is a little late. But I've had it for 24 years. We're all different though. Very clear HH's. Enough to interact with and talk to. From age 12 to 18 was not diagnosed. So these were a little disturbing. I dabble in the dark arts so it did not surprise me. As far as the lucidity "GREAT". Speaking for my self. Even some of the short naps I'm allowed at work can instill control and clearity. It's like closing your eyes here, and opening your eyes somewhere else. You don't have time to get lost. Your conscienceness seems to except the change. Not like you have alot of choice. It's not so much a disorder for me. I take it as maybe it was passed down from the cultures that spend their lives trying to perfect it. And I was born into it. Evolutional(maybe) As far as the sleeping. I just don't fit into the mass's schedueling.

[FatalForces]

This greatly interests me. I never really thought about it before, but I start dreaming almost instantly after falling asleep. However, I don't uncontrollably lose consciousness during the day. Is it possible to have narcolepsy without falling asleep uncontrollably? As an example, I was coming home from a theme park just the other day with some friends(I wasn't driving). It was quite a trek, and I dozed off quite a few times for only a matter of seconds. Every time I fell asleep though I remember having short dreams before getting jostled awake.

[craig]

In narcoleptics, we have what they call microsleeps. Imagine flipping the light switch off then on, like kids playing with the switch. This can happen once or a few times. This can cause interesting time displacement. I for one, do have quick dreams, almost like visions, because thier so short. My wife is often confused when I change the subject of a conversation because I dozed off. I start to answer the questions in the dreams. What I do not know is, what classification of dreams these fall into, if any. Still searching for some relevance to this and a few mystical ideas based on experience not knowledge. The grouping of psychiatrics seems to keep everyone in their own boxes. I believe there's a bigger picture, that we're missing something.