I always thought this was kind of different, so I thought I'd share.

Ever since I can remember (from 4 years old on), whenever I had a nightmare (falling from a great height, being chased through a creepy house by a vampire, etc) whenever my fear reached a certain level and I didn't want to be a part of it any more, my conscious mind would kick in and always say "Open your eyes."
I would then pry open my eyes and breathe a sigh of relief.
I guess a habit formed after the first few times I did it, because growing up, it would just automatically happen. It wasn't until later on that I realized that I shouldn't really know that it was a dream.

Is this common? Anybody have any explanation?