Sleep Cycles.

[dreamboat]

If the sleep cycle repeats itself throughout the night are you as lucid dreamers able to recall all of your dreams. I have not yet achieved Lucidity (still trying) but I recall my "last dream" very well. Another question is, why does the alarm always go off no matter what time it is set to just as I get to the "good" bit. Happens every time. Makes me wonder if dreams happen in "real" time or could they take just seconds.

[Gothlark]

After every sleep cycle, a chemical is released that eliminates our short term memories so they never get a chance to become long term memories. In short, you would need to notice the moment in which you wake up after every sleep cycle and make a note of the dreams from it then fall back asleep or completely change your brain chemistry. It is possible, but unlikely. To comment about your dreams only lasting a second, that's very unlikely. The dream part of the sleep cycle is rather long, so your dream will last longer. However, some do think it possible to make a long dream occur in a short amount of time. I'm uncertain if it's merely the illusion of time or not, and am somewhat skeptical of it myself, but I had a month long LD once.

[dreamboat]

This is turning into a fascinating subject. It would probably take me years to digest all the subject matter. For example how does being lucid effect or interact with recurring dreams. I do find the idea of "time distortion" particularly interesting.

[regetsref]

I'm not real experienced yet but Ive heard people who have recurring dreams very often, they can have a continuing story every time they dream, in a sense living another life in the dream world where what you did last night will affect what happens tonite. This is what I'm very interested in acheiving, but I have enuff trouble just inducing LDs right now.

[dreamboat]

If I ever achieve lucidity, there is one recurring nightmare I have had since I was five years of age that I would like to put a stop to. It's about "Morgues" of all things. (Death meaning change though I'm not certain). Also I'm not sure if I would like to "wake up" in this one.

[Tsen]

Time distortion is a very interesting subject. People have reported having LD's that lasted for years, but the most I've ever achieved was 8 months, and it wasn't entirely lucid. Of course, the time is an illusion, mostly from 'shortcuts' the mind takes during dreams, IE, the important events will be included, but mundane or every-day things are left out. For example, in that 8-month long dream, I never went to the bathroom, and never went to sleep. It was almost all action--nonstop. So 8 months was recreated in an hour or so of actual events, because the boring things were left out. Another example would be stealing a car to drive across the United States or something--you might remember breaking into the car and starting it, and the police chase, but not the actual driving when you got away and were making your way across a particularly boring state...maybe Wyoming or something. Anyway, back on track here: The dream about the morgue is one that probably needs overcoming through other means than simply waking up. Recurring nightmares need a conclusive ending, you can't just run away from them. Try to go lucid next time you have the nightmare, and if you do, ask who's sending the dreams, then find them and talk to them. Find out why you have them, and how you can stop them. This lets your subconscious 'let go' of the dream, rather than trying to snatch it away from it all in one fell swoop, only to find out that the subconscious wasn't ready to let it go quite yet.

[dreamboat]

Thank's for the reply. This subject keeps on getting better by the minute. By "Mod" do you mean sixties "Brit Culture". No Pun intended.

[regetsref]

so do these 8 month long dreams feel like 8 months have passed or is it just that the dream takes place over that time. I have had dreams where I spent a weekend someplace but after waking it doesnt feel as if it had been 3 days, just feels like a long dream. Do people really have extended dreams that feel as long as they are. I mean actually dream for days and all but actually feel that time pass. So you could for example start learning to sew, and spend 8 months practicing nothing but sewing, I would imagine when you woke from that you would know something about sewing. That is what is intriguing to me. But if you just say or feel that you've spent 8 moths sewing as opposed to 'really' spending that time you wouldnt learn anything. I hope this makes sense, Like at the end of the dream you say to yourself I just spent 8 moths sewing, but you technically just skipped it all. that sucks, I'd want to actually be there for those 8 months in the dream.