Hi, new here

[bigm]

Hey guys, well i've been able to lucid dream for a long time, although infrequently and usually not intentionally.. not sure how long ago, but i stll remember a particular dream of mine when i was 9 (I'm 19 now) and i realised i was in the dream and could take control i was just wondering, but is there a reason as to when i am running in my dreams (away from something/someone) i run incredibly slow? In fact, i find it always that i run faster when i run backwards.. How can i overcome this? It's kind of annoying and i wind up in trouble.. lol Also, does the fact that when i wake up, my eye-lids feel really heavy and my eyes are quite gritty relate to my dreams? I know very little about the dreaming stages, but could this indicate that my REM stage is screwed up? From my hypothesis, i'm guessing that my eyes are not moving enough, and that results in the muscles become too relaxed and when they suddenly have to move in the morning, they find it difficult to adjust. If anything, i find this is the case when i sleep more than 7.5 hrs, if i sleep 6 hours~ish i can open my eyes easy, but im tired and feel like i deserve more sleep. If i sleep 8 hours, i still feel tired, can't open my eyes easily but don't feel like i deserve more sleep. I keep my curtains open so the sunlight enters my room and my body feels its time to wake up, and i also use moisturising eye drops before sleeping. I keep my fan on every night (the humming helps me go to sleep, it's a habit, been this way for the past 8 years) I listen to music ocasionally, not for the whole night thogh, maybe the first 20 minutes, most cases not longer than that. Any help addressing the above two questions would be greatly appreciated. lol, didn't even know that "lucid dreaming" existed, i thought i was a rare exception (and felt special for a moment ) I read your article on dream control and would largely agree with most of it, however, i'm never looking to conciously control my dreams, i just wanted to get this running away thing sorted out. The study of dreams and how it relates to brain activity seems so cool! Thanks guys , indeed a very interesting area of study!

[Matte87]

Hi and welcome! Oversleeping can leave you exhausted, not really sure why, but I'm almost always more alert when I've only slept for 8 hours instead of 10. Also waking up in the middle of a Deep Sleep cycle can be very hard, and you will feel tired, drowsy and sometimes lost for a long time afterwards. Since you're waking up on your own and that's not the case, I'm not sure really. If you don't think you need more sleep, then I suggest you don't go back to sleep. If you wake up then your body doesn't want to sleep more. Until you fall asleep again and the next cycle starts. The running thing, I have the exact same thing and have had since I was a kid. Dream interpreterers might have a good answer for you here Dream Interpretation but I guess it's just a normal thing most people have. Like talking sometimes, or seeing properly. I also have trouble with my balance at times. Might be that you're afraid of not being able to escape whatever's chasing you. "Oh no, what if I can't run fast enough?" usually makes exactly that happen. "What if the guy in the alley is a robber?" and ofcourse he is. Why don't you want to try Lucid Dreaming out just a little bit? It's safe and amazingly awesome! If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask!

[bigm]

Hey, thanks for you reply! It's not that i don't want to try lucid dreaming, it's just that i do it unintentionally. I must admit it's pretty cool (although things can get really weird sometimes) But to be honest, i'm just looking for a good night's sleep, so that i can wake up early, get started on work without yawning every 2 minutes!

[Matte87]

Ah I see. If you want to stop dreaming, then don't pay attention to them. Other than that, you can watch TV or play video games the minute before you go to sleep. To have a head full of information usually rules out dreams. Same with stress. Only if you do dream when you're stressed out, they won't be very pleasant.