All of my questions.. (Please Provide Aswers)

Hey guys! Although I'm not that new to LDing, I still have many questions which i have been trying to find out. Here they are:

1.What exactly is sleep paralysis? (i believe i've entered it many times)

2.Why is sleep paralysis important?

3.How can I truly make the dream more vivid (when lucid) to the maximum extent?

4.How many hours a night do we dream?

5.Can you only dream during the R.E.M period?

6.Is there anything I shouldn't do in lucid dreams?

7.How much alcohol does it take to ruin the R.E.M period?

Thank you for reading... Please answer as many of these as you can :)

Yours truly, Jamal

#1: Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis). source: wikipedia

#6: not that i know of, cuz there are no permanent consequences.

these are the only ones i know the answers to-- i'm only a newbie.

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Originally Posted by Mrs. Jones

#1: Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis). source: wikipedia

#6: not that i know of, cuz there are no permanent consequences.

these are the only ones i know the answers to-- i'm only a newbie.

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Thanks for those

5. As far as I know, you can have dream snippets during other periods but they aren't much better than vivid HI or so. I don't think you can have a full blown dream in anything other than REM.

2. What exactly do you mean? Important in what sense?

3. Over time you'll get better and better control. Work on your recall.

4. Depends on the person. Usually about 2 hours per night.

5. No, although almost all dreams occur in REM.

6. Not as far as I know.

7. It's hard to say. Depends on the person. It would be safe to say that you won't remember any dreams if you are sufficiently drunk though.

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Originally Posted by Umbrasquall

7. It's hard to say. Depends on the person. It would be safe to say that you won't remember any dreams if you are sufficiently drunk though.

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Yeah. I think if you are what you would consider "drunk," then you won't remember squat. But you will if you're "tipsy" I think, in general!

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1.What exactly is sleep paralysis?

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When you enter REM sleep, a part of the brainstem called medulla oblongata produces a neurotransmitter called glycine. The glycine blocks the nerve signals that control your skeleton muscles, hence you get paralyzed from the neck down.

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2.Why is sleep paralysis important?

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It has no importance in DILDing. If you are WILDing and SP occurs, you know that you are about to enter REM sleep. But it's possible to WILD without experiencing SP.

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5.Can you only dream during the R.E.M period?

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No, you can dream in all five types of sleep. Dreams that you have in type 2 sleep (light sleep) are very similar in character to dreams in REM sleep. Under certain circumstances it is also possible to dream while awake.

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Originally Posted by Jamalkk

2.Why is sleep paralysis important?

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The significance of sleep paralysis is said to be that; when you're asleep, your body activates sleep paralysis as a sort of defense mechanism, to keep you from physically acting out your dreams and, possibly, injuring yourself.

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Originally Posted by Jamalkk

3.How can I truly make the dream more vivid (when lucid) to the maximum extent?

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Take the time to stop and focus on things. Look at the texture of the world around you. Reach out your hand and feel the texture of the walls. What works for me is to stare at my hands for a little while, while asserting to myself that the world will be more clear, when I look away from my hands. Never fails, and I usually end up staying in the dream longer.

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Originally Posted by Jamalkk

5.Can you only dream during the R.E.M period?

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You can dream all through the night. Your most lengthy and intense dream sessions (the ones you are most likely to remember) happen during REM.

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Originally Posted by Jamalkk

6.Is there anything I shouldn't do in lucid dreams?

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That's up to you. I dream, pretty much, ethically, but I don't hold any beliefs that I would have any consequences by doing anything in my dreams. I believe I'm strong enough, of mind, not to let doing something malicious, in a dream, will affect my waking life persona. That's just me, though.

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Originally Posted by Jamalkk

7.How much alcohol does it take to ruin the R.E.M period?

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I really can't say how much alcohol ruins it. I usually have some really wild dreams after getting hammered. It's usually my recall that suffers, though. Also, if I get drunk early in the night, and I have enough time to let it wear off, before waking up, I will dream even harder, within the last few hours of sleep.

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Originally Posted by Jamalkk

Thank you for reading... Please answer as many of these as you can :)

Yours truly, Jamal

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No problem. Welcome to Dream Views. :cooler:

Thanks to everyone for the help!! all my questions were answered!!

Ok, here goes.

1.What is sleep paralysis?

sleep paralysis
Function: noun
A condition in which, upon waking, a person is aware of the surroundings but is unable to move.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary

sleep paralysis
Function: noun
A complete temporary paralysis occurring in connection with sleep and especially upon waking
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary

2.Why is sleep paralysis important?

Sleep paralysis is what typically prevents sleep walking or anything like it. When we dream, our brain functions as if we were awake. We move by triggering the neurons in our brain via electric signals. When we dream, the same thing happens. Sleep paralysis, however, prevents those signals from being carried out.

3.How can I truly make the dream more vivid (when lucid) to the maximum extent?

There are many ways to do this. Consider rubbing your hands together, or performing another action involving tactile stimulus. Consider yelling "CLARIFY!" into the air. Consider summoning a palm pilot that controls your dream, and fiddle with the vividity settings. Consider taking a pill that increases vividity. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

4.How many hours a night do we dream?

Recent research shows that we dream continuously throughout the night. However, dreams that occur during the first three stages of sleep are so mild that our chances of remembering or using them are nil. However, our deepest and most vivid dreams occur during the fourth stage, REM sleep.

REM sleep occurs every 70-90 minutes, and it lasts from a minimum of 10 minutes to a maximum of 60 minutes. As the night progresses, REM cycles become longer. Ergo, the results may look like this:

10:00 p.m. Sleep
11:30 p.m. 10 min.
01:00 a.m. 20 min.
02:30 a.m. 30 min.
04:00 a.m. 40 min.
05:30 a.m. 50 min.
06:30 a.m. 55 min.

8.5 hours sleep
3.4 hours REM

This is, of course, my rough and uneducated estimate. It may vary to some degree.

5.Can you only dream during the R.E.M period?

See the above.

6.Is there anything I shouldn't do in lucid dreams?

Opinions on this subject vary wildly. Some will tell you that, because it is a mental realm of your own design, you can do whatever you want. Others will disagree depending upon their own worldview.

Personally, I believe that if you adhere to a moral code (religious or personal) it remains intact whenever a person has conscious control of his/her actions. Since once is conscious during a lucid dream, the code remains a factor.

7.How much alcohol does it take to ruin the R.E.M period?

I'm not positive. I would not recommend that you drink at all when attempting to have a lucid dream, however.

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Sleep paralysis is what typically prevents sleep walking or anything like it. When we dream, our brain functions as if we were awake. We move by triggering the neurons in our brain via electric signals. When we dream, the same thing happens. Sleep paralysis, however, prevents those signals from being carried out.

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This is inaccurate. Sleep paralysis is strictly a feature of REM sleep. Since it is possible to dream in non-REM sleep, it follows that it is possible to dream without being paralyzed. Interesting fact: elephants generally sleep standing up but lie down for REM sleep.

Allow me to clarify. During REM sleep our brains function as if we were awake, they are at their most active phase. Ergo, sleep paralysis occurs to prevent those actions, which occur during REM, from being carried out.

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Take the time to stop and focus on things. Look at the texture of the world around you. Reach out your hand and feel the texture of the walls. What works for me is to stare at my hands for a little while, while asserting to myself that the world will be more clear, when I look away from my hands. Never fails, and I usually end up staying in the dream longer.

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that's usually the first thing i do upon becoming lucid and it doesn't work too well. :(