Thread: what is this?????

Hmm, I can't say I've ever heard of this kind of situation. It sounds like Sleep Paralysis isn't kicking in, which can be a huge problem. Sleep Paralysis is caused by a chemical the brain releases, so the only advice I can really offer is to see a doctor.

Originally Posted by bill4117

here is the worst ive had. i had a very vivid dream that there was a killer porcupine attacking my city and i had to find it and kill it in the local forest. well i go out dressed as rambo and set up camp complete with tent, fire, and sleeping bag. in my dream i fell asleep on my left side (same position as i was in bed). i felt a presence and in my dream i opened my eyes to see directly between me and the campfire was the porcupine which i punched. well in real life i had also opened my eyes and between me and the outside streetlight ( i lived on the third floor) was my wife's head which i punched. she woke up screaming and i told her "go back to bed i thought you were a porcupine"

What the heck is wrong with me???

I've had similar experiences. Even after I have awakened the dream images usually persist until I turn on the light. From what I understand it's likely some kind of somambulism or night terror. There is a lot of information on the net, so you might want to search for those terms. Both of these sleep disorders occur during slow-wave sleep, so the body isn't paralyzed.

Edit: I looked further into this and there are several more possibilities here:

• Hallucinations (REM sleep)
• REM sleep behavior disorder (REM sleep)
• Sleep terrors (Non-REM sleep)
• Somnambulism (Non-REM sleep)

You can find more information about symptoms etc. at sleepeducation.com. In any case it may be best to see a doctor about it as ExoByte and b12 have suggested.

You have to make the distinction between your types of sleep:

Were you actually dreaming? Were you in the dream, could you feel the wind, etc? Or could you just see pictures or have an idea of what's going on?

If you were in slow-wave sleep, sleep paralysis doesn't kick in. Your actions are reflexes triggered by your thoughts and scenes in your head -- not actual dreams. Think of it as you're "dreaming" about you falling or tripping (but you don't actually have a dream) and then you jerk and wake up. Same aspect, but you take it one whole step further

I think this is the case, not this next thing:

If you're actually in REM, then sleep paralysis isn't kicking in. This IS a BIG problem -- for example, a study about a former football player who could not attain somnambulism when he was in REM broke a bunch of ribs, his legs, his shoulders, etc when dreaming about playing a football game. He attacked a dresser, tackled the bed, ravaged his closet -- he dreamt he was playing football and acted out his dream because he didn't have sleep paralysis.

Ask your wife to watch your eyes each night. When you have a problem like this again, if she sees your eyes are moving and twitching behind your eyelids (rapid eye movement) you need to see a doctor. If not, you're fine, you just have to control your reflexes

thanks for the replies. ill definately look deeper into it. heck my marriage may depend on it lol.

to Dreamviews! I don't have anything else to add but if u have any other questions, feel free to ask.