Effects of life on my dreams, and vice versa...HELP!

I've had a lot of free time lately, but it seems to be affecting my sleep...I start drawing and i almost always find myself drawing in my sleep. Once, even one of my dreams was a drawing that looked like something i would draw, but it still was a dream so it was moving. :P I believe that reading seems to affect my dreams too, and i've had a few dreams where the text and stories in them with pretty understandable.
That's enough of that, but what i'm more worried about is the fact that i wake up i sometimes continue out the actions that happen at the end of my dreams. For instance, i once got out of my bed and started screaming my lungs out until i noticed what the heck was going on. Other times I find my self holding my mouth and gagging, because most of my dreams involve choking which is one of my biggest fears. I wondering if there is anything to be worried about, because recently it's been happening often, but i find it stops if i take naps or listen to music before really sleeping. Is this an effect of sleep deprivation? :offtobed:

Don't worry a lot of people's dreams are affected by what they do during waking hours. it's definitely not sleep deprivation. Many scientists think that dreams are caused by your brain going over stuff that happened during the day, that is why naps help. as for screaming and choking i don't know what to tell you. i would just not worry too much about it.

z1nk is right. What you do and think about during the day seeps into your dreams. It is normal and nothing to worry aobut.

When you wake up, especially if you wake up from a dream, your mind is still opperating in REM (dream) mode for a few seconds or minutes, depending on what you do and your own uniqueness. In that state it is really easy to be confused about where you are, what is happening, and even who you are. If you've just had a scary dream it is really normal to scream or whatever until your mind gets out of REM mode. Focusing on it too much can make it happen more, so just try to put it out of your mind. If it bothers you too much you can always ask a doctor about it.