Hypnagogic Hallucinations in real life?

**Zerk** · 03-10-2010 06:20 PM

Sometimes when I'm really tired in the shower or just walking around, I'll see red and green spots everywhere. It's as if every single object I look at is some how composed of these tiny dots. Almost like atoms... I know seeing red and green spots is one of the stages of HH's and i'm wondering if its possible to see them in real life. Another example is when I'm in the shower i'm looking at the ground and once again i'll see the red and green spots allll over the ground. It's not like their covering up the objects such as the shower floor and wall. It's almost.. like every single thing is composed of these. Has any one else experienced this or can give any input on the subject? Much appreicated. ( no spell check at school forgive the mistakes please)

- Zerk

**YYNYM** · 03-11-2010 02:11 AM

If your really tired, you can go into HH. However, this generally happens after a day of no sleep.
How tired were you?

**Puffin** · 03-11-2010 02:31 AM

I sometimes get something like that if I'm dizzy. Not sure if that's what you mean, though.

**Jaden** · 03-11-2010 02:54 AM

I'm not fully sure about how HH works, but I believe the red and green dots are associated with the cells in your eyes switching on or off (not literally but in the sense that you are receiving or ignoring sight signals). When your brain is working on processing data, it gets it in a different form then you see. My grandmother has macular degeneration and she is nearly blind, but she can see things like words because her brain fills in the gaps from the small amount she can still see. The switching from processed image to actual sight you can get the red and green dots. Also as mentioned above sleep deprivation will cause hallucinations, but it has to be rather sever.

If this is HH while being awake it makes sense if your eyes are stressed because your brain will try to take the extra work load. However I am not sure this is what is happening in your case.

The other thing that could cause something similar but not HH is light headed-ness. You will see colored dots when you get up to fast and this can be explained by blood pressure and body equilibrium, but I'm a cell bio person and am not very good with whole body physiology, so I'll leave that to someone else.

In any event I believe what you are experiencing is normal and most likely has a good explanation.

best of luck

**AURON** · 03-11-2010 02:58 AM

I've had hypnopompic hallucinations occur right when I'd open my eyes after dreaming. Sometimes it would look like strange patterns on the wall (or where ever i was looking at), other times it almost looked like runic writing. I'm not too sure about seeing while fully awake though.

**nina** · 03-11-2010 03:08 AM

Gurstelle and Oliveira distinguish a state which they call daytime parahypnagogia (DPH), the spontaneous intrusion of a flash image or dreamlike thought or insight into one’s waking consciousness. DPH is typically encountered when one is “tired, bored, suffering from attention fatigue, and/or engaged in a passive activity.” The exact nature of the episode may be forgotten even though the individual remembers having had such an experience.[57] Gustelle and Oliveira define DPH as “dissociative, trance-like, [...] but, unlike a daydream, [...] not self-directed” – however, daydreams and waking reveries are often characterised as “passive,” “effortless,”[58] and “spontaneous,” [16] while hypnagogia itself can sometimes be influenced by a form of autosuggestion, or “passive concentration,”[59] so these sorts of episode may in fact constitute a continuum between directed fantasy and the more spontaneous varieties of hypnagogia. Others have emphasised the connections between fantasy, daydreaming, dreams and hypnosis.[60]

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**Freemorph** · 03-11-2010 05:05 AM

Originally Posted by Akono

I've had hypnopompic hallucinations occur right when I'd open my eyes after dreaming. Sometimes it would look like strange patterns on the wall (or where ever i was looking at), other times it almost looked like runic writing. I'm not too sure about seeing while fully awake though.

This happens to me quite often. Although upon waking up and seeing these things a great deal of fear follows and my heart races like I saw a ghost or something. Even the simplest forms/shapes scare me idk why it just happens.

**Zerk** · 03-11-2010 05:17 AM

YYnYM - I have terrible sleep habits and will go to bed around 3am wake up and 6 am. and maybe take 1 or 2 hour nap after school. So pretty tired.

Demara- It normally doesn't include Dizziness

Jaden- I think you might be spot on I'm not really sure. It's probably my eyes being stressed but i've never heard of anybody else complaining about this and I don't think I have an eyesight problem.

Aquanina- (DPH), the spontaneous intrusion of a flash image or dreamlike thought or insight into one’s waking consciousness. DPH is typically encountered when one is “tired, bored, suffering from attention fatigue, and/or engaged in a passive activity.

I think I suffer from all those "problems" and I'm pretty sure that might be the case.

If so is it a medical condition I should be worried about? I don't want to be the person who's looking for anything wrong with them and I haven't in the past. But I can't lie. I'm a littler concerned.

**nina** · 03-11-2010 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by Zerk

I think I suffer from all those "problems" and I'm pretty sure that might be the case.

If so is it a medical condition I should be worried about? I don't want to be the person who's looking for anything wrong with them and I haven't in the past. But I can't lie. I'm a littler concerned.

No medical condition. My bad, I should have linked you to the original article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia ...see section, Daydreaming and Waking Reveries.