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Something strange is happening to me while I sleep. Should I be concerned?

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Here's what's going on: I'm having this strange phenomenon occur when I fall asleep during the day -- and it's only during the day. About a couple of weeks ago I had this hellish experience of, what I can only describe as being caught in a "loop" of some kind. I kept waking out of one dream only to find myself in another, and each dream felt real to my mind, even if something inside me knew it wasn't. It just happened inexplicably. Every single "loop", for lack of a better turn, felt as real as if I were awake. There was even one dream during this cycle where I told my family about what I was experiencing; my mind could not tell the difference. Ive always been a vivid day dreamer, but never like this. Finally, I managed open my eyes slightly, but I could not move my body at all. No matter how hard I tried to move, I couldn't -- I felt paralyzed. Through an enormous strength of will, I managed to pull myself out of this nightmare and get out of bed. After I made my way downstairs I was extremely shaken up by everything that just took place. Tried to talk to my family, but it was hard for them to understand, naturally.

If that was the only instance of this occurring that would be alright, but it isn't. A couple of days ago I had a similar thing happen to me during a nap. I didn't have the same "loop" per se, but I did find myself in some sort of quasi dreaming/awake state where I felt like I was trapped inside my dream, and I couldn't move. Only after twisting my neck did I manage to wake up completely.

After these incidents, I don't know what to think. I'm terrified of falling asleep during the day now, afraid I'm going to have to "pull myself" out of my dream. Is this indicative of some kind of medical problem I need to be worried about? Have no idea how to accurately describe this without making it sound like I'm crazy, trolling or tripping out to hallucinations. Surely I'm not the only one.
 

xkramz

Member
this usually happens when your body is fatigued and you havent slept much...it used to happen to me alot back when i used to hit the gym alot
 

Pachinko

Member
I like to call those inception dreams for obvious reasons. I think it's got something to do with being in too deep a sleep to actually wake up and somehow your brain is kind of stuck. Out in the real world 10-15 minutes tick by but it feels like you've slept for an hour or 2 in the dream

For me , this happens most frequently if I wake up for a few minutes and fall right back asleep.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about it.
 

Zee-Row

Banned
I almost choked in my sleep the other day from acid reflux. I thought i was gonna die and my throat was on fire.
 
It could simply be Sleep paralysis but it could also be something worse. Do you feel that between these "loops" you are momentarily waking up only to be thrown back into a dream?
The episode with you explaining to your family while in your dream sounds interesting

Maybe you had hypnagogic hallucinations?
 
It's some crazy mental phenomenon, I never experienced it before til I read about it on GAF several months back.
Trust me, it's not something I've wanted to experience either. If other people are experiencing this, maybe there are environmental factors involved? Who knows.

For anyone else who ha experienced this, were there specific times when this happened?
 

DonMigs85

Member
Paprika.png
 
Trust me, it's not something I've wanted to experience either. If other people are experiencing this, maybe there are environmental factors involved? Who knows.

For anyone else who ha experienced this, were there specific times when this happened?

This might sound extreme but before doing anything you should check with a genetic test if youve got Narcolepsy. How are your sleeping habits?
 

hipbabboom

Huh? What did I say? Did I screw up again? :(
I hear it only get really screwed up when you start dreaming of yourself hiding in a corner of a room looking at you.

Is that supposed to be some form of schizophrenia?
 

redwhiteoo

Neo Member
as mentioned, sounds like sleep paralysis. ur mind is awake, but not your body

sleep properly, i bet you're taking a nap since you're tired.
 
It could simply be Sleep paralysis but it could also be something worse. Do you feel that between these "loops" you are momentarily waking up only to be thrown back into a dream?
The episode with you explaining to your family while in your dream sounds interesting

Maybe you had hypnagogic hallucinations?
Sort of. It "feels" like I am waking up, but I'm not. And when I leave that dream I wake up in another, thinking I'm awake again, continuing the cycle. The only time I truly begin to wake up is when there is some kind of shock where I realize what's happening. There always seems to be an underlying sense -- sub-conscious perhaps -- that I'm dreaming, even though my mind seems convinced I'm awake. There is always this sense of dread. Despite all of the Inception jokes, the sad thing is that is probably the closest comparison to what happened to me during that whole looping scenario. Although its a lot different when it's a film.
 

zeemumu

Member
What the OP isn't aware of is that this is also a dream and that they will have to make this thread again once they wake up. But the OP chose to accept this reality as the true reality, and GAF was gradually transformed into the OP's ideal GAF until the OP himself had become a moderator and was presented with a NeoGAF Gold account, in the Twilight Zone.
 
I hear it only get really screwed up when you start dreaming of yourself hiding in a corner of a room looking at you.

Is that supposed to be some form of schizophrenia?

It would be if the person in question is awake.

Dreams are just dreams but a lot of the times they are thoughts trapped inside our subconcious. Maybe if you are looking at yourself while being in a corner it means you are afraid of yourself.
 
This might sound extreme but before doing anything you should check with a genetic test if youve got Narcolepsy. How are your sleeping habits?
Probably not the best. Part time employee / full time college student. My sleep time is awkward at best. I've always had very bizarre and vivid dreams during the night, but it's always during the day when it's different -- sadly it's because they are normal that they seem so strange. I tend to become tired during a period of two hours during the day, usually 4-6pm. That's when my naps occur, and that's when those dreams did as well.
 

redwhiteoo

Neo Member
did the "dreams" always loop back to a certain point? and is it to where your eyes are looking?

eventually your reaction will be 'here we go again' and you'll just wait for it to end
 
Sort of. It "feels" like I am waking up, but I'm not. And when I leave that dream I wake up in another, thinking I'm awake again, continuing the cycle. The only time I truly begin to wake up is when there is some kind of shock where I realize what's happening. There always seems to be an underlying sense -- sub-conscious perhaps -- that I'm dreaming, even though my mind seems convinced I'm awake. There is always this sense of dread. Despite all of the Inception jokes, the sad thing is that is probably the closest comparison to what happened to me during that whole looping scenario. Although its a lot different when it's a film.

How long did this particular nap take?
 

RedShift

Member
For the looping: there are ways to test whether or not you're dreaming that are fairly reliable. It's a bug part of lucid dreaming, they're called reality checks.

The one I find best is to pinch your nose and then try and breathe through it. Obviously in real life it won't work, but in a dream it will. The most important part of doing a reality check though is you have to accept you could be in a dream even if you're 100% sure you aren't. Other ones are stuff like counting your fingers or trying to put a finger through your palm.

Do a reality check every time you wake up, especially if you're trapped in a loop. Once you know you're dreaming you can just wake up by choice. Or have a lucid dream.

You should have done a reality check already.
 
did the "dreams" always loop back to a certain point? and is it to where your eyes are looking?
Sometimes the dreams would begin with me lying and getting out of my bed, doing things as I normally would. Talking with family, taking care of the pets, so and so forth. And sometimes I'd awake in the same bed, but the rooms different, or I'm doing something else.

How long did this particular nap take?
It lasted about an hour. By the time I woke up I was too apprehensive to fall back asleep.
 

Pau

Member
I get caught in those loops during naps too. Very frustrating. Not quite sure how to break out of it. I wonder if setting an alarm would help.

Even lucid dreaming doesn't help. I get caught in this weird state of not being able to open my eyes and just have to ride it out until my body wakes up.
 
It lasted about an hour. By the time I woke up I was too apprehensive to fall back asleep.

Yo mate, this might be serious. If you are sleeping less than an hour and having dreams, you could either be having dreams in NREM sleep(pretty rare) or you have a very low latency to enter REM sleep.

Dreams normally start at the stage of REM sleep which comes at about the 90 minute mark, if you are having dreams so early and paired with the sleep paralisis that you seem to be experiencing, you really are ticking all the symptons for narcolepsy.

I recommend you to start a sleeping schedule and dont deviate from it. Do it for some months. If it doesnt get rid of the problem, get checked. Sleep paralysis can get cured by just sleeping better but narcolepsy is a more serious issue and it cant be cured.
 

Darrenm

Neo Member
...my heart started racing reading your post OP because this EXACT same thing used to happen to me every month or so 2-3 years ago, and only during naps (during the day). I knew I was in a dream, kept waking up into dreams, and was completely paralyzed from my neck down no matter how hard I tried to move. It felt like something was holding me down, just tingling. One time it was one of those messed up dreams where you're being beaten or hunted...definitely takes it to a different level, especially when you have the feeling of being awake.

I haven't had one since then, and I've never had someone share the experience. I don't know what it could have been? I feel like I'm way more stressed now than I was back then (university!), but I also got a lot less sleep, was probably more active, and definitely had a worse diet.
 

casnix

Member
Sleep paralysis. I used to get it every night if I fell asleep while on my back. Very scary indeed.
 

Eteric Rice

Member
The dreams where you wake up in a dream and feel like you can't get out? I have those, fucking sucks.

Had sleep paralysis as well, which sucks on a whole different level.
 
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Get a good night's sleep. Also cut the caffeine. It'll ruin your sleep habits and normal body functions. At least for a while. I've had a daily cup of coffee since I was 16 and it can still throw off my sleep.
 
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