Nightmares

[Steel Maiden]

Are nightmares more likely to occur when you're feeling physically unwell? I thought the dream was 100% real until I woke up.

Also, is it true that if I remember all my dreams, every single step, in full colour, it means that my quality of sleep (ie how long I stay in REM, deep sleep etc) is bad?

Does anyone else here experience touch, taste and smell in their dreams as well as vision and hearing? Because I think that's part of why they feel so real for me.

[[LittleMonster]]

I'm not sure for most of your questions but in my dream last night I experienced smell and touch as well as vision and hearing so I don't think it's uncommon. I can still remember the sensory information from that dream I had last night
xx

[Steel Maiden]

Thanks Kate. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[shadow-light]

i have rediculasly realistic dreams/nightmares too.. half the time when I wake up I spend a few seconds totally confused as I can't work out if they were real or not


As for the remembering dreams in detail thing, I think that means that you are waking up either during stage 5, or between stage 5 and stage 2 of sleep (the stages of sleep do not occur in order but go 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 5, 2, etc ). Waking up between stage 5 and stage 2 isn't so bad, in fact some experts recomend it as the ideal point to awaken, but awaking during REM would be detrementral to you quality of sleep (as is not getting enough of stage 3 or 4 - i.e. deep sleep).
However this is going off memory of neuro-sceince lectures from about 2 years ago so may not be 100% accurate

[Steel Maiden]

Thanks Shadow-Light. I recognise what you say about the stages of sleep as I had a short-lived obsession about neuroscience when I was younger and learnt a fair bit. Is it true that some psych meds can actually reduce REM sleep or do something similar to reduce the quality of sleep?

[shadow-light]

a lot of medication can effect sleep, off the top of my head I rememeber tht TCAs greatly reduce REM sleep, but they have mostly been replaced in useage by SSRIs now anyway... Though many SSRIs can cause insomnia so not sure that's really an improvement
Alcohol effects REM sleep too, people who abuse alcohol can end up having almost no REM sleep!
Some stimulants increase sleep latency, decrease total sleep time, and greatly reduce REM sleep - though I can't remember specifically which ones.


Though to be honest I never really paid full attention to the pharmocolgy aspects of my degree, my partner studied pharmocology though so I just asked him but he just shrugged and wondered off lol


I'll have a look to see if I have any of my old notes still and seee if there is anything there

[Seneca]

I think it could be the case. Whenever I've been physically weak, I've had more vivid (and often disturbing) dreams than usual. After I had surgery, I kept physically startling in my hospital bed because the dreams seemed so real and shocking things kept happening in them. When I recovered a bit, my dreams became tamer.

[Steel Maiden]

Thank you both of you - that is very useful information. I am on aripiprazole and olanzapine.

[Ami]

Not quite the same thing, but I have had occasionally sleep paralysis, which is really scary ><.

Hope you're okay x

[Steel Maiden]

I have had that before and its frightening, I agree. I'm sleeping a bit better now thanks.