is dreaming TOO much a bad thing?

[Tenshi no Ai]

So lately I haven't had the best sleeps and quite a dose of fatigue. I'm beginning to wonder if me dreaming too much is a partial contribution to it all?

For me, it's EXTREMELY rare for me to not dream once during the night (well, moreso morning, really^^) and I always think it's odd for people who say that they never/rarely dream. But I was just thinking how dreaming is a different stage of sleep than when you actually get your rest, since REM is where it's as IF you're awake, according to brain activity and eyes moving around, (and in most cases for me, I AM half asleep when I dream and end up rolling around in bed while dreaming and/or have my eyes open and have a sort of hallucination-type dream that involve my bedroom surroundings). Stage 4 sleep it's as if I don't get enough of. It's VERY rare for me to go a whole night without dreaming and/or waking up once, and that's where I should be getting more rest....

So hmm... do you think too much REM sleep can almost be a bad thing, and have negative consequences with my already not the best diet and little exercise? I mean, lately (except today and yesterday I've been good) no matter HOW late I sleep in and how many hours of actual sleep I get, I'm still extremely tired when I wake up, and also have had an overdose of dreaming etc. (especially rolling around alot while dreaming, where I'm moreso awake than sleeping and it feels liek I'm not even sleeping at all, but I know I am from the dreams, and it just makes myself more tired... oy :/)

[Raiden no Kishi]

Hm. Well, you've already said your diet and exercise regimen leave something to be desired, so I would definitely work on that. I've had some trouble resting for much of my life, and for a time I would take melatonin supplements before bed, which is a naturally-occuring substance in the human body that controls the sleep cycle. You might try that ~ it couldn't hurt.

.rai//

[AsianBlossom]

I agree. They say that if you have some good solid exercise during the day, you'll go right to sleep (at night I mean). It seems to work whenever I try it, so if you can, try squeezing some exercise (aerobic exercise, like walking, swimming, whatever) into your day and see if that helps.

[Cap'n Nick]

Dreams normally occur every night, but they're usually not remembered unless they're particularly interesting or if your sleep is disturbed. The fact that you consistently remember your dreams is a likely indicator that your sleep is less than sound.

Unfortunately, putting a finger on why can be difficult. Good sleep is a holistic endeavor - diet, exercise, stress and routine all affect sleep, as well as previous sleep and your sleeping environment. In short, it could be anything. You're probably not going to find your fix on the internet (believe me, I've tried) so do your best to take stock of your situation and don't be afraid to call in professional help.

[Master-Chief]

I wanted to be the one with a smart answer...

[Bobtheduck]

Benjamin franklin often slept with something in his hand, and a bucket underneath it so he'd wake right when he fell asleep, so he'd remember what he was dreaming and be able to write it down. I think Dreaming is wonderful and I wish I could do it more often... I'm honestly tempted to take nicotine patches even though I don't smoke, because they are said to cause more vivid dreaming...

Only tempted, though... i won't poison myself just to dream... Don't worry...

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I'm actually fond of lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis. It's awesome to experience those.

[Taliesin]

I rarely ever remember dreams, which is kinda weird because I have a very good memory and everyone else in my family remembers dreams really well.

[mitsuki lover]

It only shows that you have a fertile and active imagination.

Now the real problem appears to be balancing out your diet and exercising.Those I think are more important than wheter or not you are dreaming too much.If you continue to have problems you should go see a doctor about the diet and exercise and a psychologist about the dreams.

[ChristianKitsune]

I'm actually fond of lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis. It's awesome to experience those.

Ryan, can you explain sleep Paralysis? I think I might have it sometimes...^^;

Tenshi, I would go along with what the others are saying.. ^^; I think I ahve heard that if you remember your dreams, you aren't getting good enough sleep.

[Tenshi no Ai]

I think I ahve heard that if you remember your dreams, you aren't getting good enough sleep.

You know what, I almost wonder if it's the opposite. I have a friend who's ADHD (controlled) and she can only get around 4 hours of sleep, the rest of the night she's lying awake thinking too much about creating different things to her story she's making and whatnot. Amazingly, she once stayed awake an ENTIRE WEEK without feeling fatigued in the least bit! >_< BUT she has NEVER ONCE remember a dream she had. She figures "oh yeah everyone dreams, but I guess I just never remember it".


Although everyone is mentioning with the good diet/ exercise thing (which I know I definitely have to work on :/) I still wonder if it's because I'm such a light sleeper and half the time seem to sleep like a dolphin (with only half my brain shut down, but the other is constantly thinking/dreaming at the same time while having my eyes open and toss and turn on occasion (does that ever happen to you, Ryan? Who also shares similar odd sleeping traits as me? Do you also ever have thinking/dreaming co inhabit each other, so your thinking is almost automatically working on its own while half awake, and occasionally making up a dream, yet at the same time it's not really YOU working on it, it's all your unconsciousness? Just curious^^)

Oy... I never stop thinking, whether awake, half asleep, or dreaming I'm ALWAYS thinking! >_<

[Cap'n Nick]

I don't think dreams are always an indicator of bad sleep, but remembering them every night could mean that something is up. I think it's noteworthy that you're recalling extremely long periods of dreaming and half-sleep. It's quite possible you're not getting enough of the deep sleep your body needs even with plenty of time to rest.

As for staying awake for long periods of time, there do seem to be a few people that can do it without side effects, but they're quite rare. Many more people think they're getting away with it when in reality they're suffering significant mental impairments. I read recently that missing an hour of sleep in a night results in a 1 point loss in IQ the next day, and every additional hour in the night causes a loss of 2 points. These losses are cumulative until the sleep debt is made up. I wonder how they measured such a thing, but I know that staying up late and getting up early can sure make me feel like a retard.

[SnoringFrog]

Benjamin franklin often slept with something in his hand, and a bucket underneath it so he'd wake right when he fell asleep, so he'd remember what he was dreaming and be able to write it down. I think Dreaming is wonderful and I wish I could do it more often... I'm honestly tempted to take nicotine patches even though I don't smoke, because they are said to cause more vivid dreaming...

Only tempted, though... i won't poison myself just to dream... Don't worry...

I found that I used to be able to induce more vivd dreams by downing 4-5 ounces of chocolate mik right before goign to bed ((I mean like, less than minutes before, if even 3)). I'd put a ton oc chocolate syrup in it too, once it was getting kinda close to milkshake thickness after I stirred it. Didn't taste too great then, actually, but I wanted the dreams.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

[quote="ChristianKitsune"]Ryan, can you explain sleep Paralysis? I think I might have it sometimes...^^]
Sleep Paralysis is when your mentally conscious (Means you can think, see, hear, etc) but your body is asleep. During this state you can't move (Unless you try to get up by sheer force, which does work) and you can also hear yourself breathing (which you have no control over).

It's actually pretty fun.

[ChristianKitsune]

Sleep Paralysis is when your mentally conscious (Means you can think, see, hear, etc) but your body is asleep. During this state you can't move (Unless you try to get up by sheer force, which does work) and you can also hear yourself breathing (which you have no control over).

It's actually pretty fun.

I HATE THAT!! It happens to me a lot...but really hasn't happened for quite a few weeks..it's the scariest thing I have ever encountered while I am asleep! >_<' Why does the body do this?! It's really scary!! I always feel like I am losing a battle or that I am dying LOL it's such a bizarre feeling!

I literally have to like...bite my cheeks or force myself awake... it's very tiring...

[JasonPratt]

I've been having lucid dreams all night every night for... gosh... 30 years now maybe? Usually stressful ones. Strike that, _always_ stressful ones: it takes lots of neurophysical energy to do that.

After a while, it gets old. {s} In fact, I'd be willing to bet if someone did an autopsy on me, my brain would look like it belonged to someone nearly twice my age. Up until a few years ago I could force a certain amount of control on them, and (usually) remember I was dreaming. That time appears to be permanently past now. Yay. (not. {s})

No one has ever been able to do much for this, except to hypothesize that since I'm prone to depression my brain is in fact fighting that at night by lucid dreaming. Relatedly, anti-depressants tend to increase the strength and lucidity of one's dreams, or so I've been told by doctors. (Which is why I refuse to take anti-depressant medication. I need _more_ lucidly lucid dreams like I need a gaping putrescent wound in my head. {grimace})

So, check the diet and the exercise, but don't bet on those: my diet is more low-key than average, I gave up caffiene for all practical purposes years ago, and while I'm not in the best physical shape possible I'm not overweight and I can still teach swordfighting. {g} Apparently, sometimes we're just like this.

In which case, mark it, "To be fixed in the resurrection." {g!}

[Denimcat]

They say the average person has seven dreams a night, whether they remember or not. So happening to remember them shouldn't really make a difference, I don't think.

[Tenshi no Ai]

They say the average person has seven dreams a night, whether they remember or not.

Somehow I disagree with that. Although with REM your mind is active, yes, I don't think people necessarily HAVE to be dreaming (whether or not the scans say that or not). When I have/had a dream I'm at least AWARE that something went on, even if I don't remember having one. Then again with dreaming every single night, maybe I'm not too average^^

[Hotarubi]

So lately I haven't had the best sleeps and quite a dose of fatigue. I'm beginning to wonder if me dreaming too much is a partial contribution to it all?

For me, it's EXTREMELY rare for me to not dream once during the night (well, moreso morning, really^^) and I always think it's odd for people who say that they never/rarely dream. But I was just thinking how dreaming is a different stage of sleep than when you actually get your rest, since REM is where it's as IF you're awake, according to brain activity and eyes moving around, (and in most cases for me, I AM half asleep when I dream and end up rolling around in bed while dreaming and/or have my eyes open and have a sort of hallucination-type dream that involve my bedroom surroundings). Stage 4 sleep it's as if I don't get enough of. It's VERY rare for me to go a whole night without dreaming and/or waking up once, and that's where I should be getting more rest....

So hmm... do you think too much REM sleep can almost be a bad thing, and have negative consequences with my already not the best diet and little exercise? I mean, lately (except today and yesterday I've been good) no matter HOW late I sleep in and how many hours of actual sleep I get, I'm still extremely tired when I wake up, and also have had an overdose of dreaming etc. (especially rolling around alot while dreaming, where I'm moreso awake than sleeping and it feels liek I'm not even sleeping at all, but I know I am from the dreams, and it just makes myself more tired... oy :/)

Wow, I am going through the same thing. *cry*

I'm so desperate to get better sleep that I've cut out all caffeine from my life and I'm tackling my diet and exercise next.

I'm going to change my schedule around as well, and see if that helps. (I'm a total night owl )

If anything works for me, I'll PM you and let you know.

Would you please do the same for me?

I miss getting restful sleep!!!

[Bobtheduck]

Somehow I disagree with that. Although with REM your mind is active, yes, I don't think people necessarily HAVE to be dreaming (whether or not the scans say that or not). When I have/had a dream I'm at least AWARE that something went on, even if I don't remember having one. Then again with dreaming every single night, maybe I'm not too average^^

Well, you're just going on your own best guesses... During the dreams, the parts of the brain for vision and memory and imagination are all activated... Those are pretty clear things to pick up in the scans.

In tests with people who say they never dream, their sleep was interrupted during these periods, and every single time, they woke up recalling their dreams... If you don't remember your dreams, you didn't wake at the right time. Everyone dreams, just not everyone wakes at the right time in the sleep cycle to remember them.

I honestly think it's absurd to suggest that remembering your dreams is a bad thing, or that there could be too much dreaming short of oversleeping... It is one of the things that makes my often dull life worth living and inspires me to write. You often have more vivid dreams when certain things are going on in your body that can be negative, however. I think you're placing blame on the wrong thing.

[Hotarubi]

I honestly think it's absurd to suggest that remembering your dreams is a bad thing, or that there could be too much dreaming short of oversleeping... It is one of the things that makes my often dull life worth living and inspires me to write. You often have more vivid dreams when certain things are going on in your body that can be negative, however. I think you're placing blame on the wrong thing.

In my case, I wake up ragged and worn out because I've been too active during my sleep.
It's like all I did was dream...I didn't get any actual "rest" at all.
I don't know what on earth is causing my dream life to be so darn active.
I wake up feeling like I've run a marathon.

[JasonPratt]

In my case, I wake up ragged and worn out because I've been too active during my sleep.
It's like all I did was dream...I didn't get any actual "rest" at all.
I don't know what on earth is causing my dream life to be so darn active.
I wake up feeling like I've run a marathon.

Ditto. I actually have had to spend an hour or so every morning for the past 30ish years trying to rest up from my night's sleep!

The good news is that my body does apparently rest. But I recall a doctor once pointing out that 10 hours of strenuous mental exercise burns as much bioenergy as an intense physical workout. Well, when you have to sleep about 10 hours a day, and much of that is spent dreaming at high intensity... Suffice to say it's leaving increasingly less energy (so to speak) every day for other more profitable strenuous mental exercises. {g} Honestly, I'd rather just be in a coma.

It obviously leaves me vulnerable to emotional stress as well.

[Bobtheduck]

In my case, I wake up ragged and worn out because I've been too active during my sleep.
It's like all I did was dream...I didn't get any actual "rest" at all.
I don't know what on earth is causing my dream life to be so darn active.
I wake up feeling like I've run a marathon.

That's not from dreaming... When you dream, you're paralyzed. You're not that active... Just your brain, which doesn't wear you down. Your brain cycling through the things it does during dreaming is part of rest... A necessary part, even. The fatigue from something else. Without dreams, you won't gain abilities and you'll eventually go crazy from not giving your brain the chance to sort things out.

It seems a lot of people here have the wrong ideas about dreaming and sleep. Dreaming itself is never your enemy (well, maybe nightmares.) In every case where you think dreaming is doing you harm, it's actually something else.

[Hotarubi]

That's not from dreaming... When you dream, you're paralyzed. You're not that active... Just your brain, which doesn't wear you down. Your brain cycling through the things it does during dreaming is part of rest... A necessary part, even. The fatigue from something else. Without dreams, you won't gain abilities and you'll eventually go crazy from not giving your brain the chance to sort things out.

It seems a lot of people here have the wrong ideas about dreaming and sleep. Dreaming itself is never your enemy (well, maybe nightmares.) In every case where you think dreaming is doing you harm, it's actually something else.

Do you have any idea what the actual problem is then, if it's not excess dreaming?

[Hotarubi]

If people lost an IQ point for every missed hour of sleep, then we'd have a FAR higher rate of mental retardation (Because the meaning or that is an IQ below 70. IQ can not be regained, so maybe what you're talking about is general functioning ability, which can.) because we already have a lot of people with crazy sleep schedules and insomnia. I usually get about 4-6 hours of sleep a night, when the ideal for my age is about 10. But I'm still as smart as ever

Wow, 10 is too much!
10-10+ hours of sleep can actually contribute to illnesses such as diabetes.

[itch]

I'm not sure if something like this was said or not but, dreams are definately a good thing. Too many can, obviously, cause a restless night though. I recently woke in the middle of the night from a dream that was extremely stressful. I awoke breathing heavily with a pain in my chest from the stress. Yes, I also think they are a sign of a good imagination, (or the attempt at one). Do you injest much caffeine?

[Bobtheduck]

Wow, 10 is too much!
10-10+ hours of sleep can actually contribute to illnesses such as diabetes.

See, that's another problem... Sleep needs are different for every person, and different depending on what point in your life you're at. 10 hours is a good amount of sleep for a lot of people, and for some people, they need about 6.

As for what else could be causing the problem but sleep, I don't know... i'm not you, I'm not your doctor. I just said blaming dreaming is wrong. I KNOW it's not the dreaming that's causing your problems. Dreaming doesn't wear you out.

[Hotarubi]

Sleep needs are different for every person, and different depending on what point in your life you're at. 10 hours is a good amount of sleep for a lot of people, and for some people, they need about 6.

Clinical studies show that adults getting 10+ hours of sleep per night causes insulin resistance, leading to diabetes.
That amount of sleep can also lead to depression, and it's also a side effect of depression itself.
That can't be a good thing, lol.

[Cap'n Nick]

Yes, this measurement did refer to performance ability. Also note that I mentioned that a small percentage of people do seem able to sleep less without manifest performance penalties. However, I must still stress that this is a very small percentage. The number of people that think they are getting away with it while actually suffering performance hits is much, much larger.

[Tenshi no Ai]

As an update, things have really been thrown off for me :/ The warm/hot weather hasn't helped either :/

lately I've been somewhat insomniatic and it takes me a couple hours to get to sleep which is rare for me nowadays (having a non-stop brain doesn't help either). But it's weird because even when I DO get to sleep and dream, my body still thinks I'm fully awake and still not getting any sleep...

Anyone get that? Where it feels like you hardly slept ALL night, but since you dreamt it's proof that you have? When I did wake up from my dream though I felt wide-awake and even in the mornign I'm like feeling energized and up and good to go. Well, I haven't been feeling good and a few days ago I felt THE most tired I've EVER been in my life and came home from work and slept on and off till 5PM... probably threw my sleeping pattern off^^ So now trying to wake up early so I'll be forced to get to sleep more earlier (make it MUCH easy for work) in hopes that things will be back to normal and boot my insomnia away >_<