How is it possible that I can dream in 10 minute bursts?
Asked by
Ame_Evil (
3051
)
February 26th, 2010
I haven’t really read any literature recently on sleeping and dreaming, but the last time I was reading on it I thought that REM was highly correlated to dreaming, but now I am not so sure based on what happens to me.
In the morning I set my alarm for 7:30am. I have lectures at 9am, so I generally set it earlier so I have time to wake up. What I often find is that I fall asleep again and wake up 10 mins later after having a dream. This happens perhaps 2–3 times before I get up for my shower at 8:20am. I was thinking that 10 mins is too fast to go straight to REM sleep even if I was facing severe sleep deprivation. I am mostly tired, but I always get at least 6 hours sleep a night.
So does anyone have any interesting research that links to this? Or do people have their own experiences where they dream in relatively short periods of time.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
10 Answers
You may still be dreaming.
I often dream in short bursts early in the morning too.
It does not seem to coincide with the normal REM cycle, which is charted here.
Eh I never studied it or anything, But I was under the influence that dreams occur most often during REM sleep, not that REM was required to dream.
That can actually be a sign of mild narcolepsy, because dreams do occur during the REM portion of the sleeping cycle. It doesn’t mean that what you’re experiencing is any kind of narcolepsy, just that it’s a possibility. You said that you’re usually tired, which can also be another sign of narcolepsy.
“For people suffering from narcolepsy, REM sleep occurs almost immediately in the sleep cycle as well as periodically during the waking hours. It is in REM sleep that we can experience dreams and muscle paralysis which explains some of the symptoms of narcolepsy.” – WebMD
GREAT QUESTION.. OH.. my caps are on.. sorry.. great question! i always wonder about this too. i dream 100% of the time while sleeping. there’s never a moment that i’m not dreaming. i don’t know when i have rem but i definitely am always dreaming.. and i’ve always heard it said that REM was related to dreaming. (i can never remember my dreams after a few minutes of being awake but i always know i have them)
In my experience, I often start dreaming even before I am unconscious. My perception of what is going on around me and the stories of it gets taken over by my dreaming mind, until the conscious part fades completely away, unless it’s interrupted.
Doesn’t everybody dream in tem minute bursts?
@davidbetterman Last time I read about this, you dream in very short bursts at the beginning of the evening as you cycle into REM sleep, and the dream bursts last longer and longer towards the morning.
@Zaku I find the opposite, that when I wake up I am still in a sort of dreaming state. For example this morning I had a dream that I was in my bedroom at home but woke up at my university bedroom thinking I was still in the other bedroom for a minute, worrying about doing this work as I was in my dream.
It is because your brain is still in the deep-sleep state, but you have regained consciousness.
It is one of the easiest times to bring on lucid dreaming also… very fun.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
