Hallucinations before falling asleep?
When I was younger I used to experience hallucinations almost every night when I went to bed.
They were often sensations that were felt. For example it felt as if a cat was clawing me or someone was whacking me with a hollow object.
Also, I would hear entire sentences/speeches in voices I would not recognize that seemed to be right above my face. I would also occasionally see people walking around my room.
It would only happen if I tried to close my eyes and fall asleep before I was actually tired. I would open my eyes and still the sensations would not leave me.
My parents said it was an “overactive imagination,” and eventually the hallucinations came less and less frequently.
I was wondering if anyone else experienced something similar in the period between wakefulness and falling asleep.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
24 Answers
I never saw or felt anything, but when I was a lot younger, I always used to hear voices and random conversations. Some would begin in the middle, as if someone had switched a radio station or something. And they were the most random, weird things. About anything and everything. I know of a few other people who experienced the same thing – no idea why it happens.
I used to have hallucinations when I was drifting off to sleep when I was younger, about 5 or 6 years old.
I specifically remember seeing a book float off the shelf on the other side of the room, float/zoom horizontally and place itself back on the shelf in another spot.
I think its part of an over active imagination, combined with fear of the dark and also that as your body becomes more relaxed you may become more sensitive to things that get ignored during a busy day. Like your muscles may twitch lightly and you feel as if someone touched you. You become more aware of a breeze from an open window. Neighbors talking because the night is quiet and its easier to hear them.
@Pandora For me, the voices were nothing like that of neighbors. They weren’t distant, and there were too many different kinds of conversations and voices for it to be neighbors or family. And it was literally like someone would change a radio station, frequently, so that the voices and conversations I heard started in the middle, or end. I don’t think it was anything paranormal, but maybe something along the lines of subconscious thoughts or something.
Happening as a child, I agree with those who say it was a very active imagination. Hypnagogic and hynogenic hallucinations generally do not appear until the late teen years, and even then it’s with sleep deprivation or narcolepsy. Very few people really experience them, along with sleep paralysis. For some reason people on this site love to try to describe the experience as though they actually have. Pretty good entertainment though.
Perhaps if you lay off the Squid Cakes before bed. lolol
It is possible for anyone to hallucinate.It’s only worrisome when it is accompanied by distress, or if it interferes with your enjoyment of your daily life.
@thriftymaid
So, you’re saying I’m making it up?
Sorry, didn’t quite understand…
@squidcake My answer to you was included in the childhood active imagination. The rest of my answer was general.
That’s fascinating. I’m enthralled by self-induced altered-states-of-consciousness. Goes to show how wide the spectrum of perception truly is. I can vaguely recall a similar out of the ordinary sensation when I was younger; I felt like I was out of the body in a way, like I was this big cloud of feelings that was squeezing my attention through the tiny telescope that was my tiny tiny body, 100 in front of me; and every time I tried to test whether my body was still there, I would wiggle a toe, and it would feel like I was wiggling the world’s smallest toe like hundreds of feet away. It’s almost really hard to explain. I think it was a mild O.B.E.
I used to have the same experiences as @DrasticDreamer. It’s usually when I am just about to fall asleep, I hear random words and talking, some words suddenly become louder than others. Your mind gets caught between being conscious and unconscious. Sleeping is supposed to organise your thoughts and “re-energise” your mind for the next day, so I think it’s a state where your brain is mixed up in the middle of this re-organising phase.
I use to feel like i am falling down from some high spot when i am about to fall asleep, seeing people with huge faces gathering around me, specifically at a petrol station. i woke myself up most of the time,with heavy heart beats but fell asleep right away after convincing myself that its just my imagination.
That’s happened to me. I don’t remember much of it but I remember an incident I heard breathing and I freaked out and ran into my parents room. I often had to have them be in the room with me until I fell asleep. One time I actually felt as if I was a completely different person (not in a dream) and had thoughts as if I was like, Xena or something. I also suffered from night terrors until I was 11 or so. In addition, I would think a great deal about varying things (life, the universe, and everything if you will) from when I was very young.
Glad to know I wasn’t completely alone in this.
@tragiclikebowie
You are sharing a lot of commonalities for ‘giftedness’.
Look up the traits of gifted children. :-)
Yeah.I saw musical instruments flying around playing music.Once when I was like 5 I could swear there was a cat in my room.
yep…me too.. very similar to @DrasticDreamer but I also get very vivid pictures and faces specicially , very odd indeed :-/
Oh yes, before, during and after!!!!! Seriously, I suffer from night terrors and other such things!
i was just on google trying to figure out why, almost every single night before i fall asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night, i see intense hallucinations. the earliest i can remember this happening is when i was 7 years old and had a horrible fever, but they didnt really start happening this vividly and frequently until 2 years ago, ( im 18 now) i usually don’t hear anything, but the visuals are incredible. i get up out of bed and im either to scared to move, or i catch myself trying to touch whatever im seeing, or im fascinated by it and cant stop starring till i fall back asleep. I have no idea why this is happening, and last time i talked about it with someone they mentioned demon possession haha, which i highly doubt.
Response moderated (Spam)
I have them, and when I’m trying to fall sleep I have visions of people places and things, BUT when I open my eyes there are gone. I am not afraid cuz all I got to do is open them. Everntually they leave. Hope this helps you. The are not sacrey just dumb stuff.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
