Do you ever have life-like dreams?

[Grall]

I had one this morning where I thought I had just woken up and gone out of bed, while in reality I was still sleeping. In my dream, I was in my apartement, trying to turn on the lights (which would not come on, and it was completely dark), and pulling bunches of lose strands out of my hair - like a fistful of it, although I don't have any fear of actually losing my hair... On the floor of my apartement was bits of a shredded flimsy plastic bag, like those superthin ones you put fruit and stuff in at the supermarket. Don't ask me why.

In my dream, I was also told a terribly corny joke - and it's possible I actually invented it, in my sleep. Here's the joke (in Swedish, so gobbledygook warning for the rest of you... )

"- Vad heter världens mest deprimerade fransman?

- ???

- Deppar Dieu."

/facepalm

I then, still believing I was awake, standing in my kitchen in my dark apartement, heard a startlingly loud grinding noise. A sense of intense horror suddenly came over me, I jerked, and then I really was awake. It would now seem the loud noise I heard in my dream might have been the car-horn ringtone of my iPhone, which was lying on the kitchen table, because a woman called shortly afterwards to cancel an important meeting I was supposed to have had later today...although checking my phone now I see no missed calls, so I dunno what that noise in my dream was supposed to represent or why I heard it...

 

[Davros]

I had a dream I was awake and when i woke up I was - spooky,

 

[pcchen]

Some years ago I had trouble sleeping and sometimes when I was asleep I "woke up" to find out that I was paralyzed. Of course, the truth is I was still asleep, but the sensation is very real, as I can see everything around me very well, and it's only after that I found some weird dents on my arm I found out that I was probably dreaming. Then I desperately tried to wake up but couldn't. It's a very terrible experience. There seems to be a term for this symptom, aptly named "sleep paralysis."

This is probably not a "dream" in a traditional sense, but still.

 

[homerdog]

Some years ago I had trouble sleeping and sometimes when I was asleep I "woke up" to find out that I was paralyzed. Of course, the truth is I was still asleep, but the sensation is very real, as I can see everything around me very well, and it's only after that I found some weird dents on my arm I found out that I was probably dreaming. Then I desperately tried to wake up but couldn't. It's a very terrible experience. There seems to be a term for this symptom, aptly named "sleep paralysis."

This is probably not a "dream" in a traditional sense, but still.

That happened to me the other day. I was staying at my parents house and according to my mom started screaming in my sleep. The only time something like that has ever happened, and it was scary as hell.

 

[Otto Dafe]

Some years ago I had trouble sleeping and sometimes when I was asleep I "woke up" to find out that I was paralyzed. Of course, the truth is I was still asleep, but the sensation is very real, as I can see everything around me very well, and it's only after that I found some weird dents on my arm I found out that I was probably dreaming. Then I desperately tried to wake up but couldn't. It's a very terrible experience. There seems to be a term for this symptom, aptly named "sleep paralysis."

This is probably not a "dream" in a traditional sense, but still.

Yeah when you're asleep you're brain actually blocks your brain stem from connecting to the rest of your nervous system. Which on the one hand is great e.g. if you dream about running you don't actually run, and so forth. Problem being if you become lucid and partially aware of your surroundings you're still paralyzed. Another thing is your eyes will sometimes flick open and so you'll end up dreaming about exactly where you are, which is at the least disconcerting and usually terrifying. Sometimes you'll "wake up" 5 or ten times in a new dream, in your bedroom.

I'd say watch the caffeine and alcohol consumption, those would be likely culprits.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I've had some pretty crazy waking dreams, where I've seen people and objects in my room, that have faded away as I came to. It's a good thing I'm not superstitious, or I'd probably think I was living in a ghost-infested apartment.