Dream Within A Dream?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
June 11, 2012 8:42am CST
I had a weird night's sleep that's for sure! I always do whenever something important is upcoming, like my job interview this Friday (the date's been changed).
The thing is; I cannot figure out what's happened. All I remember is "waking up" as I felt I was choking and could not breathe. My heart was beating VERY FAST in my chest and this was the scariest part.
But..when I woke up again sometime later I thought..did I just dream the fact I was choking and experiencing a very fast heartbeat or did it actually happen?
The feeling was similar to the sleep paralysis I have experienced a couple of times..you know, when the brain wakes up before the body does and, try as I might, I can't move! This time, I could move but - like I said, I don't know if I was dreaming the above or not.
Was it Jim Morrison who said that "People are Strange?"
Haha!
The feeling was similar to the sleep paralysis I have experienced a couple of times..you know, when the brain wakes up before the body does and, try as I might, I can't move! This time, I could move but - like I said, I don't know if I was dreaming the above or not.
Was it Jim Morrison who said that "People are Strange?"
Haha!4 people like this
11 responses
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
11 Jun 12
Something similar happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I woke up and my heart was racing and I could not calm down. I must have been having a bad dream or something but I didn't remember any dream that I had, had which is odd because I am a very vivid dreamer and often remember my dreams. I was really scared at the way my heart was beating like that. It took a few minutes to get calmed down. I got up and took my blood pressure because I thought I was having a heart attack or something but my blood pressure was oddly not that high, it was a bit higher than normal but not in any danger zone or anything like that. I think sometimes our bodies just do strange things at night.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jun 12
That sounds a very similar experience to the one I had and I thought I was having a heart attack as well..but the difference with me is I didn't get up and got back to sleep OK (albeit in a state) and it's this that's confusing me as I could've been dreaming it all. I mean, why didn't I get up like you did as it's a panicky feeling isn't it, when the heart beats fast like that.
You are right about our bodies doing strange things in the night. I reckon I'm taking after my Dad as he tells me most of his dreams are very odd, the ones he remembers anyway!
You are right about our bodies doing strange things in the night. I reckon I'm taking after my Dad as he tells me most of his dreams are very odd, the ones he remembers anyway!1 person likes this
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
13 Jun 12
We certainly did both have odd experiences, it is possible you were dreaming it. I have had nightmares where I thought I had woke up from the nightmare but it was still going on and then I wake up for real. That is the worst as it really freaks me out. That's when I have to turn a light on before I can go back to sleep, makes me feel like a 5 year old, but I just don't like being freaked out like that.
@inertia4 (27961)
• United States
18 Jun 12
It could have been a dream within a dream. But it could have also happened and then you just fell right back to sleep. I had something like that happen to me many years ago. I don't know to this day if I was dreaming or not. But I know I was sleeping or so I thought. I could not open my eyes or even move my body no matter hard I tried. I was aware of everything ring on around me. But I just could not move. So what I did was give up and lay there. And at some point I woke up and thought it was a dream. Strange.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
18 Jun 12
What you experienced was DEFINITELY sleep paralysis. It has happened to me. The brain wakes up before the body does!
http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/commonsleepdisorders/a/Sleep_Paralysis.htm
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58675)
• Delhi, India
19 Jun 12
Hi!
I think it happens sometimes that we see a dream in our dream. Dreams are a kind of outlet to live our hidden or unfulfilled desire. Our sub-conscious mind keeps awake and keep working even when we sleep and our sub-conscious mind takes us to the world of dreams.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
19 Jun 12
Hello!
Sometimes I'm guilty of day-dreaming way too much as well but I believe it's a good thing - stops the boredom setting in!
@BarBaraPrz (45498)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
11 Jun 12
Interesting. If it happens again, maybe you should check with your doctor, just to be on the safe side.
Last week I dreamt I was a clown who had a phobia about clowns...
@BarBaraPrz (45498)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
13 Jun 12
It was some kind of clown convention with rows and rows of clowns sitting in high-backed pews and I was ducking down trying to hide... that's all I remember. I don't particularly like clowns, either.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jun 12
You HAVE to elaborate on this as I'm intrigued now! Personally, I cannot stand clowns but - ironically, one of my favourite books of all time is "It" by Stephen King about...er..(mainly) an evil clown!
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16533)
• China
12 Jun 12
Here we have a saying "people dream of what they think of in the day time."So far as I know,the dream sometimes has to do with a sleeper's posture,for example if you have a heavy bedding or you put your hand on your chest when you sleep,you may have nightmare where you feel choking as if something presses heavily upon you ;if you like to sleep with your knees drawn up,you may dream that terrible monsters and the like are chasing you and it can't help no matter how you try to run away.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jun 12
Sometimes I will sleep with my hands under my face (led on my side) and I do indeed like to sleep with my knees drawn up. It's called the "feutus position" as it's what babies tend to do in the womb.
It could well be that I was chased by something in my dream. I remember being frightened, I know that much..but analysts reckon that bad dreams don't necessarily mean bad things will happen during the day.
Well, that's a relief!
@changjiangzhibin89 (16533)
• China
13 Jun 12
I don't believe that the dream can bode ill or well either.The dream just pieces together things happened in real life.
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
12 Jun 12
Sometimes I think there are things which happen sort of to the collective consciousness.. not that I believe there is a one consciousness all share or anything.. but that there is connection and sometimes when things are quickly changing, many people reflect it in their dreams.. Social climates reflected in our dreams..?
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jun 12
Could be! I do know that my dreams are weird whenever anything important comes up (like this interview on Friday) but I guess it's my brain's way of dealing with it, otherwise I'd probably be awake all night!
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
18 Jun 12
It does sound like sleep paralysis, which can be somewhat different every time you experience it. I have also had very vivid dreams of choking or experiencing something otherwise just as unpleasant. It's possible you were fully asleep, or maybe half asleep having a false-awakening type dream while coughing in your sleep in reality to produce even more realism in your dream. Don't know, but it is possible to have highly vivid dreams like the one you describe. If you got up and felt fine, I doubt it was anything to be worried about.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
18 Jun 12
Whatever it was, it was weird and I'm glad it doesn't happen every day, I can tell you that!
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
11 Jun 12
While I rather thought that I had woke up and was choking, there were times where there were dreams within dreams that I have. Of course, you never really know how deep the layer of dreams could go. Before we are trapped right in the land of the mind forever. Before, we are unable to find our way out and go back right to the battle.
Yeah there are times where the body and the brain are not in sync. And it can be rather hard. There are times where I have had both the brain not waking up quickly and the body also not waking up rather quick. Then again, the actual realm of dreams is something we are going to be debating until the end of time. There is so much insanity and what not that we can not even begin.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
11 Jun 12
I do remember many of my dreams as well which isn't something my husband can do. Fortunately, most of them have been happy or weird!
@sleepincot (31)
• United States
26 Jun 12
This instantly reminded me of the movie "Inception". Yes, this happened to me except I remember everything that happened. To make a long story short I dreamed about waking up from a dream in which I woke up from a dream. Thankfully nowadays I only have "normal" dreams.
