Dreamless Sleep
Question:
I swear for year I have not had any dreams. I could be I just don’t remember them. But I have symptoms that could be attributed to continuous dreamless or reduced dream sleep: Extreme mental fatigue Very poor concentration Reduced cognitive ability Don’t know if this is related, whenever I close my eyes, I can feel my eyeballs jumping around-almost like I am in REM sleep but I’m wide awake. Any one else have similar experiences?
Response:
I just went to a sleep lab and was diagnosed with REM behavioral disorder…… I don’t enter the REM stage at all.. I hadn’t dreamed for ages and woke up a lot durring the night…..it was like I was aware of what was going on in the room all night. I need 10 hours of sleep to feel rested…..now I take klonopin and have the wackiest dreams ever……but, I feel totally refreshed. it has also helped my sleep walking and talking…..lovejenb. FOR THIS SUMMER ONLY!!! MUPPET GIRL WILL BE…. Bone d…@aol.com ………..until i go back to school….lovejenb. STP is rad and don’t you forget it!!!!!!
Response:
m…@ix.netcom.com (Kevin M Murphy) wrote: ->I swear for year I have not had any dreams. I could be I just don’t ->remember them. But I have symptoms that could be attributed to ->continuous dreamless or reduced dream sleep: ->Extreme mental fatigue ->Very poor concentration ->Reduced cognitive ability I’ve had those three items for 25-30 years…… and I can’t sleep without dreams. No matter when I wake, or how long I’ve been alseep (though I rarely sleep for more than two or three hours without waking for a bit), I remember my dreams. I’d just like to sleep without dreaming… to get some mental rest. Perhaps someone can help us both……….
Response:
m…@ix.netcom.com (Kevin M Murphy) wrote: >I swear for year I have not had any dreams. I could be I just don’t >remember them. But I have symptoms that could be attributed to >continuous dreamless or reduced dream sleep: >Extreme mental fatigue >Very poor concentration >Reduced cognitive ability >Don’t know if this is related, whenever I close my eyes, I can feel my >eyeballs jumping around-almost like I am in REM sleep but I’m wide >awake. Any one else have similar experiences?
Kevin, Like you I swore for years I never dreamed. I later found I had many of the symptoms you describe plus excessive daytime sleepiness and the every- night cycle of snore-silence-gasp for breath. That turned out to be sleep apnea. Treated with CPAP, I’m a new man, now. And I do have dreams now. With my apnea I spent so little time in Stages 3 and 4 and REM sleep that I probably wasn’t dreaming very much at all. Dave Dave Hargett, dave_harg…@Prodigy.com Illinois Patient Coordinator for Wake Up America A.W.A.K.E. Coordinator – Elk Grove Village IL group
Response:
Kevin, You write: <I swear for year I have not had any dreams. I could be I just don’t <remember them. But I have symptoms that could be attributed to <continuous dreamless or reduced dream sleep: As I understand it, we only remember dreams when we wake up in the middle of one or very soon after one. So sometimes when people say, "I never dream" what is really happening is that they sleep quite soundly and don’t awaken during the night. It sounds as if you’re saying you used to be aware of dreaming, but that something has changed. If you’re dreaming a lot less or not at all, it could mean that you’re not getting very much deep NREM or REM sleep, where dreaming occurs. (Now, I’m not a sleep expert, but a medical writer who has read and written quite a bit about sleep, so don’t take this as gospel.) Lack of deep sleep can be caused by any of several sleep disorders (e.g. sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder) that disrupt the normal pattern of sleep frequently enough that you just don’t cycle down into deep sleep. Also, disrupted sleep can leave you sleepy and fatigued during the day. <Extreme mental fatigue <Very poor concentration <Reduced cognitive ability Do you snore or stop breathing during sleep? These are all potential signs of sleep apnea, and/or possibly other disorders that should be checked out. If I were you I would talk with a sleep specialist. Treatment can restore your sleep as well as your mental faculties and concentration. Best wishes, Sally in Seattle JSo…@aol.com
Response:
I a normal adult, dream recall is about 80% if arousal occurs after the REM phase. Remember that short term memory is typically lost within 4 minutes of sleep onset. These factors are all conditional in the presence of disturbed sleep. The manifestation of dream like activity during NREM slow wave sleep is usually associated with Night Terrors and REM Behavior Disorder, recall can be profound or absent. In my opinion, lack of dream recall alone is not justification for polysomnography, but in combination of other clinical signs and/or symptoms evaluation and by a physician knowledgable in sleep disorders is prudent. Regards, Bob… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->It sounds as if you’re saying you used to be aware of dreaming, but that >something has changed. If you’re dreaming a lot less or not at all, it >could mean that you’re not getting very much deep NREM or REM sleep, where >dreaming occurs. (Now, I’m not a sleep expert, but a medical writer who >has read and written quite a bit about sleep, so don’t take this as >gospel.) >Lack of deep sleep can be caused by any of several sleep disorders (e.g. >sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder) that disrupt the normal >pattern of sleep frequently enough that you just don’t cycle down into >deep sleep. Also, disrupted sleep can leave you sleepy and fatigued >during the day. ><Extreme mental fatigue ><Very poor concentration ><Reduced cognitive ability >Do you snore or stop breathing during sleep? These are all potential >signs of sleep apnea, and/or possibly other disorders that should be >checked out. If I were you I would talk with a sleep specialist. >Treatment can restore your sleep as well as your mental faculties and >concentration. >Best wishes, >Sally in Seattle >JSo…@aol.com
"This is only an personal opinion and should not be regarded as a professional consultation"
Response:
In article <4vqaer$…@mtinsc01-mgt.ops.worldnet.att.net>, alien.sp…@worldnet.att.net says… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->m…@ix.netcom.com (Kevin M Murphy) wrote: >->I swear for year I have not had any dreams. I could be I just don’t >->remember them. But I have symptoms that could be attributed to >->continuous dreamless or reduced dream sleep: >->Extreme mental fatigue >->Very poor concentration >->Reduced cognitive ability > I’ve had those three items for 25-30 years…… > and I can’t sleep without dreams. No matter when I wake, or > how long I’ve been alseep (though I rarely sleep for more than > two or three hours without waking for a bit), I remember my dreams. > I’d just like to sleep without dreaming… to get some mental rest. > Perhaps someone can help us both………. >This may be very far fetched but here goes. I was taking an overdose
of Melatonin for a while before I knew better. I couldn’t sleep without dreams and I had the same exhaustion, cognitative problem you describe. Do you suppose you could have an overload of natural melatonin? Maybe there’s something you could take to help balance your body’s chemistry.
