Thread: No REM.

For the past few days I've been trying to up my recall with my dreams. The only problem with my sleep is that I have insomnia and that I sleep so lightly that feel like I never go into REM. I can pretty much vaguely recall entire hours just tossing and turning. Unless my dreams consist of me moving positions again and again, then I have no clue about what to do.

I'm basically at the bottom level of experience when it comes to Lucid Dreaming. First, I need to get my sleep back together, then I need to have more vivid dreams, then I need to be able to recall them better, and then i can start to attempt to lucid dream.

Where the problem lies in all of this is my light sleeping pattern. I never almost never sleep deeply and it takes more forever to fall asleep.

Any ideas as to what I should do? Thanks!

How many hours are you usually awake for, during the day? Also, have you been to a doctor about your sleep pattern? If not, I'd recommend doing that to see if they can help you in any way.

I have some nights like this, but only occasionally. What I do the next day before sleeping is meditate for a while. This helps to clear my mind, so I can get to sleep more easily. It tends to happen when I'm particularly stressed, or just when I have a lot on my mind, so my final question is this. Are you stressed in your life, or does your average day involve a lot of thinking about things?

ShockWave.

Well during the day i'm usually awake from 7am - 10pm. Usually around 10 I start to get tired. And yeah I've been to a doctor about my sleeping pattern. I used to actually be an extremely heavy sleeper and the doctor concluded that I had clinical depression which made me have no motivation to get up. I then started seeing a psychiatrist for clinical depression and now I'm taking medication to increase serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine levels (Prozac and Wellbutrin). The medication works, I no longer have clinical depression but I believe the fact these medications which are stimulants is probably causing me to become a really light sleeper. I've also read somewhere as well that people have reported losses in creativity and imagination with Prozac, so I can see myself why this medication is probably not helping me sleep better.

Is there anyways to increase vividness of dreams and/or creativity levels? I also think I'll give meditation a try, I usually have a lot of things on my mind so I'm sure it will help.

Originally Posted by Quantiq

and now I'm taking medication to increase serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine levels (Prozac and Wellbutrin). The medication works, I no longer have clinical depression but I believe the fact these medications which are stimulants is probably causing me to become a really light sleeper. I've also read somewhere as well that people have reported losses in creativity and imagination with Prozac, so I can see myself why this medication is probably not helping me sleep better.

Is there anyways to increase vividness of dreams and/or creativity levels? I also think I'll give meditation a try, I usually have a lot of things on my mind so I'm sure it will help.

You could talk to your doctor about possibly test driving a lower dosage? It's pretty clear these drugs are directly resulting in insomnia, which is still very deleterious to your physical/mental health even though they artificially make you feel better. It's wonderful that you aren't depressed anymore btw, and I'd never suggest you stop taking meds or anything like that. But taking certain meds means that you will be sacrificing certain aspects of your life...such as dream recall and even creativity. I do speak from experience. Although, your body will probably adjust itself with time and you'll recover your dream recall. At least, this was the case for me.

Vitamin B6 is good for increasing vividness. You could also try Galantamine/choline. Melatonin is great for helping to fall asleep.

Some people have said that certain substances help increase vividness, such as drinking Apple Juice before going to bed. None of this is proven, however, so I wouldn't rely on it to increase your vividness. What I would do is try a mantra as you're going to sleep, as that may help to make the dream more vivid.

Also, if you're thinking about trying meditation, you're welcome to take my Meditation class in the DV Academy once it begins. The first lesson will be posted on August 10.

Meditation (ShockWave) (click)

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask

ShockWave.

I have been an insomniac for decades. This is a frustrating condition that was the bane of my existence . I write extensively about insomnia at my site. Click here and then click on Sleep blog. Maybe some of my ramblings will help you. Good luck!

Originally Posted by ShockWave

Some people have said that certain substances help increase vividness, such as drinking Apple Juice before going to bed. None of this is proven, however, so I wouldn't rely on it to increase your vividness. What I would do is try a mantra as you're going to sleep, as that may help to make the dream more vivid.

Also, if you're thinking about trying meditation, you're welcome to take my Meditation class in the DV Academy once it begins. The first lesson will be posted on August 10.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask

ShockWave.

That's awesome! I'd love to take a meditation class, I'll definitely sign up.

Originally Posted by nina

You could talk to your doctor about possibly test driving a lower dosage? It's pretty clear these drugs are directly resulting in insomnia, which is still very deleterious to your physical/mental health even though they artificially make you feel better. It's wonderful that you aren't depressed anymore btw, and I'd never suggest you stop taking meds or anything like that. But taking certain meds means that you will be sacrificing certain aspects of your life...such as dream recall and even creativity. I do speak from experience. Although, your body will probably adjust itself with time and you'll recover your dream recall. At least, this was the case for me.

Vitamin B6 is good for increasing vividness. You could also try Galantamine/choline. Melatonin is great for helping to fall asleep.

Yeah, I find that the worst part of the medication is probably the loss in creativity. I actually know some people who suffer from depression as well and are taking similar SSRIs and they all say the same thing, that their creativity is lowered. However, I think its only a small side effect to a medication which dramatically improves the state of your mental health. The only thing I find strange is the fact that this hasn't been studied or documented scientifically even though many people speak from experience that it does so.

Anyways, thanks for the advice. I'm definitely not going to stop the medication because other than the creativity and insomnia the results have been astonding. I'll see if I can talk to my phychiatrist about lowering the dose though because that will probably help my sleep.

Originally Posted by faceonmars

I have been an insomniac for decades. This is a frustrating condition that was the bane of my existence . I write extensively about insomnia at my site. Click here and then click on Sleep blog. Maybe some of my ramblings will help you. Good luck!

Thanks, faceonmars, its some really good advice. Its great to have someone who suffers from the same condition because you can relate.