Quote Originally Posted by CloudArchitect View Post
During both of these attempts, I've gotten to a stage where I can see mild swirling colours and things that look like electronic static flying around my eyes, but during this phase my body starts to feel really strange and my breathing gets heavier and increases in rate and I start to feel actually more alert rather than like I'm going deeper in which stops the imagery completely. :/
You were experiencing Hypnogogic images. Hypnogogia can also come in the form of sounds. You were in a form of self-hypnosis that we go through every night known as the Theta brainwave state. This occurs directly before Deep Delta brainwave sleep. You were on the cusp of entering non- REM dreaming lucid. I have experienced very similar things. It is tough to let go of the conscious state when strange things are happening to your body. Remind yourself next time that these things will happen, when you are trying to fall asleep, whether or not you are aware of them. The weirdness of staying aware during the sleep onset process, and coming to terms with it, is something you can master