Question
Hi,
I've just been reading a post sent by a 17 year old girl who said she experiences hallucinations when she should be asleep. I have also had these experiences. As far as I can remember I have always had vivid dreams and have talked in my sleep and I have also experienced various hallucinations. When I was around 5 years old, I remember 'seeing' a figure of a man crawl under my bed, I was so terrified and convinced I'd seen it, it took me a small age before I'd sleep back in my own bed! I also seen three figures of Bertie Bassett (!) stood at my bedroom door and couldn't face those kinds of sweets ever again!
It is only recently however, that they have started to become much more frequent and vivid. I have seen my mum standing in my room asking me to follow her out onto the landing and I have followed her, only to realise that once I'm out of bed, reaching for my light, she os not there and never has been. I have also seen a small girl sat on my bed who looked up at me when I asked who she was, again only to vanish when i think I wake up fully. I have dreamt that I've been able to see through walls into the adjacent bedrooms and have had full conversations with people on the other side. I also see quite frequently of spiders crawling up my walls and curtains, making me dash out of bed and switch on the light.....and then try to convince myself they were never there in the first place.
It is only very recently they seem to have gotten 'worse'. I have sent text messages off my mobile phone to my boyfriend being totally unaware until I get a confused text from him the following morning! I have only the other night, found myself trying to position one of my teddies on my pillow for an xray thinking/seeing that it was a small dog needing to be xrayed (I am studying to become a vet)!
There are plenty of other examples, all seemingly harmless, however I do have the horrifc nightmare, leaving me unable to go back to sleep for hours later.
I was just wondering if this is at all normal as its now beginning to concern me and my partner!
Thanks,
Gemma
Answer
What you are experiencing is called hypnangogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis,The brain and body should go to sleeep and awaken together however once in a while there is a lag of a nano second and one is dreaming with ones eyes open unable to move at times and dreams are so vivid that even after they have come out of it, they still may think someone is in the room and fear going back to sleep. If this happens all the time and your daytime wakefulness is being affected then it could be a sleeping disorder called narcolepsy. However if it happens once in awhile, not to worry, you say it happens often you can 3 hours before bedtime stay away from alcohol, tea, coffee, caffeine, caramel colored soda like coke pepsi gingerale, root bear chocolate and exercise.as these make for restless sleep.30 minutes before bedtime take a hot bath and immerse palms of hands under the water as this sends impulses to the brain to relax and l5 minutes before bedtime drink a glass of warm milk, milk contains tryptophan a natual amino acid sleep inducer. If all else fails, consider going to a sleep center for a sleep evaluation as you may need to be put on antidepressant meds, not in antideprssant doses but small doses as these hold back the vivid dreams. go to sleepnet.com click on disorders narcolepsy to read about these 2 symptoms, your local hospital can refer you to a sleep center. feel free to email again karel
