nightmare

April 11, 2007 6:44 PM

So, when I fall asleep on my back I almost always have really intense, cold-sweat, dreams that are almost always very stressful and nightmarish. This never happens when I sleep on my side. Why is this?
posted by protocool to education (11 comments total)

previously.. doesn't look like any conclusive answers, but you're not alone.
posted by duckstab at 6:52 PM on April 11, 2007

More. Bride of more. Son of more. Hardy perennial on MeFi. Had one last night myself.
posted by rdc at 7:16 PM on April 11, 2007

It could be possible that when you fall asleep on your back, you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, and that is interfering with a normal sleep cycle.

If you do have sleep apnea, get it checked.
posted by frogan at 7:38 PM on April 11, 2007

Possibly enlarged tonsils oand/or adenoids? But most likely apnea.
posted by lekvar at 7:41 PM on April 11, 2007

Nthing apnea.

I had UPPP/septoplasty, and these problems (along with a slew of related issues like constant fatigue, morning headaches, horrible snoring) vanished.

(And, by the way, you don't have to be hurf-durf to have apnea. I'm 5'11" and 145 lbs.)
posted by dmd at 8:05 PM on April 11, 2007

Hi-5 on the UvuloPalatoPharyngeoPlasty dmd.
Mine helped, but boy was the recovery ever a bitch. The back of my throat has gone from high gothic to danish contemporary.

I vote apnea too.
posted by isopraxis at 8:40 PM on April 11, 2007

Do you not dream sleeping on your side or are they not nighmares¿
I love sleeping on my back, with my head between the pillows.
I love dreaming and yes occasionally they scare the crap out of me and are nightmarish and I wake up and think Jesus./ Then I write them down, have a mint tea if I can't get back to sleep. The fact I have them and remember them is a gift to me.
If they happen more than a few days in a row, I may take your advice and sleep on my side initially, gift or not./
posted by alicesshoe at 9:14 PM on April 11, 2007

Everything written in this thread will be mere speculation. Dreams are one of life's great mysteries. The more studies done - the more we realize we don't know much.
posted by Gerard Sorme at 9:34 PM on April 11, 2007

This has happened to me for as long as I can recall. If you think it's sleep apnea, I'll save you the useless trip to the doctor and tell you what mine told me about it.

1. To see if it really is sleep apnea, you'll have to do a sleep study. It costs. A lot. If you indeed have sleep apnea and your tonsils are the problem, you can get them sliced out after the study OR get a CPAP machine.

2. The easiest alternative to easier sleep/breathing is to sleep on your side. A body pillow will help you greatly in this quest.

However, I've found that if I want to sleep on my back I can do so without the horrible multiple nightmare shock therapy if I sleep with my arms crossed above my head.

FWIW, I recently inherited a salt lamp and I've been leaving it turned on when I sleep. I don't know if either the "negative ion" or whatever hocus pocus is working its magic or else its subtle nightlight qualities just make it less alarming during the mid-night wakings, but I must say I've been sleeping waaay better since I got it.
posted by zippity at 10:32 PM on April 11, 2007

I asked this a few weeks ago, and was not really taken seriously by many people. Oh, well. It still happens to me and I've become curious enough about it and dreams in general that I'm going to take a class on the psychology of dreams at New York University this summer.

I'll let you know if we come to any conclusions.
posted by infinityjinx at 11:57 PM on April 11, 2007

For what it's worth, I find that when I sleep in a position where my eyes aren't completely shut, my dreams are far more vivid. It happens rarely and than only for a short period of less than an hour.
posted by kc0dxh at 7:50 AM on April 12, 2007