mimsey borogrove
Well-known member
Oh-kay. Let us go back to when I was, oh say 12 ish. My parents owned a house that was 3 stories, and our bedrooms were on the top floor, the middle was the motel reception, and some guest rooms, and the bottom floor was our small restaurant. I could not begin to tell you why my mom had me sleep downstairs in one of the empty guest rooms, but she did. And that's where the scary story begins...
I never under stood the why of this, but it scared the hell out of me when it happened, until I read about a particular phenomenon 3 days ago, and understood the "why"
I crawl under the covers, my mom gives me a kiss and leaves, turning the light off as she goes. I am sorta asleep when this strange feeling overtakes me - I can not move. Not any single part of my body. I start to freak out. What is going on? Remember the ad campaign for Alien - "No one can hear you scream in space?" How bout: You can't scream at all!! Your body will not respond no matter what you do. My head would not move. My hands would not move. My feet would not move, nor my mouth. Not one single muscle anywhere could I move. I uselessly raged against my inert body. I was terrified. Finally it did. Whether from will power or the grace of God, I regained control of my body.
There was instant relief. Then the niggling doubt began...
Would it happen again? Would I be trapped in an unresponsive body tomorrow night? The night after? Is this what it's like when you are dead? Was I dead?
I have been reading Mathew Walker's book, and 3 days ago I found the answer. See, there are REM and DREM sleep. REM sleep is when you are dreaming. Mathew is discussing muscle tone and I am faithfully reading along - did you know that while your body has the most muscle tone when awake, and however, the second most is in DREM sleep? Yep it's true. You ain't fully relaxed in DREM sleep.
But REM sleep, your body is completely cut off from the dreaming mind. it only makes sense - with all the chaos that goes on during a dream, all hell would happen to you, if your body wasn't, how to put this, "disconnected" from your dreaming brain.
Reading that was when I had my Ah Hah! moment. I was in a lucid dream - fully conscious - but the body was in REM sleep and it was immobile. I was completely unable to over ride the switch. I was fully awake, trapped in an unresponsive body. Right out of Edgar Allen Poe's stories "The Premature Burial", 'Bernice" "The Fall of the House of Usher" and the phobia of being buried alive. That was lil' ol' me - wide awake, stuck in an unresponsive body fully in REM sleep and scared shitless.
Great book. Mimsey
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Hardcover – October 3, 2017
“Why We Sleep is an important and fascinating book…Walker taught me a lot about this basic activity that every person on Earth needs. I suspect his book will do the same for you.” —Bill Gates
A New York Times bestseller and international sensation, this “stimulating and important book” (Financial Times) is a fascinating dive into the purpose and power of slumber.
Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when we don't sleep. Compared to the other basic drives in life—eating, drinking, and reproducing—the purpose of sleep remained elusive.
An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. Within the brain, sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming mollifies painful memories and creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge to inspire creativity.
Walker answers important questions about sleep: how do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What really happens during REM sleep? Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us and can they do long-term damage? Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and accessible, Why We Sleep is a crucial and illuminating book.
I never under stood the why of this, but it scared the hell out of me when it happened, until I read about a particular phenomenon 3 days ago, and understood the "why"
I crawl under the covers, my mom gives me a kiss and leaves, turning the light off as she goes. I am sorta asleep when this strange feeling overtakes me - I can not move. Not any single part of my body. I start to freak out. What is going on? Remember the ad campaign for Alien - "No one can hear you scream in space?" How bout: You can't scream at all!! Your body will not respond no matter what you do. My head would not move. My hands would not move. My feet would not move, nor my mouth. Not one single muscle anywhere could I move. I uselessly raged against my inert body. I was terrified. Finally it did. Whether from will power or the grace of God, I regained control of my body.
There was instant relief. Then the niggling doubt began...
Would it happen again? Would I be trapped in an unresponsive body tomorrow night? The night after? Is this what it's like when you are dead? Was I dead?
I have been reading Mathew Walker's book, and 3 days ago I found the answer. See, there are REM and DREM sleep. REM sleep is when you are dreaming. Mathew is discussing muscle tone and I am faithfully reading along - did you know that while your body has the most muscle tone when awake, and however, the second most is in DREM sleep? Yep it's true. You ain't fully relaxed in DREM sleep.
But REM sleep, your body is completely cut off from the dreaming mind. it only makes sense - with all the chaos that goes on during a dream, all hell would happen to you, if your body wasn't, how to put this, "disconnected" from your dreaming brain.
Reading that was when I had my Ah Hah! moment. I was in a lucid dream - fully conscious - but the body was in REM sleep and it was immobile. I was completely unable to over ride the switch. I was fully awake, trapped in an unresponsive body. Right out of Edgar Allen Poe's stories "The Premature Burial", 'Bernice" "The Fall of the House of Usher" and the phobia of being buried alive. That was lil' ol' me - wide awake, stuck in an unresponsive body fully in REM sleep and scared shitless.
Great book. Mimsey
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Hardcover – October 3, 2017
“Why We Sleep is an important and fascinating book…Walker taught me a lot about this basic activity that every person on Earth needs. I suspect his book will do the same for you.” —Bill Gates
A New York Times bestseller and international sensation, this “stimulating and important book” (Financial Times) is a fascinating dive into the purpose and power of slumber.
Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when we don't sleep. Compared to the other basic drives in life—eating, drinking, and reproducing—the purpose of sleep remained elusive.
An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. Within the brain, sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming mollifies painful memories and creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge to inspire creativity.
Walker answers important questions about sleep: how do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What really happens during REM sleep? Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us and can they do long-term damage? Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and accessible, Why We Sleep is a crucial and illuminating book.
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