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Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
#1
Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
I have read articles in the sleep literature that discuss REM rebound in people who are beginning CPAP therapy. I have been experiencing a lot more dreams spending more time in REM. I'm wondering if anyone here has experienced a flashing of weird unrelated or connected images just before awakening. This has happened twice after a longish period of regular dreaming. It's kind of like when you speed up a camera roll and it flickers a bunch of pictures.
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#2
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
It is very common. Your brain has not had a chance to do much dreaming on its on and now is, basically, been turned loose in the playground with no supervision. Some people experience horrible nightmares.

I used to could play with my dreams. Pause, rewind fast forward, change characters, the works. Then I got the CPAP. My brain paid me back. The sleep doc offered a medication to help with it but I declined. I wasn't having nightmares, just weird, weird dreams.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#3
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
I use to never dream. It really sucked because I read all these stories about dreams and people getting inspiration from them, I felt I was missing something. Now with Cpap, I just started (2 weeks ago). I am DREAMING! and I love it. I can even remember what they were when I wake up.

Although most of my dreams consist of being connected to a machine or being a computer somehow..lol Still it's better than nothing Smile

I haven't had fast flickering images, more subversive in a dream world type stuff, but it's definitely a positive thing. I look forward to sleeping, never been like that before.

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#4
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
Since I have been on CPAP my dreams have come back. I have had some good ones, not so good, and really weird. But then, some folks consider me to be weird. I read somewhere that sleep and dreams give the brain a chance to reset itself. I guess mine is making up for lost time.
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#5
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
I have also had dreams and nightmares which I didn't have prior to going on CPAP. It is interesting to see others reporting the same thing here. I would never have mentioned it myself as I have always attributed them to the medication I am on rather than the CPAP therapy. (Both CPAP and meds were started at the same time). Possibly it is a combination of the two?
Does anyone know if this has been medically documented as an effect of CPAP therapy and exactly how it impacts dreams and/or nightmares during sleep- that is, how does increased oxygen levels affect the brain?
I realize that this question may be too technical for many (including me), but the knowledge of members of this Board never cease to amaze me.
To err is human, but to really mess things up, you need a computer.
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#6
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
Before CPAP, dreams were bad ones
Now I don,t miss them
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#7
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
I think it has to do more with the stage of sleep than with the oxygen levels. With us not waking up umpteen times an hour, we are getting better, deeper sleep and entering the dream stages more often or whatever.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#8
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
(01-29-2014, 05:46 PM)PaulaO2 Wrote: I think it has to do more with the stage of sleep than with the oxygen levels. With us not waking up umpteen times an hour, we are getting better, deeper sleep and entering the dream stages more often or whatever.
Simple answer Paula, that makes complete sense to me.
To err is human, but to really mess things up, you need a computer.
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#9
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
(01-29-2014, 04:28 PM)Airstream Wrote: I have also had dreams and nightmares which I didn't have prior to going on CPAP. It is interesting to see others reporting the same thing here. I would never have mentioned it myself as I have always attributed them to the medication I am on rather than the CPAP therapy. (Both CPAP and meds were started at the same time). Possibly it is a combination of the two?
Does anyone know if this has been medically documented as an effect of CPAP therapy and exactly how it impacts dreams and/or nightmares during sleep- that is, how does increased oxygen levels affect the brain?
I realize that this question may be too technical for many (including me), but the knowledge of members of this Board never cease to amaze me.
Here are a few articles you might be interested in:
http://www.capitolsleep.com/2008%20Jan%2...tter-2.pdf

http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1...03037#.Uum
PIPldWnY

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/drea...-rem-sleep

Also if you go to PubMed and type in CPAP and REM you will find a wealth of articles.
In one of the articles I read that there is less REM sleep when one does not have enough oxygen in the blood. So I guess that is why when you introduce CPAP more O2 gets to the brain so you have more REM sleep.
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#10
RE: Dreams, REM rebound and flashing images
(01-29-2014, 06:48 PM)Lukie Wrote:
(01-29-2014, 04:28 PM)Airstream Wrote: I have also had dreams and nightmares which I didn't have prior to going on CPAP. It is interesting to see others reporting the same thing here. I would never have mentioned it myself as I have always attributed them to the medication I am on rather than the CPAP therapy. (Both CPAP and meds were started at the same time). Possibly it is a combination of the two?
Does anyone know if this has been medically documented as an effect of CPAP therapy and exactly how it impacts dreams and/or nightmares during sleep- that is, how does increased oxygen levels affect the brain?
I realize that this question may be too technical for many (including me), but the knowledge of members of this Board never cease to amaze me.
Here are a few articles you might be interested in:
http://www.capitolsleep.com/2008%20Jan%2...tter-2.pdf




http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1...03037#.Uum
PIPldWnY

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/drea...-rem-sleep

Also if you go to PubMed and type in CPAP and REM you will find a wealth of articles.
In one of the articles I read that there is less REM sleep when one does not have enough oxygen in the blood. So I guess that is why when you introduce CPAP more O2 gets to the brain so you have more REM sleep.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17118100

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.11...0553.x/pdf
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