Am I Weird? Auto-Hypnosis or Something?

[Paige]

My DS tells me that I am a freak and the things I suggest to him are not things normal people can do. So, I'm asking the hive how unusual this is and if it's something you think average people can will for themselves.

 

1- Sleep Studying:

I learned from a fairly early age that if I went to bed after studying something, I frequently continued studying in my sleep. Eventually, I learned to take advantage of it and I can somewhat be sure that I study when I need to. I don't/didn't do it all the time, because I don't enjoy it. So, if I had an anatomy test, I'd read my notes very deliberately before bed, focus on it as I went to sleep, and in my dreams that night I'd continue reviewing those same notes and I'd wake up knowing the information very well- much better than the night before. I can do the same thing with most subjects.

 

Math was the first subject I noticed myself doing it in. I'd be doing my math homework before bed, go to bed, and dream of doing similar math problems all night. The next day, I'd pretty much have the operation down. The catch is that I don't feel as rested because I feel like I've been working all night. The first few times I remember thinking it was terrible and not fair that I had to spend all night studying! When DS was having a hard time memorizing some vocab, I told him to try studying it before bed and then he could dream about it and study in his sleep. He said I am a freak. 

 

2- Internal alarm clock:

 

I am terrible about waking up in the morning and tend to oversleep and ignore the alarm. DS is the same way. I told him that a lot of it is about intentional thoughts before bed. If I absolutely have to get up at a certain time, I set my alarm as backup, but I give myself a stern talking to before bed and go to sleep with the plan that I must wake up at X o'clock. I don't exactly meditate on it, but it's something like that. I almost always wake up 5-10min before my alarm goes off if I do this, and I get up. I told DS he needs to practice giving himself direction at night but he thinks I'm nuts! I don't do it every night because I think I don't sleep as well because part of my mind is alert to the time and most of the time it's not that important what time I get up. I thought everyone did this.

 

3- Dream Control:

DS used to have nightmares. I told him to think about happy things before bed- to sort of compose a story in his head as he went to sleep and he was likely to continue the story in his dream instead of his dreams being hijacked by scary things. He says that's stupid and it never works, but I do it all the time; not to avoid scary dreams, but because I have some dreams I like and I like to continue them the next night like a soap opera.

 

I tell my DS that if he just practices and tries he might be able to do these things too, but if you all say I'm a freak, then I'll quit harassing him to try.

 

 

[JumpyTheFrog]

The internal alarm clock is fairly common. I don't know if it is a skill people can learn.

 

Lucid dreaming is also common enough.

[regentrude]

Sleep studying is very common. That's where the old  "go to bed with a textbook under your pillow" comes from.

[JoJosMom]

I think directed dreaming, lucid dreaming, and internal alarms are all well within the range of normal.  Not everyone has them, but they certainly aren't in realm of freakdom. :001_smile:

[ktgrok]

I do the continue the dream thing, but only if I wake up and go back to bed in the same night. I also know very well the non rested feeling that comes from "working" all night in my dreams, but I haven't noticed it working with studying. Just me reliving a work day. Heck, I'm still reliving a job I haven't been at in 10 years! Worked there last night in my dream. Ugh. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

With the first 2 yes yes yes.  I noticed this about studying.  And the internal alarm clock, I know for sure I've heard other people say that. 

 

The third..no not so much, but it doesn't sound weird to me.

 

Is your son a teen?  My teen thinks I'm pretty weird at the moment as well. 

[bolt.]

1. Is a variation on the common "dreaming you are at work" theme, with just a little extra oomph from your conscious mind.

 

2. Yes, you are sleeping lightly enough to be aware of the time.

 

3. Daydreams often morph into real dreams, especially if you are remembering actual contents of previous dreams.

 

You do seem a little more aware of (and able to influence) your dream life than average -- it's not freakish, it's just that all human abilities and skills vary in a normal population. They also take practice, and he hasn't practiced. So, it's not just easy for him to jump in with both feet. It simply might not work as well for him.

[mamiof5]

I don't think you are a freak. I always teased I'd love to be able to study while in my sleep? I didn't know it was possible. I couldn't do it.

[Paige]

Yes, my son is a teen! How did you know?  ;)

 

I'll be happy to tell him I'm not a freak and my helpful tips are helpful and he should keep trying. He's in the "I'm a helpless victim to the world and my personality" stage and I've been trying to tell him that he has more power and abilities than he thinks to control himself and his circumstances. 

 

 

[Pawz4me]

I haven't needed an alarm clock in decades. 

[Cinder]

Dh has the internal clock thing. He's always been able to just tell himself he needs to get up at a certain tim and then he does. He still sets his alarm clock but he always wakes before it goes off, unless he's sick. He never remembers dreams, though. He can also make his heart beating more slowly just by thinking about it.

 

I can't do any of those but I do remember a lot of my dreams. No lucid dreaming for either of us.

[Farrar]

I think all those things are common. I have experienced all of them at various times.

 

On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised by anyone who couldn't do any or all of them either. I think both are well within the bounds of normal.

[Farrar]

This makes me think of a thing I read recently about how there are some people who can't visualize images at all. Like, not at all. A friend posted it on FB. And then in the comments, one of her friends had a total freak out wherein he posted something along the lines of, "I don't understand this article. It doesn't make any sense. Are you telling me some people can imagine real pictures in their heads? What is that? What would that even be like? This whole thing is so confusing!" Ah, the things you discover on FB I guess...

 

Anyway, just thinking about how brains can be so different.

[Paige]

"I don't understand this article. It doesn't make any sense. Are you telling me some people can imagine real pictures in their heads? What is that? What would that even be like? This whole thing is so confusing!" Ah, the things you discover on FB I guess...

 

Anyway, just thinking about how brains can be so different.

 

I wonder if part of that difference may have to do with labeling and naming things. I think sometimes 2 people experience the same thing but name it differently, and so perceive it differently. I can picture things in my head, for instance, but I can't claim that I literally see it as I see with my eyes. I see it in my head, but it's not exactly the same experience as seeing with eyes. I wonder if people who say they can't visualize are interpreting the experience differently and conclude that the experience I call seeing in my mind is not "seeing" so they feel they can't visualize and think people who can visualize are talking about something different. Does that make sense? One of my DDs can't visualize but she is such a good artist and comes up with amazing things. I think, she had to see that in her head somehow. She must be able to visualize something if she can plan out and create all kinds of intricate art that I can't think of or do.

 

I told my kids that sleep studying, waking up on time, and picking dreams are all skills that they may be able to develop. I don't expect them to be able to do it well or even at all the first few times, but practice and trying could lead to success. 

[Farrar]

I wonder if part of that difference may have to do with labeling and naming things. I think sometimes 2 people experience the same thing but name it differently, and so perceive it differently. I can picture things in my head, for instance, but I can't claim that I literally see it as I see with my eyes. I see it in my head, but it's not exactly the same experience as seeing with eyes. I wonder if people who say they can't visualize are interpreting the experience differently and conclude that the experience I call seeing in my mind is not "seeing" so they feel they can't visualize and think people who can visualize are talking about something different. Does that make sense? One of my DDs can't visualize but she is such a good artist and comes up with amazing things. I think, she had to see that in her head somehow. She must be able to visualize something if she can plan out and create all kinds of intricate art that I can't think of or do.

 

I told my kids that sleep studying, waking up on time, and picking dreams are all skills that they may be able to develop. I don't expect them to be able to do it well or even at all the first few times, but practice and trying could lead to success. 

 

I agree, though I think there's also real differences in how people experience the world and what our brains can and can't do. Take synesthesia, for example. There's no way I'm experiencing that and just interpreting it differently, you know? But some people are just wired that way. After reading about aphantasia (that's what it's called - the inability to visualize anything), I think it genuinely is fundamentally different from how my brain works. That's why I would say that while it seems totally normal to me that, say, people should be able to rely pretty well on their internal chronometers to get them up. If there was someone who said they had zero internal sense of time, I wouldn't assume that it was just necessarily that they linguistically weren't describing it right and they actually did have a sense of time.

 

This is the piece I read, by the way. It was from Vox:

http://www.vox.com/2016/5/19/11683274/aphantasia

 

ETA: I should add that the piece about aphantasia has some swearing. It's written in a colloquial sort of style about the author's own experiences.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Farrar

[Georgiana Daniels]

This makes me think of a thing I read recently about how there are some people who can't visualize images at all. Like, not at all. A friend posted it on FB. And then in the comments, one of her friends had a total freak out wherein he posted something along the lines of, "I don't understand this article. It doesn't make any sense. Are you telling me some people can imagine real pictures in their heads? What is that? What would that even be like? This whole thing is so confusing!" Ah, the things you discover on FB I guess...

 

Anyway, just thinking about how brains can be so different.

 

I wonder if this explains the people in my life who don't like to read fiction. I guess if I couldn't see what was happening, maybe I wouldn't like it either. Hmmm....

[Georgiana Daniels]

I've never tried to study in my sleep, but I definitely problem-solve or overthink the issues I've been working on while I sleep.

 

I also wake up before the alarm I need to when we HAVE to be somewhere, usually in another city for a tournament or meet and we need to leave early.

 

In both cases, I'm useless and super-exhausted the rest of the day.

[hornblower]

I have done all 3. 

Dd took a psych class last semester and her prof talked about studies showing #1 was true 

[hornblower]

"going to sleep shortly after learning new material is most beneficial for recall."

http://news.nd.edu/news/29625-learning-best-when-you-rest-sleeping-after-processing-new-info-most-effective-new-study-shows/

[wintermom]

I remember an episode of "Blues Clues" where they talked about changing scary dreams to happy dreams. I don't have a lot of scary dreams, but I have been able to intentionally change the course of my dreams, and I've told my ds about this. He was kind of skeptical. I'm not sure if he cared enough to actually try doing it.

 

I think that some people are more skeptical than others, or they believe what they believe and don't want to change their beliefs. It doesn't seem to matter whether the source of new or different information is reliable or not. In other words, you aren't a freak, your ds will make up his own mind about these (and many other things) through his own combination of information gathering and personal experiences.

 

 

Edited June 3, 2016 by wintermom

[UCF612]

I can do the last 2 but I never tried the first one.

[UCF612]

I have extremely vivid active dreams and I often remember them. But I've never been good at visualizing in my head. When people say "that is/isn't how I pictured that character" I'm always taken aback because I don't visual them. However, the other day we were in the car listening to an audiobook and I pictured the scene playing out! I was not a reader as a kid and was drawn to television. But lately we've been listening to audiobooks non stop and I wonder if I somehow taught myself to see the story now.

[happi duck]

I have never experienced or even heard of of these things.

 

I know some people don't need an alarm but never heard of 'setting' one's internal alarm.

[Paige]

I know some people don't need an alarm but never heard of 'setting' one's internal alarm.

 

Try it! I just look at the clock, picture the time I want to wake up, and tell myself very seriously that we have to get up and we will get up. 

 

If I don't do that, I am unlikely to wake before 9, and could linger well past that if not disturbed by household noise. 

[elegantlion]

I can easily do 2 and 3. I once worked a job where I had to get up at 4:30 every morning, I overslept once maybe and I never use an alarm clock. 3 I remember hearing about in a movie or from my mom or both places. I have literally stopped bad dreams by simply acknowledging it's a dream in my sleep and refusing to go further. 1 is something I probably do, but never have done consciously - going to try it now though.  

[Katy]

I easily do 2&3.  I've never tried sleep-studying, but because 3 is easy enough, I bet I could.

[Ausmumof3]

My DS tells me that I am a freak and the things I suggest to him are not things normal people can do. So, I'm asking the hive how unusual this is and if it's something you think average people can will for themselves.

 

1- Sleep Studying:

I learned from a fairly early age that if I went to bed after studying something, I frequently continued studying in my sleep. Eventually, I learned to take advantage of it and I can somewhat be sure that I study when I need to. I don't/didn't do it all the time, because I don't enjoy it. So, if I had an anatomy test, I'd read my notes very deliberately before bed, focus on it as I went to sleep, and in my dreams that night I'd continue reviewing those same notes and I'd wake up knowing the information very well- much better than the night before. I can do the same thing with most subjects.

 

Math was the first subject I noticed myself doing it in. I'd be doing my math homework before bed, go to bed, and dream of doing similar math problems all night. The next day, I'd pretty much have the operation down. The catch is that I don't feel as rested because I feel like I've been working all night. The first few times I remember thinking it was terrible and not fair that I had to spend all night studying! When DS was having a hard time memorizing some vocab, I told him to try studying it before bed and then he could dream about it and study in his sleep. He said I am a freak.

 

2- Internal alarm clock:

 

I am terrible about waking up in the morning and tend to oversleep and ignore the alarm. DS is the same way. I told him that a lot of it is about intentional thoughts before bed. If I absolutely have to get up at a certain time, I set my alarm as backup, but I give myself a stern talking to before bed and go to sleep with the plan that I must wake up at X o'clock. I don't exactly meditate on it, but it's something like that. I almost always wake up 5-10min before my alarm goes off if I do this, and I get up. I told DS he needs to practice giving himself direction at night but he thinks I'm nuts! I don't do it every night because I think I don't sleep as well because part of my mind is alert to the time and most of the time it's not that important what time I get up. I thought everyone did this.

 

3- Dream Control:

DS used to have nightmares. I told him to think about happy things before bed- to sort of compose a story in his head as he went to sleep and he was likely to continue the story in his dream instead of his dreams being hijacked by scary things. He says that's stupid and it never works, but I do it all the time; not to avoid scary dreams, but because I have some dreams I like and I like to continue them the next night like a soap opera.

 

I tell my DS that if he just practices and tries he might be able to do these things too, but if you all say I'm a freak, then I'll quit harassing him to try.

The first and the last I do. The middle one looks more like not sleeping well and waking up many times before I know I have to get up for something important.

 

I think brain scans showed that the first six hours of sleep the brain does physical maintenance and in the last couple it organises information into memories? I'll have to find the link. Also creative thinking needs the last couple of hours sleep.

[Critterfixer]

1) Yes, but like working all night, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages for me. I wake up tired, and often have no idea if the things I was thinking about are really true or not. I have very vivid, very imaginative dreams, and I wouldn't put it past me to come up with the wrong ideas about what I was studying. I will, however, go to bed thinking of a plotting problem in a story, and sometimes possible solutions will present themselves. Sometimes they work; sometimes they don't.

 

2) My internal alarm clock is broken. And if it wasn't, I'd break it. :laugh: I wake easily to the sound of an alarm, curse it soundly, hit snooze once, and then I usually get up grumbling.

 

3) Yes, I can alter dreams as I'm dreaming them, or shortly afterwards. I find it best to return to a nightmare after waking, to "edit" it. 

[El...]

I wonder if I can build up those skills!  I tend to sleep VERY soundly and rarely remember dreams at all, but I can go to sleep doing karate kata in my mind and be better at them in the morning.  It's really effective for me.  My husband says I tend to roll around more when I do that, though.

 

I wish I could set my internal clock.  Maybe I'll start trying it.

[fraidycat]

When I go to sleep, it is so I can sleep. I sleep like the dead, so can do none of the things you mentioned. If I remember a dream (very rare), it's because I had a crappy sleep. I need an alarm clock.

 

I wouldn't say you're a freak, but if your DS is a deep sleeper like me, there is zero awareness between sleep and awake, so your abilities may seem freaky to him.

 

I do tell my kids to think happy thoughts at bedtime.

[Ausmumof3]

1) yes sometimes. The brain organises memories and moves into creative thinking mode, the first six hours are for physical processes. So you need to get enough sleep for it to work.

 

2). More like if I know I have to get up early I will sleep really poorly waking often in the last two hours and even dreaming that I've already started getting ready.

 

3) yes. I learned to do this when I was a kid and getting scary dreams. I would visualise a path and I was walking down it and it had lots of signs to different types of dreams I could choose.