Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming • Hacker News Board

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#161

Post by paul7986 » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:09 PM UTC

Controlling what you dream about(?)

I had a friend of 16 years and more who is in love with a singer in a popular 90s band(obsessed) and it's no way reciprocated. She says he loves her in another dimension and she controls her dreams to speak to him. I use to have to listen to her talk about her fantasy conversations with him until i could no longer take talking about some delusion. She is no longer the fun person I use to know... just lost in a delusion and I and all her family/friends tried to make her snap out of it.. but no one is more important then the delusion :-(

Is there another reason why one would want to lucid dream other then to create another reality that doesn't exist?

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#162

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:13 PM UTC

TuringNYC wrote: post #75

modzu wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in one of my first lucid dreams i started reading a book and then thought to myself, "hang on, no way this is a dream if i can read a book!", and then fell back into regular dream state haha

Could you explain further? Are there phases of dream where one can or cannot read? I heard an old tale (pre-internet days) where dreaming happens in a different part of the brain than reading, so supposedly it isnt possible to read in a dream and thus being able to read is a litmus test of whether you're dreaming or not....but i often read during dreams so I couldnt figure it out. Searching the internet (present day)…

[deleted]

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#163

Post by dcow » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:13 PM UTC

paul7986 wrote: post #161

Controlling what you dream about(?) I had a friend of 16 years and more who is in love with a singer in a popular 90s band(obsessed) and it's no way reciprocated. She says he loves her in another dimension and she controls her dreams to speak to him. I use to have to listen to her talk about her fantasy conversations with him until i could no longer take talking about some delusion. She is no longer the fun person I…

Reminds me of cases where people die at amusement parks. Doesn't mean the park isn't thrilling.

I've occasionally experienced lucid dreams. You don't have to get lost in them...

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#164

Post by noir_lord » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:13 PM UTC

scrollaway wrote: post #107

knicholes wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from a religious background, I believed that I was being possessed to explain the lack of control over my body. I even hallucinated an "evil" "form" coming towards me before my body locked up and I felt tingles. So ~weird~ terrifying being able to scream without your body doing anything.

Sleep paralysis is mortifying if you don't know what you're dealing with. I can completely understand how that's been the source of many people believing in possessions over the centuries. Most of my paralysis episodes didn't involve the "evil presence" people often talk about. That is, until a recent one less than a year ago, where I woke up with a giant "invisible" spider on my chest It's terrifying to be in this s…

When I had massive dental problems a few years ago I was taking codeine 60mg and an over the counter sleep aid (which it turns out is a potentiator for codeine).

I had the worst sleep paralysis I've ever had, I was laid facing the wall with the light and I would have sworn there was absolute evil behind me, it was frankly terrifying.

It broke suddenly and I kept out of bed and shot out the room, took me about 15 minutes for heart rate to come down.

I don't scare easily and I'm a life long atheist but I can see how if you where raised religious you'd assume it was whatever evil presence your religion has.

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#165

Post by barbs » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:14 PM UTC

ptrincr wrote: post #153

vokep wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False memories are one which many have experienced, as well as mentioned above, increased chance of sleep paralysis. Increased SP doesn't seem so bad, just maybe inconvenient. Building up more and more false memories doesn't seem like a great idea.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Can I ask how you found your sleep paralysis encounters? (for want of a better word). Personally I've found them deeply disturbing. Throughout my life I have experienced moments of sleep paralysis at most on 10 occasions. They've left a big impact though, and I sympathize with anyone who has the misfortune of feeling as though you are trapped and unable to move. After watching the…

I'm not the parent but I experience sleep paralysis fairly regularly - maybe once or twice a month. It's happened enough times that I can usually recognise it and can either try to wake myself up or wait until I go back to sleep, so it's not particularly scary. It depends though - if I get sleep paralysis coming out of a nightmare it can be fairly uncomfortable, but not much more than if I were to have just the nightmare on its own. Probably the worst part is the embarrassment of someone witnessing me thrashing around trying to wake up or hearing me moan in my sleep.

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#166

Post by skmurphy » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:20 PM UTC

paul7986 wrote: post #161

Controlling what you dream about(?) I had a friend of 16 years and more who is in love with a singer in a popular 90s band(obsessed) and it's no way reciprocated. She says he loves her in another dimension and she controls her dreams to speak to him. I use to have to listen to her talk about her fantasy conversations with him until i could no longer take talking about some delusion. She is no longer the fun person I…

Sleep is another form of cognition that can unlock other problem solving capabilities. See "The Committee of Sleep" by Deidre Barrett https://www.amazon.com/Committee-Sleep-Scientists-Athletes-S... for a number of well documented examples of scientists, engineers, artists, and others solving problems or unlocking design insights from dream experiences.

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#167

Post by zormino » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:27 PM UTC

scrollaway wrote: post #107

knicholes wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from a religious background, I believed that I was being possessed to explain the lack of control over my body. I even hallucinated an "evil" "form" coming towards me before my body locked up and I felt tingles. So ~weird~ terrifying being able to scream without your body doing anything.

Sleep paralysis is mortifying if you don't know what you're dealing with. I can completely understand how that's been the source of many people believing in possessions over the centuries. Most of my paralysis episodes didn't involve the "evil presence" people often talk about. That is, until a recent one less than a year ago, where I woke up with a giant "invisible" spider on my chest It's terrifying to be in this s…

Seeing figures and humanoid shapes when experiencing sleep paralysis isn't uncommon. I've never seen them myself, I just get a progressively louder ringing noise in my head until it feels like my head is going to blow up. I was always able to break out eventually, but it's terrifying. You can't move and are in pain. The only way I could get out was to find one finger or toe I could wiggle a tiny bit, then keep doing that until my body started to slowly come back to life. It takes some time but eventually you hit a threshold and you come back online pretty fast. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it takes me 2-3 tried to fall alseep as it happens consecutively.

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#168

Post by Blinks- » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:34 PM UTC

This topic interests me, I have used indirect techniques to increase the rate at which I get into a lucid dream state, drugs are not necessary with the correct schedule. However like others here have noted sleep quality is reduced and REM does not seem to have the same restorative effect if you spend it lucid dreaming.

I was actually first taught how to do this by my Chinese martial arts teacher, he recommended I spend any time I had in lucid dreams shadowboxing and sparing with opponents and in situations (often against weapons) I fear the most. It has actually increased my ability to think objectively during stressful situations. Especially because when you get too excited in a dream it usually collapses (look up deepening techniques if this is a problem for you).

One way I have heard people use this technique outside of martial arts is practicing public speaking in the dream state to increase confidence and create a realistic practice environment. Of course the possibilities are wide, however I find it very difficult to do things I have not experienced in real life, for example I can jump really high like I would if I was on a trampoline but I can not fly around like superman.

This is the Guidebook that taught me the fundamental techniques: https://www.obe4u.com/files/the_phase/the_phase.html

Happy Dreaming all, it's the weekend give it a try!

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#169

Post by Sohcahtoa82 » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:42 PM UTC

function_seven wrote: post #66

criddell wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever do one of the tests to see if you are in a dream and find out that you are awake? I've always been a little scared that I would be awake, think I'm in a dream, and then do something stupid, like try to fly.

When I've flown in my dreams, it always begins by zooming up from solid ground, not by leaping off a roof or out a window. So, no harm in accidentally trying to fly in reality. Except looking weird.

For me, flying begins with high jumping while controlling my movement in air. I start by jumping 6 feet, then again and achieving 15-20 feet, then eventually over a house. After jumping over the house is when I start to change my lateral velocity while in air, and begin to control my speed of descent as well. Eventually, I jump about 100 feet in the air, start moving sideways at the peak of my jump, and slow down my descent as I get close to the ground, the point where I'm flying directly over the ground at a decent speed.

Once I get there, I have complete control and can fly however I want as fast as I want. I've never been able to hold on for more than a minute or so though before I wake up.

Re: Pre-sleep treatment with galantamine stimulates lucid dreaming

#170

Post by amelius » Fri, Aug 17, 2018, 11:45 PM UTC

deskamess wrote: post #84

bloomthrowaway wrote: post #23

Just throwing this out there. I've had hundreds of lucid dreams and it's the most amazing experiences I've have in my life. It takes practice to 1) figure out you're dreaming with some level of reliability 2) learn to take control 3) train yourself not to get too excited so you don't wake yourself almost immediately. I believe the first step is to train yourself to recognize a dream. It becomes easier once you've don…

More of a pre-lucid dream question... can you dictate the content/topic of your dreams? That would be some powerful stuff - virtual reality of another kind.

> That would be some powerful stuff - virtual reality of another kind.

Yes, like a holodeck :)