However, many famous people have been able to use the hypnagogic state in order to solve a problem. It’s like wrestling with hundreds of ideas and being stuck in a kind of loop at the same time. During the experience, it seems as if I am making genuine progress with a problem, without being able to arrive at a solution. In the hypnagogic state, I am either writing about the subject or thinking about it in a radically different way. Personally, I usually experience this when I’ve been falling asleep watching a documentary or when I’ve been writing or reading about a difficult subject before going to sleep. Hypnagogic thinking is said to be characterised by more openness, illogic, nonsense, heightened suggestibility (readiness to believe something), and a more fluid association of ideas (connecting ideas in a more free-flow and unique way). Thought processes at the edge of sleep are completely different from the thought processes we have when we are fully awake. Our thought processes can also be affected. In the past, I have had repeated cases of it, which even made me fearful of going to sleep.

The cause of it is unknown, but some doctors say it can be associated with fatigue and stress. This aspect of the hypnagogic state has been called ‘exploding head syndrome’ and it can be accompanied by anxiety and an elevated heart rate. The worst is when it’s a scream since it not only shocks you, but it’s especially weird to have someone else’s voice in your head. The loud noise in one’s head has been compared to an explosion, roar, gunshot, door slamming, and loud voices or screams. I’ve experienced both and it can be pretty scary. Common sounds heard are one’s name being called out and a loud noise or bang going off in one’s head. Just like the visual aspect, the auditory aspect can range from slight sounds to realistic, loud noises. Definitely not an enjoyable experience!Īnother aspect of the hypnagogic state is hearing sounds. One night after spending hours of telemarketing, I went to sleep, and although I wasn’t fully asleep it felt like I was back at work, taking countless calls. the rock climber can feel the rockface, the person skiing can feel the snow, and the swimmer can feel the water. In many instances, there can be tactile hallucinations, where the person feels a part of the experience they were involved with in the day – e.g. rock climbing, skiing, swimming) may experience this phenomenon.

For example, people who play a lot of video games, new waiters and waitresses, chess players, telemarketers, and those who spend all day doing a particular activity (e.g. It is most common among people who engage in a repetitive activity before going to bed later that night. People who are involved in some activity before they fall asleep report experiencing this activity in the hypnagogic state. Sometimes, the visual experience can be nightmarish, but because I am not yet fully asleep, I can ‘snap out of it’ and wrest myself back to wakefulness. I experience this all the time and it usually consists of interacting with people, but with no context to it. Unlike dreams, however, these sights have no narrative to them that is, they do not tell a meaningful story. It can include visions: seeing colours, shapes, faces, landscapes and other three-dimensional imagery. These experiences can range from the subtle and vague, to the downright intense and hallucinatory. The hypnagogic state can be characterised by many sensory experiences. When you’re waking up (but not quite awake) this is known as hypnapompia. Other terms for hypnagogia include: ‘visions of half-sleep’, ‘the borderland of sleep’, ‘half-dream state’ and ‘dreamlets’. Hypnagogia is the experience you have when you are falling asleep (but not quite asleep).

I dont sleep i just dream