REM sleep

Have been a user for over 15 years, and track my results. Most nights are below AHI of 1 with maybe one or two centrals. Mask is a nasal pillow and leaks are kept manageable. The CPAP has been a life altering thing in that I never fall asleep at stoplights anymore!!!! I also usually get 7 hours or more sleep a night. Here is my question. While I don't doze off during the day anymore, I do find myself somewhat in a fog a lot of days where things just are not as sharp as they used to be. I also do not notice me going into any dream states. Yes I am 65 now but I don't think that is it. Some nights I do wake up around 3-4 am and am and awake for 1/2 hour or so. Usually I go right back to sleep, but some nights I go down to the couch, read for a while then sleep on the couch. On the couch is without CPAP. I notice when I sleep on the couch without CPAP I immediately go into dream land. So does the CPAP stop people from going into different stages of sleep? I suspect all my life I was a very very light sleeper and would not do this either but I wonder if the CPAP machine is making this problem worse? If you need a certain amount of REM sleep, how does one get that

We don't remember dreams unless we wake up either during them or maybe right at the end.
Actually with good sound sleep sleep we aren't supposed to remember dreams. Remembering a lot of dreams actually means not so great sleep quality.

We can dream in any stage of sleep as well....doesn't have to be REM. So when you go to sleep on the couch and go "right to dreamland" most likely you are dreaming in light sleep and the apnea events are messing with sleep and you wake up often....poor sleep quality.

Now it's normal to wake up after a REM stage cycle has completed but most of the time we just go right back to sleep and aren't awake long enough to form a memory of the dream.
Remembering dreams means we woke up long enough to form a memory if that dream. Now we might not remember that wake up but wake up we did.

CPAP machines don't stop people from progressing through all the sleep stages...actually the opposite because it removes the sleep apnea events causing all the wake ups during the night.
So not remembering dreams is really a good thing and not a bad thing and certainly doesn't mean you aren't getting all the needed sleep cycles in the correct amount.

You are making the assumption that because you can't recall your dreams (while wearing CPAP), you are not dreaming and not achieving REM. That's simply not based in fact.

Not remembering our dreams simply doesn't mean we didn't dream, or had REM sleep. There is evidence to suggest that remembering dreams may be attributed to poorer sleep, as we we woke up during or immediately after, and formed memories of the dream.

Sounds to me like, your couch-sleeps are poorer quality.

Thank you for your explanations. Did not expect that butit makes sense. Information on here is very useful and you guys rock!