Dreams and CPAP

Rich · Post by **Rich** » Wed May 10, 2006 11:31 am

I've only been around for a little while but after roughly two months of CPAP I have some observations and I wanted to get feedback on them.

First, forgive the topic but I'm a psychologist and I've had some interesting things happen to me since CPAP.

First and foremost, I feel better and have more energy. It's not a constant thing, but rather I have more consistent nights of refreshing sleep and I now understand for myself what deep sleep is like. There are nights when I am up and don't sleep that well, but that's because of normal reasons.

Here's the point (whew). I've noticed a significant decrease in remembered dreams (we all dream; some people remember dreams more than others). I'm wondering if other people on CPAP have noticed they are remembering dreams less.

Thanks-
Rich

GrumpyInKC · Post by **GrumpyInKC** » Wed May 10, 2006 12:43 pm

The number of dreams I have has remained steady if not slightly increased. I've always had many dreams per night, I probably realize I'm dreaming because I wake many times throughout the night. I'm waking less often now, since being on CPAP for the last 5 months.

I even have dreams my alarms snooze cycle, and my clock's snooze cycle is only 4 minutes.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed May 10, 2006 12:47 pm

Here's a link to some interesting previous discussions about CPAP treatment and dreaming (compiled by rested gal):

LINKS to Dreams - Dreaming - REM Rebound

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Wed May 10, 2006 2:02 pm

Guest,

That's a terrific list to link to. Rested Gal does such a wonderful job with those compilations of posts of particular topics. That's alot of hard work. Thanks for pointing it out.

Linda

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Wed May 10, 2006 2:18 pm

Before OSA I had a lot of vivid, remembered dreams. In the time period between when OSA probably started and before diagnosis and starting CPAP I not only could not remember dreams, I was frequently not even aware of dreaming. Since starting CPAP I am again aware of dreams and remember a few though they are sketchy and much less vivid. Haven't looked into the effects of aging on dreams.

Captain_Midnight · Post by **Captain_Midnight** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:18 pm

Rich, you wondered if other people on CPAP have noticed they are remembering dreams less.
Yes, it's true.
My pre-pappian dreams were often turbulent, conflict laden dramas, and I would wake up in a gasping sweat, not realizing that I was just nearly smothered. My fight-or-flight response which aroused me from my apneic hypoxia episodes would often be incorporated into my dreams, and I would remember them because I would be throttled awake early in the dream cycle.
Contrast that with my dreams with the PAP. My first one was typical, I was driving a sports car on a mountain road and stopped to let some deer cross in front of me. My dreams went from Terminator to Sunnybrook Farm! Furthermore, they went from diffuse and discontinuous topics and characters to more thorough and continuous.
Pre PAP, I also had micro-dreams. I had no idea what they were (and kind of enjoyed them). These occur when you are so bone tired and sleep deprived, that you can enter the dream state while relaxing in a chair. These were eliminated instantly by PAP therapy.
Now, to your question. I remember fewer dreams with PAP therapy. I suspect that this is due to completing the dream cycles, and awakening less frequently during the night.

Regards all - - Captain Midnight

Gidgie · Post by **Gidgie** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:28 pm

I used to dream so much.....and remember everything.....As I told a friend, 'No wonder I'm so tired! If it wasn't for the nightlife......I might even sleep a little.' Now the vivid and often disturbing dreams are gone......I know I dream, but can't remember......but the feeling of the dreams are much more benign.

gulfpearl · Post by **gulfpearl** » Thu May 11, 2006 4:34 am

During my pre-cpap days I used to have many dreams a night sometimes 4-5 dreams a night.Some nights I would have horrible nightmares some one chasing me or someone trying to murder me. My husband would have to wake me because I would scream in my sleep. since starting cpap 8 months ago I donot remember many of my dreams & I haven't had any nightmares.

RoswellGa · Post by **RoswellGa** » Thu May 11, 2006 9:37 am

I have only been on CPAP for 1.5 weeks so can't really comment on my own dreaming as it's too early to tell, but I found out that a gentleman I go to church with has been using CPAP for 6 years. One of his comments to me was that I would dream more and that they would be very vivid. This seems to go against what is being said by others here.

txtornado · Post by **txtornado** » Thu May 11, 2006 2:14 pm

Very interesting topic! One of the things that made me feel something was wrong with me (medically speaking, anyway) was that I stopped dreaming.

Pre-apnea I used to have very vivid dreams that sometimes seemed to last for hours. Often one dream would morph/meld into the next. Very often the dreams had extremely sinister themes. Often they were very disturbing nightmares. I always thought it would be interesting to learn some dream analysis techniques and I kept a dream journal by my bed. Ocassionally I would remember only that I had a dream and not remember the dream itself, but I dreamed almost every single night.

During the period that I developed apnea and before I started on APAP, I stopped dreaming completely. At least, I had absolutely no recollection of dreaming at any point during that time. At first I was just happy to be rid of the nightmares. But after months of no dreams, I started to think maybe it was an indication that something was wrong.

Cut to present. I've been on APAP for just over 5 weeks and have started dreaming again. So far I've only had one dream that I remembered upon waking. In the dream my husband adopted a dog - which was a bad thing because we are cat rescue people and have a house full of foster cats. I guess you could say it was a nightmare of sorts. I've had two or three other times when I know I dreamed, but couldn't remember anything about the dreams. I definitely plan to keep tracking my dreams as I continue on APAP.

snork1 · Post by **snork1** » Thu May 11, 2006 3:24 pm

According to my original sleep study, I was not having ANY REM sleep, which corresponds to figuring I was NOT dreaming.

Post-apnea treatment, I now have a lot of dreams. I don't necessarily remember the details, but I remember having them, and figure thats a good indication that I am at least getting deeper sleep now.

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Thu May 11, 2006 4:25 pm

When I first started CPAP I had very vivid dreams. It seemed I was dreaming a lot.

I figure the reason was previous to xPAP my REM AHI was 72. So my REM was being disrupted. With treatment all of a sudden my AHI was normal and I was able to dream.

Initially I would wake often on CPAP so I would have many sleep cycles and since I would wake in REM many times I would remember my dream from my last cycle.

Now I awake less so I remember less dreams though I still have them but typically we remember our last REM cycle - that's my understanding from previous posts on the topic.

Best,

Tom

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woozle · Post by **woozle** » Thu May 11, 2006 5:52 pm

I had my sleep study about 1.5 months ago - and before the study while putting all the electrodes on, the nurse asked me if I remembered any of my dreams. I did and told her so, noting I had weird dreams all the time. After the results, I was 76 apneas per hour, she noted that everytime I just about made it into REM sleep, I was 'thrown' out of it by my apnea episodes. So was being thrown out my dream right when it began - Since being on cpap, I don't remember dreams at all, which is actually nice, as they were getting pretty weird!

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Fri May 12, 2006 6:57 am

True.

But don't you miss the free entertainment?

Tom

woozle · Post by **woozle** » Fri May 12, 2006 8:37 am

lol....I think I do! My stories at work are not nearly as entertaining! I bet my co-workers wish I still had crazy dreams to discuss, as now I talk about cpap all the time, which I am sure they are getting tired of hearing about - but they don't know what 'tired' is! I am feeling really good today as 3rd night sleeping through the night (again no dreams!)

Dreams and CPAP

Dreams and CPAP

Remembered dreams

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