Hello all. I understand that a non-REM state equals no dreams, but can anybody tell me if there is an actual medical (or psychological) term for the inability to dream? Thanks!
Inability to dream (medical term?)
- Thread starter Goodchild
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I don't know if there is a medical term, but I do know that if you don't reach REM sleep for long enough, you will go completely nuts. It's really bad for your body and mind.
Moerae
Moerae
hmm...I'm gonna say anoneiric (as an adjective). I made it up but then I found it here.
Here's all the words that have 'oneiro' (dream) in them...
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/1476/1/?spage=&letter=
If I had to make up a name for the condition for a story, I'd go for anoneiros.
Here's all the words that have 'oneiro' (dream) in them...
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/1476/1/?spage=&letter=
If I had to make up a name for the condition for a story, I'd go for anoneiros.
And if you reach it but get jerked back to another stage of sleep before you can get any high-quality dreaming done, you have real trouble dragging yourself out of bed in the morning. That's what sleep apnea does; your brain jolts you out of REM sleep because when you get that relaxed, your airway sags shut, and needing to breathe trumps all long-term considerations. I mention this because if your character goes to a sleep clinic, sleep apnea is one of the things they would look for. It's apparently pretty distinctive on an EEG: sleep waves, sleep waves, sleep waves, a few dreaming waves, and then a brief spike of OMGWTFBBQ waves as your brain realizes that the air isn't getting in.
Once you get the machine that treats the problem and start dreaming again, it's really, really vivid for a few nights. I don't know whether your undreaming character is going to start at any point, but if he does, this is a consideration.
(Yeah, I have sleep apnea. If you need a patient's-eye view of a sleep clinic, I can do that.)
Izunya
I had this dreams before changing school, so I updated my age
Had to butt in. Sorry I’m late
When I was about9 7-8 I had a recurring dream in which my mother died in a car accident.
I always travelled in the backseat and could never see the actual crash. What I do remember is the car motionless and ‘knowing’ my mother was dead behind the wheel. I never looked at her.
I didn’t get freaked out by the dream although I obviously did not like it (my mother does not drive). I remember that right after the crash my first thoughts were that I was alone in the middle of an unknown road. I would then walk away from the car and go looking for my dad.
My point is, all children react different according to their backgrounds and surroundings. Freaking out may not be the only reaction to a dream like this.
Had to butt in. Sorry I’m late
When I was about
I always travelled in the backseat and could never see the actual crash. What I do remember is the car motionless and ‘knowing’ my mother was dead behind the wheel. I never looked at her.
I didn’t get freaked out by the dream although I obviously did not like it (my mother does not drive). I remember that right after the crash my first thoughts were that I was alone in the middle of an unknown road. I would then walk away from the car and go looking for my dad.
My point is, all children react different according to their backgrounds and surroundings. Freaking out may not be the only reaction to a dream like this.
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Interesting, yet possibly useless fact time! I read an article once, where a doctor put forward the theory that when people with schizophrenia have auditory or visual hallucinations, it's actually their brains compensating for the fact that they don't dream. Apparently, the REM state is a precursor to dreaming, yet the two are actually separate - you have to be in the REM state to dream, but you don't neccessarily dream when you're in REM sleep. Anyway, his theory was that schizophrenic hallucinations are caused by the brain being 'trapped' in the REM state, which means that they are awake, but their brain is dreaming, which causes their dreams to seemingly manifest as reality.
Like I said, it's all very interesting, but probably not that useful to you in the long run - yay for sharing, though!
Like I said, it's all very interesting, but probably not that useful to you in the long run - yay for sharing, though!
