One of the most unusual experiences I ever had!
Last night I was dreaming a dream, or maybe I dreamt a dream? Either way I'm pretty sure it wasn't real. Then again what' real after all? I'll tell you, that after last night I'm not so sure. Certainly the memory is as vivid as, or maybe more so than a real experience may be. I was riding my bike and I got to a point where I had to decide which fork in the road to take. The choice was made difficult by the fact that because of curves in the road I couldn't see far ahead. The only thing that was obvious with both choices was that they were difficult climbs, and I was already very tired. Somehow I picked one but very soon realized that there was no way I could get up that hill, and so I quickly made a u-turn and headed out the other fork. My second choice was even worse but I was determined to carry on regardless. Immediately around the corner I had to get off my bike and carry it. Pretty soon the road ended totally and I was forced to pull my bike with one arm while I used the other to drag both bike and my body up what had practically become a vertical cliff. It quickly became a struggle just to survive. I was getting more and more exhausted. It was only my high level of fitness that kept me hanging on but I knew it was only a matter of time.
And then!
Claudette woke me up because I wss not breathing!! I asked her to tell me what she witnessed and she explained. My breathing got more and more ragged and louder, and then gradually went the opposite direction until it stopped altogether. The surreal part was that the seam between sleeping and waking was almost nonexistent. One minute I was dreaming utter exhaustion and the next minute I'm awake and literally gasping for breath. I even remember thinking that it was the exact same feeling you get at the end of an extremely intense run. I was gulping air and hoping that my heart rate would settle down soon.
The question begs itself. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the dream somehow trigger the apnea because breathlessness was what the dream state required? Or was the dream somehow a subconscious realization of the fact that my body was indeed running out of gas...specifically oxygen? Either way it was very, very strange! I had to get out of bed and eat ice cream until I felt better!
Analyze that if you will!!
Perhaps it was an unconscious hangover from my dream but I struggled with my tempo run this morning. Either way, I feel tired.
"We all dream; we do not understand our dreams, yet we act as if nothing strange goes on in our sleep minds, strange at least by comparison with the logical, purposeful doings of our minds when we are awake."---Erich Fromm
"Strange to say, the luminous world is the invisible world; the luminous world is that which we do not see. Our eyes of flesh see only night."---Victor Hugo
“Welcome to my nightmare. I think you're going to like it."---Alice Cooper
love
peter
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6 comments:
I am pretty certain that the apnea came first. I have had this exact same situation happen two days in a row. Believe it or not, it was while sleeping on a couch at Elly's place about 25 years ago. I am not sure if I have told the story to anyone who also reads this blog, but it happened. The couch had very low armrests, and so I was using one as a pillow while i recuperated after one of my surgeries. After falling asleep, by body sunk further down into the couch and so my windpipe was basically cut off. My dream was not so detailed as you describe, or I can't remember it, but I dreamed that I could not breath and was struggling for air, only to wake up and find myself with my chin in my chest unable to breathe. I think it was only after the second day that I realized what had really happened. The one positive thing that came from it is that my subconscious is now far more aware of this situation and ever since then, it wakes me up much earlier in the process.
I believe sleeping on your side will help prevent the apnea in the first place.
Love Old John
I also think the apnea came first... I'm not sure if sleeping on your side will correct or prevent it, but it will likely help... I remember that when Bernie first got his CPAP, he remarked how much better he felt during the day, which I assumed was a result of being better oxygenated at night.
I love you
Hey there Pete,
I believe that our dreams are the avenue to understand our unconcious and therefore increase our conciousness. If you are interested I'd love to chat with you about the dream sometime.
The apnea stuff I'm not sure about - I'm just glad Roo work you up!!
Love you - Deb
I agree with John and Elly, I think that our dreams often reflect reality. I've never had sleep apnea, but I regularly have a dream where I need to pee really badly, but I can never find an appropriate place to do so. I invariably wake up with my bladder about to burst. I'm fairly certain that if I ever found a place to pee in my dream, I'd wet my bed.
That would be a really "wet dream" eh Larry.
Love Old John
...actually, Larry, I remember doing that once when I was a kid....
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