1. < Sleep Health

Hypnagogic Hallucinations

Posted by januaryjane @januaryjane, Dec 23, 2019

Hi, ive probably had sleep problems most of my life. This year started to experience heavy Hypnagogic hallucinations. Ive been through two sleep studies, the first maybe 10 years ago, the most recent 4 or 5 years. They found nothing remarkable.
Im just a bit confused of these symptoms. I have some of the narcolepsy symptoms but not sure if its something to worry about. Im not falling asleep while doing activities or anything.
Thoughts would be appreciated.

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jea1 | @jea1 | Mar 24, 2022
In reply to @januaryjane "When im tired and close my eyes, images will pop up, some disturbing or that do..." + (show)
@januaryjane

When im tired and close my eyes, images will pop up, some disturbing or that do not make sense. Then i will open my eyes and they are gone, then i close them and they continue. Sometimes i fall asleep this way, waking several times. Sometimes i just nod off and maybe get a restless nap. Its very odd. Happens day or night.

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Hi, My dad has this issue too. I'm glad to find this site & someone else that describes it just as he does. It really concerns him at times, and he's wondered for years what it is about, so I will be letting him know I found this site and share this with him. (he's 80 and doesn't go online) Has there been anything that helps with getting this to happen less frequently? Thanks for reading 🙂

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hindsight | @hindsight | Mar 27, 2022
In reply to @bill54321 "I am a person who can capture a thought and I fall asleep pronto. But, since..." + (show)
@bill54321

I am a person who can capture a thought and I fall asleep pronto. But, since I have had restless leg (physical) leg jerks, my meds sometime screw up this normal cycle. I am a 90 yr old retired Physical Therapist who qualified each year in Psychology instead of PT. I studied under Les Femhi PH.D.at Princeston. He was one of the 1st Presidents of Biofeedback Society of America. I mention this because, he was famous for his work in "Visualization" You look inward at your body and visualize what you want it to do. This is opposite of zoning out with meditation relaxation, reading, chewing gum, listening to waves. etc. His Olympic athletes, were taught to drop prone from skis and fire their rifles between beats of the heart and breathing. Some of his cancer patients visualized "packmen" chewing up their cancer and had some documented success when all else failed.Years later (30 years +) I recognized the " Navy Seals" had used his technique to teach their service people how to fall asleep under combat conditions(stress). I AM GOING TO TEACH YOU. BUT, YOU MUST HAVE An
OPEN MIND. Ready, (SLEEP ON YOUR LEFT SIDE IS BEST, BUT DO YOUR BEST POSITION. Clear your thoughts.) Can you take 5 diaphragm breaths(stomach) breath out deep. After 5, breath until normal. Can you imagine the distants and content between your left shoulder and elbow? between your left elbow and wrist, your left thumb, index, middle, ring and small finger, (Repeat sequence on right upper extremity). Can you imagine the distance and content between your left hip and left knee?, your left knee and ankle, your great toe, next, middle, 4th, 5th?(Repeat on your right side?)(My addition) Can you imagine closing and relaxing the sphinter of the rectum, (Fitchgerald version) can you imagine your pelvic floor is like an alka-selzer and the fizzing is filling the area in front, in back , sides of the intestines and moving upward . Visualize the filling of the trunk like water on a glass moving upward to the neck inside your head to the top. Is there any tension anywhere? Go to it with your mind and visualize it relaxing.If still awake (My version) (breath in) "I am calm",breath out) "I am very very relaxed". (Do this 3 times. The breathing out is longer and will get rid of excess carbon dioxide) Go to your normal breathing back and try to increase to 5 times over 3 attempts. Breath normal. Have a new topple off dream that is pleaseant. If you are young, don't be afraid to have this sexual. If still awake(I doubt it) take your covers off and get chilled out. Put them back on, Direct your self back to deeper but pleasant breathing, Focus back into the body.Please do not eat a heavy dinner. Nothing past 6:00PM. ( you may wish a cup full of boiled bananas Cut in chucks with skin on 20 minutes in sauce pan.) Take 1 hour before Navy Seal method.No sleeping pills. This is control over your body. Good Luck. You fall asleep faster in the technique with practice. During the day, periodically look at an object and give yourself permission to enlarge the frame of vision to see more on the enlarged frame. THIS IS OPEN FOCUS. Close you vison and get stressed out in CLOSED FOCUS. Good luck towards self control physically. bill54321 O(h! you may over sleep your alarm.

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When you say "... imagine the distance and content between ...", are you saying we should try to estimate the distance in inches and/or feet, and imagine the skin, bones, vessels, etc.? I've tried the method where you're supposed to move from one area of your body to the next and imagine it relaxing. Somehow, this just makes me more tense.

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catdv | @catdv | Nov 3, 2022

I've experienced Hypnogogic Hallucinations, for about 30 years. My mother had it too. I found a simple solution. I wear a sleep mask. This has been 100% affective for me. I had gone through sleep studies, been put on medication, did sleep meditation, etc, nothing worked, except for something covering my eyes, as I fell asleep. My hallucinations are extremely vivid. My first hallucination was of a racoon walking into my room, we made eye contact and it ran under my bed. I would see things like shotguns in my face; a faceless man leaping on my bed, with a butcher knife; spiders... One time, I saw a small UFO hovering at my ceiling. I climbed on my bed, jumped up to swat it, I hit the ceiling, sprained my wrist and almost fell off the bed. The funniest one was where I hallucinated on an airplane, saw a spider on the armrest of the woman in front of me, and I told her there was a spider on her armrest! I sat back in my seat and the hallucination then faded, but I was too embarrassed to tell her that I was hallucinating and in fact, there was no spider (didn't want to get kicked off the plane, lol).
I have a theory that this happens because my body falls asleep before my mind does. I'm curious too if there is a relationship with IQ.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Nov 6, 2022
In reply to @catdv "I've experienced Hypnogogic Hallucinations, for about 30 years. My mother had it too. I found a..." + (show)
@catdv

I've experienced Hypnogogic Hallucinations, for about 30 years. My mother had it too. I found a simple solution. I wear a sleep mask. This has been 100% affective for me. I had gone through sleep studies, been put on medication, did sleep meditation, etc, nothing worked, except for something covering my eyes, as I fell asleep. My hallucinations are extremely vivid. My first hallucination was of a racoon walking into my room, we made eye contact and it ran under my bed. I would see things like shotguns in my face; a faceless man leaping on my bed, with a butcher knife; spiders... One time, I saw a small UFO hovering at my ceiling. I climbed on my bed, jumped up to swat it, I hit the ceiling, sprained my wrist and almost fell off the bed. The funniest one was where I hallucinated on an airplane, saw a spider on the armrest of the woman in front of me, and I told her there was a spider on her armrest! I sat back in my seat and the hallucination then faded, but I was too embarrassed to tell her that I was hallucinating and in fact, there was no spider (didn't want to get kicked off the plane, lol).
I have a theory that this happens because my body falls asleep before my mind does. I'm curious too if there is a relationship with IQ.

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Welcome @catdv, I love that a simple and very inexpensive remedy like a sleep mask was the solution to your having hypnagogic hallucinations as you fall asleep.

I don't have hallucinations, but I often wake during the night and sometimes I have a hard time falling back to sleep because my mind starts working, solving issues of the day before or thinking about what meetings I might have on my calendar the next day. It's not productive thinking because there's nothing that needs attention from me at 3 am or whatever dark o'clock hour it is. I just need to sleep. I found that putting on a sleep mask helps stop my thoughts too. The room is dark, so it's not light that keeps me up. Somehow the mask's complete darkness and focus on it, calms my mind and I'm able to go back to sleep.

Do you have a particular kind of sleep mask that is best for you? I just got a cheap one from the drug store and sometimes it's not comfortable. What works for you?

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catdv | @catdv | Nov 6, 2022

Hi Colleen
I like the sleep masks that have indentations for my eyes (so that the mask doesn't actually touch my eye lids). They are made of foam with a soft cover.

Regarding your mind solving issues during the night, I have found a great solution for that: write it down. What ever you're thinking about during the night, if you write it down (I use my phone and put it in my notepad), then your mind will let it go. Also, you were talking about focusing on the mask to calm your mind, that is a good solution too: focusing on something small, like the feel of the mask, or your breath, or thinking of a single word or color.

I hope this helps!

Happy sleeping 🙂

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Zebra | @californiazebra | Apr 6, 2023
In reply to @januaryjane "When im tired and close my eyes, images will pop up, some disturbing or that do..." + (show)
@januaryjane

When im tired and close my eyes, images will pop up, some disturbing or that do not make sense. Then i will open my eyes and they are gone, then i close them and they continue. Sometimes i fall asleep this way, waking several times. Sometimes i just nod off and maybe get a restless nap. Its very odd. Happens day or night.

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@lisalucier not sure you'll see this since I'm responding to a three year old post, but I've had the same thing happen so many times over the years. I close my eyes just to rest and then disturbing images pop up or I'm heading into a car accident and jump a foot as I slam on the brakes in my recliner. It's like I instantly start dreaming when I close my eyes, but I'm not asleep yet. Unfortunately, the images are never pleasant. I've had so many sleep disorders in my life, sleepwalking as a child, sleep paralysis very occasional for 40 years (terrifying dreams during), sleep apnea, insomnia. It's always worse when overly tired. I hope neither of us have this again.

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