Strange sensations while half asleep

Censorsh!t

Ever since I can remember I would sometimes (maybe only a few times a year) get this strange sensation when I was half asleep, not dreaming.

It's really hard to explain, it's like being very big but at the same time being very small, like things are really close but really far away at the same time, a strange dense feeling. I actually quite enjoy it, but when I try prolong it it just disappears. Last night I got it again, and managed to keep it going for a small while. And while it's happening it feels so familiar, and it's almost like I can compare it to something, and that thing is on the tip of my tongue but I can never quite find something comparable to it.

I found two sites where people seem to have similiar experiences, but it doesn't seem that anyone can really explain what it is:

http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-159608.html
http://www.uncommonforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=26307

Has anyone here ever got this feeling before?

Kamili

I've gotten this on the odd occasion too, it's very strange. Usually happens when I'm quite tired. No idea what the cause is though. Sometimes I find it quite unnerving.

ger vallely

Hmm,I have a kind of likewise experience quite regularly. The best way I can describe it is- I feel like a quite tiny dot on the side of a huge globe. And I don't mean that I feel like a person on Earth! It is very strange but I really enjoy the sensation. I get the feeling of smallness while being totally aware of the hugeness of what I am connected to. I am always aware of the curve of what I am connected to, like that has some major relevence. Does that sound in anyway similar to your experience?

thegoldenchild

Wow, I sometimes have the exact same sensation. It was much more frequent as a child. I used to feel like everything around me in the room was enormous, and I was a tiny dot. It used to freak me out as a child, and to this day, still happens on occasion. Usually, when I am half asleep, tired. I've never spoken to anyone else who experiences the same thing, and always thought it was just me. When I was a child, it was mentioned to the doctor, and I was made have my eyes tested, because he thought it was my vision and also mentioned dehydration......, which it was not, but would love to know what it is.

Censorsh!t

ger - perhaps it is the same thing. It's really really hard to describe, but it could quite possibly be the same thing.

thegoldenchild - I also think I used get it a bit more frequently when I was a child. I never said it to anyone, and then one day just decided I'd try look it up. And it's quite possibly the same thing

ger vallely

I know that it is something that I really enjoy. It's never disconcerting or uncomfortable. In fact thinking about it makes me wish I could experience it again now.There could be so many variables that could contribute to it happening. I have only ever (up until now) mentioned it by chance to one other person. She said herself and her husband described the same experience to each other on the night they met.Though they had never met anyone else who had felt it up until we talked about it.

Censorsh!t

I also really enjoy it when it happens. I remember when I was small that it was a bit unnerving, but now I love when it happens.
The other night it started to happen, but as soon as I recognised it and wanted it to continue, it stopped.
It would be great to find a way to induce it.

torrentum

Wow I thought I was the only person who experienced this!! Delighted to stumble across this thread. I find this happens if I lie on my right hand side for some reason. Though I can't make it happen at will or anything. But, I must add, I really hate it and if it happens I move right away. It freaks me out and I always feel nauseous.

parrai

It sounds like you are Lucid Dreaming, google it, it's quite facinating...

There are some who think that it can be controlled once you become aware of it happening, as in, you are dreaming and can 'control' the dream...

ger vallely

@parrai- I find controlled dreaming very handy! I was told about this many years ago while describing a frightning dream i used experience. The dream was like a tv series in that it would start off where it had previously left off, even if I'd not been dreaming about it in a long time. So after being told how I tried to control the dream. It has definitely helped. It took some time but now I am able to stop it and easily leave it to a side. I don't think this in any way is connected though to the original topic here. I personally have never controlled or even tried to control that feeling or dream or whatever it is. I enjoy the spontanaiety of it and the fact that this sensation follows its own path.

parrai

ger vallely wrote: »

@parrai- I find controlled dreaming very handy! I was told about this many years ago while describing a frightning dream i used experience. The dream was like a tv series in that it would start off where it had previously left off, even if I'd not been dreaming about it in a long time. So after being told how I tried to control the dream. It has definitely helped. It took some time but now I am able to stop it and easily leave it to a side. I don't think this in any way is connected though to the original topic here. I personally have never controlled or even tried to control that feeling or dream or whatever it is. I enjoy the spontanaiety of it and the fact that this sensation follows its own path.

Normally in dreams it could be something along the lines of:

You are in a room in your house, except it's not your house, but in your dream you feel as though it is, you walk out the kitchen door into a persons house that you know, except that persons face is not theirs, but someone entirely different, but again you know them!! (If that makes sense ) Now whilst you have a semi conscious dreamlike state (half awake/asleep) things seem to 'morph' in front of you, you are aware of all this, from your own perspective, you can see what is materialising in front..

I think this is the brain repairing/maintaining itself...

A lot of the time, one can wake up with a particular thought and it can be a transparent, perfectly thought out thought, in a split second of perfect understanding, then within seconds it's gone...

Brilliant/amazing/confusing, call it what you will, definately facinating

ger vallely

Parrai-that's a basic uncomfortable dream you describe..Please bare with me, I don't mean to seem harsh. I do believe that is a state of brain repair.Kind of like dreaming of going to school naked or leaving the house without your hair..(or is that just me..) The particular frightening dream I have is in relation to a house (freaky or what!!)but it does not disturb me like it used to. Now it is a challenge, even within the dream, to turn it around into something nice and relaxing. Since I have learned how to do it, it is not a problem. The other feeling, of being a minute part of a bigger tangible object is not a notion, like waking up after dreaming. This is while awake, definitely awake,it is only connected to dreams in the sense that it usually happens while in bed, because I am usually very relaxed, on the verge of sleep, no mans land as such. Obviously time is hugely distorted where sleep is concerned. An idea can unfold, develop and be put into practice withinn a split second. Dreaming is fantastic but the feeling of being a tiny sphere along side an object of indetermind massiveness is a whole different concept. It is a feeling of connectivity, awareness and conscienceness. To anyone who has never experienced it, it may sound just like dreaming but if you have felt it, then you would know what we mean. Sure, it might be nothing, who knows, but it feels interesting!

jenjr

[ I hope this forum is not too old, I am just now figuring out how to somewhat describe this feeling that I used to have, like dense in a big room like reminds me somewhat of one of those rooms on MIB that are supposed to test your mind. I remember feeling the sensation as a child late at night, I wondered if others had this associate with fevers? Bloody noses? The feeling of a pin but with the power of a rock and sharpness of a rock behind it I dont know if it was my whole body...my head....I dont think I have the feeling any more but talking about it I almost feel like I miss it? Its like a pain but not a pain? I usually feel like I am someone with 6th sense so I wondered if it's something spiritual......those websites...it'snot descriptive enough I cant find anyone who knows how to describe this feelingRocks,Dense, Pins,HeavyWalls with spikes? Help someone with a description? Similar feeling?








=Censorsh!t;73848640]Ever since I can remember I would sometimes (maybe only a few times a year) get this strange sensation when I was half asleep, not dreaming.

It's really hard to explain, it's like being very big but at the same time being very small, like things are really close but really far away at the same time, a strange dense feeling. I actually quite enjoy it, but when I try prolong it it just disappears. Last night I got it again, and managed to keep it going for a small while. And while it's happening it feels so familiar, and it's almost like I can compare it to something, and that thing is on the tip of my tongue but I can never quite find something comparable to it.

I found two sites where people seem to have similiar experiences, but it doesn't seem that anyone can really explain what it is:

http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-159608.html
http://www.uncommonforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=26307

Has anyone here ever got this feeling before?[/Quote]

Mrs Fairyclairy

It's really hard to explain, it's like being very big but at the same time being very small, like things are really close but really far away at the same time, a strange dense feeling. I actually quite enjoy it, but when I try prolong it it just disappears. Last night I got it again, and managed to keep it going for a small while. And while it's happening it feels so familiar, and it's almost like I can compare it to something, and that thing is on the tip of my tongue but I can never quite find something comparable to it.

I found two sites where people seem to have similiar experiences, but it doesn't seem that anyone can really explain what it is:

http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-159608.html
http://www.uncommonforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=26307

Has anyone here ever got this feeling before?[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]


Hi, i just decided to Google my sensation and it came up with this. It totally describes word to word what I feel. Its not something that happens without warning these days, I have to concentrate to feel it (it was more of a childhood thing really, I havent felt the sensation in ages but I know that if I concentrated I could get it back).....but it is so weird, and like you say, so familiar without being able to pinpoint what it is (a bit like a distant memory or something). To me its a bit like standing up against a wall (really close) but then feeling the great mass of space all around you, I get a slight panicky feel with it but nothing major. It really doesnt affect my life or anything but it would be interesting to know what it was all about

jenjr

Hi, i just decided to Google my sensation and it came up with this. It totally describes word to word what I feel. Its not something that happens without warning these days, I have to concentrate to feel it (it was more of a childhood thing really, I havent felt the sensation in ages but I know that if I concentrated I could get it back).....but it is so weird, and like you say, so familiar without being able to pinpoint what it is (a bit like a distant memory or something). To me its a bit like standing up against a wall (really close) but then feeling the great mass of space all around you, I get a slight panicky feel with it but nothing major. It really doesnt affect my life or anything but it would be interesting to know what it was all about [/Quote]


Like you said you almost just want to know what it was and almost want to experience it again, i dont have problems with it now but as you said could feel like the sensation as you read what others say...not everyone on those other threads really gets it, like they are talking about headaches and dreams it was not a dream it was something else...

Bluegrass

parrai wrote: »

I think this is the brain repairing/maintaining itself...

A lot of the time, one can wake up with a particular thought and it can be a transparent, perfectly thought out thought, in a split second of perfect understanding, then within seconds it's gone...

Brilliant/amazing/confusing, call it what you will, definately facinating

I get this at times too. This morning actually, in my dream something happened and I was thinking to myself (in the dream) and it all made perfect sense (no idea what it was, but i clearly did at the time). And I woke up and for a split second knew what I was thinking from the dream and still understood it, and then boom! Gone I was left wondering what it was I had been thinking about and just forgotten it straight away. Madness. Had some crazy dreams this morning actually

DOK94

I remember having this described sensation roughly four times in my life, 3 of which were around the age of 8. It felt like the room was expanding and moving around me as I was remaining still/ getting smaller.It usually caused confusion / fear as I was young, abit like claustrophobia,. in a way. One of the four times it occurred more viciously, it was during the day, think I was just napping, the next thing it felt as if my bed was hurtling towards one of the walls! It was so intense I leaped out of my bed screaming and crying,. When all had settled and I calmed down , I turned around to become aware I was in the sitting room and my sister just looked at me as if to say 'are you going out of your f'ing mind' ,and I almost burst into laughter, madness!

Fear_an_tarbh

jenjr wrote: »

...but it is so weird, and like you say, so familiar without being able to pinpoint what it is (a bit like a distant memory or something). To me its a bit like standing up against a wall (really close) but then feeling the great mass of space all around you, I get a slight panicky feel with it but nothing major. It really doesnt affect my life or anything but it would be interesting to know what it was all about

Yikes, I cant believe I stumbled on this thread, i used to get this when I was younger. Always when I was just falling asleep and sometimes able to control or prolong the 'dream'. In my case I would be holding a tiny plastic shape (like the thing that holds a clothes tag on, breaks when you pull off the tab), its in the shape of a hammer, about a cm long but feels like it has the weight of a huge lump hammer. It can be slightly discomforting to have so much weight or power in something tiny, or at times enjoyable.

There was also the sensation of a great white space all around, again sometimes discomforting, sometimes nice.

Im glad I found this thread and I'm clearly not the only person to experience this!

rfrp

its weird... i didnt know other people got this feeling too. i got that feeling today while i was lying in bed, but i also used to get it alot when i was younger.
i dont really like the feeling. i kinda scares me a little. maybe coz i dont know what it is.
while i'm lying in bed, if i start to think of an empty space, or if i concentrate on silence, i start to feel like i'm in this huge space, and i'm really tiny, but at the same time it feels like claustrophobic and everything feels crammed together. the feeling usually gets stronger and stronger, but it kinda freaks me out so i open my eyes and turn on my side.

Noodles81

I have experienced the exact same thing, mostly as a child while half asleep. Everything would rise up and I would shrink to this tiny thing but I'd still be aware I was in my bed, just suddenly small and out of proportion with everything else around me. It used to really freak me out and I remember on one occasion going up to my mam and sitting on her lap, trying to explain fretfully, as I was still experiencing it, but I couldn't articulate what was happening so she told me it must have been a bad dream. I felt very confused and it took a few moments to return to the room and to reality. I was about three at the time but I remember it clearly. I too have never spoken about it to anyone but it did happen again a few months back. I find it fascinating that others have experienced this too.

Arpa

Yep, have the same thing on occassion. Usually just before sleep. Also more frequent when younger.

Best way I can describe it is like lying on a large white plain...almost spongy to the touch, like gravity pressing me down on this plane but expanding at the same time. There is no discernible shape to my "being" during this sensation, just an awareness that it is my consciousness which is involved.

Something that I have associated with the feeling whether rightly or wrongly is the Michelin Man and/or the Ghostbusters Marshmallow Man. A feeling of bloatedness like an expanding head but as just easily willed to a retractive state.

I have never mentioned it to anyone as I thought it may just be me, but from this thread I see it is at least somewhat common.
Wonder if there is any medical or psychological base to this phenomenon?

JJayoo

Sounds similar to a DMT experience. It is hypothesised that DMT is produced in the Pineal gland during sleep and it causes us to dream. It's some funky ****.

Scragins

Not sure if the OP still follows this thread, and sorry for necro'n it.. But yea I get the same thing - quite often at night, and accompanied with a migraine (before or after, usually a few hours before).

A bit of research and I'm pretty sure it's "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome", seems to fit the description quite well.

To this day I still remember my first experience, not sure if it was a dream or not.. I felt like I was extremely small, like the size of a cup, but I weighed heavily like a car. I was in a desert of some type, very vast, big, and inescapable - and a 'dark sphere' type of thing was after me. Quite scary, doesn't sound like it - the scary part of it was the sensations.

J_E

I get this if I am meditating/lying down and trying to get into a hypnagogic state. I usually visualise either a ball shape or a wire fence that appears larger than life, a strange near/far sort of depth.