# I had a dream the other night.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147 "2003-02-06T05:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/1 "2003-02-06T05:44:06Z")
Let me preface this by saying I sleep with the TV on. I dreamt I was working in a factory. Everyone there was walking around saying you can buy this car for this much, you can buy this car for that much… I woke up and there was one of those 30 minute car commercials on. It seems my brain was taking what I was hearing and putting it in my dream. Has this ever happened to anyone else? Is it a common occurance? Is there a name for it? It’s the first time I remember it happening to me. And I sleep with the TV on all the time. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_007clone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@jb\_007clone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_007clone)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/2 "2003-02-06T05:49:13Z")
Yes, I have had this happen to me. It’s really quite odd! I don’t think you fully asleep though. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/3 "2003-02-06T05:53:05Z")
Don’t you only dream in REM sleep? Which is deep sleep if I’m not mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/4 "2003-02-06T06:11:41Z")
Happens to me all the time. Especially if I’m woken up by my clock-radio, my dreams will be influenced by what I’m hearing on the radio for a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/5 "2003-02-06T06:13:20Z")
Oh, also, once in college the fire alarm went off at about 3:00 in the morning. It made a loud klaxon noise. I was dreaming I was on a battleship and the captain had just called battlestations, and I was running all over the place and loading torpedoes in a very melodramatic fashion like in the movies. Then my roommate smacked me and I woke up and went outside. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/6 "2003-02-06T06:36:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Reeder \* > \*\*Don’t you only dream in REM sleep? Which is deep sleep if I’m not mistaken. \*\* Your’re mistaken. REM is light sleep. Note that dreaming is often accompanied by some level of taling and movement. At the deepest level of sleep, the body basically lies still and the brains slowly cranks out delta waves. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/7 "2003-02-06T06:39:01Z")
Once I dreamt I was chatting up one of my amigas when she suddenly decided it would be a good idea to slug me! Briefly following the assault, I awakened to find something fell and hit me in the face while I was sleeping. Ouch. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/8 "2003-02-06T06:44:48Z")
Once I dreamed that an evil green light was trying to control my mind. I awoke to find that I was staring at the green light on my roomate’s stereo. Somehow my eye had partially opened in my sleep, just enough to let in the green light. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_007clone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@jb\_007clone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_007clone)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/9 "2003-02-06T06:45:37Z")
That happened to me as well. I dreamt I was hit in the face by a baseball and when I woke up a book had fallen off the shelf and hit me. ---
**Author:** ![Maxxxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Maxxxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxxxie)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/10 "2003-02-06T06:46:16Z")
Yes, I’ve had dreams like this. Recently, I had a nightmare that was influenced by things I could hear. I dreamt that I was … somewhere, can’t remember where, and was made to watch, powerless, as a baddie tortured a dog by drilling holes into it. The dog was crying horribly. I woke up to find my rottie at the front door whimpering to be let out. Her cries invaded my unconscious and produced a dream whose basis was a crying dog. A bloody horrible dream. ☹ ☹ ☹ [sarcasm]Thanks for reminding me of it![/sarcasm] Max ---
**Author:** ![jb\_007clone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@jb\_007clone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_007clone)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/11 "2003-02-06T06:46:49Z")
I guess even when you’re asleep you’re still aware of what’s going on. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/12 "2003-02-06T06:49:25Z")
#1 That should read _talking_ and movement. #2-I’ll link to a cite as soon as a find a site that isn’t selling something, involved in pseudoscience, and isn’t about a musical group called the Delta Waves. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/13 "2003-02-06T10:49:15Z")
Once, I dreamt that I was walking along a street, and two friends of mine nearly ran me over on their bikes. I hollered at them, and one of them looked over his shoulder and… …started singing _Every Breath You Take_. I woke up soon after and discovered the radio was on, playing that song. Weird experience, but it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Jammers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@Jammers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jammers)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/14 "2003-02-06T14:27:05Z")
I once dreamt i was eating a giant marshmallow, and when I woke up, I’d eaten my pillow:D ---
**Author:** ![the\_idler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@the\_idler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_idler)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/15 "2003-02-06T15:31:19Z")
A level psychology taught me this much… the dreams you remember occur in REM sleep, this is light sleep when your brain is processing everything that you’ve absorbed that day (seen, thought, done, smelt, felt;) etc) You do dream in the other part of sleep which is of varying depth and known as stages 1-4, 4 being the deepest. I remember being told that if you go to sleep at about 11pm to set your alarm clock for 230 am, cos if you are suddenly awoken from stage 4 you’ll have about 2 seconds to try and remember what it was you were dreaming about - the key to tapping into your unconscious mind. This is why sometimes you wake up and go “what an incredible dream - it was… shit i can’t remember” Don’t blame me if you find stuff in there you’re not entirely comfortable with. You’re not designed to know that stuff for a reason ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-a-dream-the-other-night/153147/16 "2003-02-06T15:34:37Z")
Perhaps someone would like to start an IMHO thread for discussing personal experiences along these lines, and provide a link here. I’d prefer to keep this thread in GQ for discussing whether the phenomenon has a name, and for discussing the science behind it. bibliophage moderator GQ