# Why do I have vivid dreams if I sleep with a light on or in the daytime? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-vivid-dreams-if-i-sleep-with-a-light-on-or-in-the-daytime/408066 "2007-06-14T23:28:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-vivid-dreams-if-i-sleep-with-a-light-on-or-in-the-daytime/408066/1 "2007-06-14T23:28:22Z")
Whenever I sleep when it’s light out, such as an afternoon nap, I have extremely vivid dreams. Ditto for if I fall asleep with a light on. Why? My theory is that the light is stimulating my uhh, eyes and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-vivid-dreams-if-i-sleep-with-a-light-on-or-in-the-daytime/408066/2 "2007-06-14T23:34:11Z")
I don’t have any answers but I find the same thing. I have more frequent vivid dreams if I sleep in the light. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-vivid-dreams-if-i-sleep-with-a-light-on-or-in-the-daytime/408066/3 "2007-06-15T00:16:50Z")
WAG: Light is distracting and more difficult to fall alseep in, so you tend to fall into a deeper sleep than you do at night. It differs from falling asleep in, say, a noisy environment because it is not as much of a distraction and may allow you to fall more firmly into REM sleep. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-vivid-dreams-if-i-sleep-with-a-light-on-or-in-the-daytime/408066/4 "2007-06-15T09:01:29Z")
When you say _[vivid](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424786)_ dreams… never mind. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-vivid-dreams-if-i-sleep-with-a-light-on-or-in-the-daytime/408066/5 "2007-06-15T09:05:13Z")
[QUOTE=Mindfield] WAG: Light is distracting and more difficult to fall alseep in, so you tend to fall into a deeper sleep than you do at night. It differs from falling asleep in, say, a noisy environment because it is not as much of a distraction and may allow you to fall more firmly into REM sleep. [/QUOTE] My WAG would be quite the opposite - I would propose that the light keeps us in the mysterious state of [hypnagogia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia) on the border between sleep and wakefulness. Both lucid dreams and hypnagogic hallucinations (believed to be the basis for alien abduction fantasies) occur in this state. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-vivid-dreams-if-i-sleep-with-a-light-on-or-in-the-daytime/408066/6 "2007-06-15T15:57:39Z")
I’d never thought about this; I fell asleep with the light on last night, and while I’m not sure if my dreams were more vivid, they were certainly stranger, and I _was_ able to remember them for longer than 30 seconds. I can still recall parts of it now; airliners were making belly landings in a forest, where people waited to provide sleigh rides. I’d won a radio show contest, and our office administrator traded me a bottle of rye for my bottle of vodka. No cigars though. 😉