This topic runs parallel to this one:

http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/t...think-about-when-we-lay-down-to-sleep.106989/

However, I thought it would better to open a separate post.

I keep records of my dreams (the ones in REM sleep, not about my ambitions) and the results are very interesting. Some of my dreams are repetitive and they occur several months apart like episodes of a TV show.

Furthermore, these dreams have a lot of detail and they create a lot stimulation for daytime thoughts. However, some of them are random thoughts that make no logical connection to anything.

Interestingly, if I think about something in a dream in the past 24 hours, I can easily fall asleep. In fact, the connection between my dreams and sleepiness is so great I have to refrain from thinking about them because I could fall asleep right in the middle of a critical process such as driving.

There have also been clinical experiments with dream process and heightened awareness. Some of them have involved drugs such as LSD and hallucinogens. However, they turned out to be a disaster and the some of the subjects went bonkers.

 

My dreams are mostly about sorting what happened during the day. Suppose I saw a TV show about Zebras, worked on a 4 inch sewer pipe, and bought gasoline today. No surprise if I dream that I'm trying to fuel my van with a 4 inch nozzle until I see a zebra in the parking lot.

For falling asleep, I have what some people would call a self hypnosis method. For 1 year, I played a certain recording while I fell asleep. Twenty-five years later, I think of the first six notes and my pulse rate drops by 20 beats per minute within 40 seconds. I also become sleepy, physically relaxed, and mentally disconnected from the present moment. That is a great thing to do while at the dentist, but I have to be careful not to do this while I'm typing or I'll never finish the senten......