The Sleep/Dream poll

I often have hypnic jerks, and falling sensations. When I was a kid I would be able to jump off the top of our stairs and float away too (in my dreams, that is... )

I still have quite frequent lucid dreams, which get quite involved and detailed. Often something resembling a plot starts to unfold in them. I once dreamt I was lying on the sofa in my girlfriends house watching TV after she had gone to bed. There were no lights on in the house. The door bell rang, and when I went to answer the door I noticed that it was a different front door to normal, and that car headlights were shining through the glass. At that point I realised I was dreaming. I opened the door and was confronted by this huge menacing looking guy who puled a knife on me, and threatened to kill me. Nonchalantly I invited him in and calmly explained to him that he couldn't hurt me because I was only dreaming. He demanded that I prove it so I lit a cigarette and stubbed it out on my arm. I remember kind of jerking, but certainly felt no pain. I remember him looking terrified, at which point he dropped the knife. I picked it up and started threatening him with it, claiming that as it was my dream I COULD kill him. I remember shouting abuse at him, but the sound wasn't coming out. I was completely silent and hoarse. I woke up at that point with my very concerned looking girlfriend looking down at me, saying 'What the f**k were you dreaming about?'

It felt a bit 'Elm Street' at the time! I've had some quite pleasant and plenty of uneventful lucid dreams too.

Blacksword wrote: I often have hypnic jerks, and falling sensations. When I was a kid I would be able to jump off the top of our stairs and float away too (in my dreams, that is... ) I still have quite frequent lucid dreams, which get quite involved and detailed. Often something resembling a plot starts to unfold in them. I once dreamt I was lying on the sofa in my girlfriends house watching TV after she had gone to bed. There were no lights on in the house. The door bell rang, and when I went to answer the door I noticed that it was a different front door to normal, and that car headlights were shining through the glass. At that point I realised I was dreaming. I opened the door and was confronted by this huge menacing looking guy who puled a knife on me, and threatened to kill me. Nonchalantly I invited him in and calmly explained to him that he couldn't hurt me because I was only dreaming. He demanded that I prove it so I lit a cigarette and stubbed it out on my arm. I remember kind of jerking, but certainly felt no pain. I remember him looking terrified, at which point he dropped the knife. I picked it up and started threatening him with it, claiming that as it was my dream I COULD kill him. I remember shouting abuse at him, but the sound wasn't coming out. I was completely silent and hoarse. I woke up at that point with my very concerned looking girlfriend looking down at me, saying 'What the f**k were you dreaming about?' It felt a bit 'Elm Street' at the time! I've had some quite pleasant and plenty of uneventful lucid dreams too.

I actually had a dream in which Freddy tried to kill me....imagine how scary that was

Falling Sensation I get quite often.

I have had only a few lucid dreams and they have a very odd effect on me.I am out of the loop for at least half a day.

I used to sleepwalk during puberty...amongst other pubescent nocturnal happenings.

I experienced everything from the list expect a night terror and sleep walking, thank god.

I often had lucid dreams, although not 100% controllable. I had a sleep paralysis once, I wanted to scream for help, but  I was only able to breath deeply. Scary.

I had "Out of half body" experience: if I wake up while sleeping on my hand, and my hand is temporarily "dead" , I moved my hand with a help of another hand but still the presence in the old position. Soon after, I felt that my "astral" hand is moving towards my "real" hand, but I wasn't moving my body...the whole thing settled after a minute.
Just nerves playing with the brain I guess.

As for hypnic jerks, I had problems with strong series of spasms mixed with choking and pre-vomiting feeling and causing insomnia, that was awful...I did EEG and I was taking medicines - those hypnic jerks of mine are actually called epileptic myoclonia.

I'm not taking medicines anymore (I would rather be an epileptic than a junkie) I learned to live with my spasms, which are not so strong anymore, and much less frequent.

Lucid Dreams & Falling Sensations happen a little now&then