How do you know you're not dreaming?

[BlueTitSmilingAtMe]

I've had dreams where I've dreamt I've woken up, sometimes multiple times, and then realized I was still dreaming, sometimes multiple times. And then I've woken up for real. But did I? Or am I still dreaming? Are you? How do you know one way or the other?

I hate when that happens, I've had dreams where I've realised I'm dreaming and I do everything I can to wake myself up just to realise once I've "woken" myself up I'm still dreaming - it's pretty scary actually.

I assume I'm not dreaming now because life's really not all that interesting plus I just nipped myself to make sure

Lol. You could have dreamt you nipped yourself though 😱😱

I have this too, although I am able to wake myself up fully if I'm in a bad situation in my dream. I know it's a dream and do everything I can, usually slapping my face, to wake myself up. I've always felt it quite comforting when I'm awake and assess the dream!

Just thinking about dreams now sorry but how weird is it that in a dream you can be like in the weirdest place ever like a mix between Tesco and a McDonald's or whatever and be like oh yes this is definitely my house Dreams are weird and since being pregnant they are more vivid and odd I had one last night that I had to get my son a dna test because he's blonde like my ex boyfriend so it must be his baby (except I broke up with my ex boyfriend over 10 years ago and my baby's 1 )

Philosophers have asked this question a lot! Do you have an interest in philosophy OP?

Dreams when you have a young baby are super bad. That one where you think they've fallen down the side of the bed, urrrgh.

But the answer to my question seems to be that we don't know. I've slapped myself in dreams also injured myself in dreams. Slapping yourself doesn't mean you're awake.

I do think there's no way of definitively knowing.

@D0lphine no, I know hardly anything about philosophy. Have philosophers come up with a method to determine this?

Oh yes certainly! People have been thinking about this since forever!

This video is kind of geeky but I think it's pretty interesting!

Tenupusly related, but...

I heard something recently on the radio about how to start lucid dreaming - apparently you need to develop a habit of asking yourself in the daytime if you're dreaming, and answering no. The speaker reckoned that after a while, you'll start asking yourself the same in dreams, but willl answer yes - i guess thats the point at which you'd be able to start controlling your dreams?

He also said most people are so surprised when this happens the first time that they wake themselves up.

Apparently light levels rarely change in dreams, so if you try flicking a light switch and it doesn’t do anything, you might be dreaming (or the bulbs gone lol)

Does anyone else have dreams about having a baby and forgetting to look after it?

Ooh you need to ask this question to the Philosopher who recently did an AMA!

I have them about animals and they keep multiplying and I know I’ve neglected them but somehow they’ve survived

I remember I had one where I was looking after some diabetic kittens and had to stop my mum from feeding them pasta!

@D0lphine thanks, that's really interesting. It's good to have it all set out like that.

BUT it looks like there is actually no way of properly checking whether or not you're awake.

No I don't think there is! People have tried!!!

Search "epistemology" OP.

The dreams about dreaming I have had have been boring as hell. Very mundane rubbish.
I mostly lucid dream.

Have you seen Inception? Spin a top...

Look at a clock, look away, then look at it again. If the time is widely different, you are dreaming

Look at a clock, look away, then look at it again. If the time is widely different, you are dreaming

This really is not sufficient. If you are dreaming and there is nothing but dreaming then you can dream about clocks and waking up and all sorts of things and it will not strike a false note because you are dreaming.

I don't think I've ever had a dream that's as mundane as mumsnet. Usually I'm like a cross between Lara Croft and Steve Irwin in my dreams

Usually I'm like a cross between Lara Croft and Steve Irwin in my dreams

Yes. I can see how the dreams you tell yourself are dreams within the ongoing mundane dream of your life would be exciting.

It takes practice. Do it in real life too. You can trigger lucid dreaming, if that is what you want to do.
Another tip (albeit weird), is if you realise you are lucid dreaming and can "feel" yourself waking up... in your dream, rub your hands together.
I fucking love sleep, and dreaming. When you can control it, every night is a fantasy.

I saw on an episode of Scooby Doo once (so obviously it's true) that if you try to read in a dream the words will be all jumbled and you'll know you're asleep. I don't know if that's always true or if it's because I had a visual memory of it but every time I've tried it in a dream to see if I'm dreaming or not the words are jumbled in just the way they were in the cartoon. So, kind of helpful for me at least!

@riotlady I also have dreams about neglecting animals, I had horses when I was younger and I often dream that I've forgotten that I still own them now and I realise I haven't fed them or mucked them out for months or even years. It's horribly upsetting, I think because I would love to still have a horse but can't afford one. Silly brain.

And you, my friend, in the dream you can't wake up from ever, dream that you are lucid dreaming.

I've got the hang of this now. Literally none of you can disprove it.

You are all dreaming, right now.

Can you dream about something you don't know or never heard of? For example in this thread a poster used "epistemology" which I've never heard of and had to google it - unless I've already seen it today and it's lodged in my subconscious dun dun dun