Why do you have (or remember?) no dreams some nights and vivid ones other nights?

[FiftyNotNifty]

Last night my dreams were BANANAS, like totally out there bananas. Nothing at all I could link to daily life, or anything going round in my head, as is normally the case.
This was more like some crazy kids sci fi adventure movie..I quite enjoyed remembering it when I woke up!

Other dreams are clearly just my brai processing the day.
Other mornings I wake up and don't remember any dreams at all.
These things really fascinate me! Any dream experts out there who can explain why it's so different night to night?

I think it depends what time of night you dream. I remember those that I dream just before waking.

Oh that makes sense! Mine sometimes feel like they go on all night but I'm sure they can't!

I think it depends on what stage of sleep you're in when you wake up. If you get awoken mid REM then I'm guessing it's more likely you'll catch yourself dreaming 🤷‍♀️

I've always been a very very vivid dreamer, like I get confused between dreams and reality at times. When my mental health is bad I can have horrific nightmares.

Anyway, in early December I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I stopped breathing an average of 64 times every hour for at least ten minutes at a time and my oxygen levels dropped to 55/60%. I started on cpap therapy and my dreams are much tamer now than they were. I still dream occasionally but I tend to forget them quickly upon waking whereas I used to remember them very vividly long term. According to my sleep specialist, the incredibly vivid dreams are very common with sleep apnea and it's to do with the stopping breathing and it's almost like a " life flashing before your eyes " thing where your brain is sending huge alarm signals to try and get you to wake up and breathe.

Oh goodness that's scary! Quality of sleep as well as timing then? It's so interesting

I think I get my most vivid dreams if I sleep through my alarm, or drop back off to sleep after hitting snooze: it's as if my brain's started to spin at waking speed while my body's still in sleep mode.

I used to have my most vivid dreams / feature length movie dreams when I was due my period. So hormonal.

I also have weird, disjointed dreams if I'm too hot in bed. Or ill.

When I was younger I would snooze my alarm 15 minutes so I could finish my dream off. So I definitely dreamed regularly.

I also find it fascinating and I'm of the firm belief that it's your subconscious brain trying to figure stuff out. Even the weird stuff.