Do you dream about CPAP?

[rogere]

I've been using CPAP for almost three weeks, and thankfully making some progress after a very rocky start. Last night I dreamt about CPAP for the first time. I was with a group of people and explaining to someone how the procedure worked. I put on the mask and was all ready to start when I realised I was in some kind of tent without power points! That's all I can remember. Any dream analysts out there?

[ChrissieH]

I'm not really a dream analyst, but it would seem that you're anxious about being some where without electricity, and unable to use your equipment.

Maybe because you're starting to feel better?

I don't think I dream at all or theyre never very good so I dont remember! Ha Ha!

[Richard]

Perchance to Dream?

Hi Roger

People with untreated Sleep Apnoea do not dream.

Most dreams take place in that period of deep sleep known as REM sleep, characterised by 'rapid eye movement' when the brain is processing all the 'data' that has occurred during the day.

If you are experiencing 'apnoeas' every few seconds, and subconsciously waking, then you never get into REM sleep to enable you to dream. This is an additional factor in OSA's ability to seriously upset the body's natural equilibrium.

We dream for a reason: it helps us deal with things that may subconsciously be troubling us. And if we can't dream, we perhaps bottle up our problems and these may ultimately find expression in socially unacceptable ways.

So, Roger, you're new to CPAP Therapy, it's therefore on your mind. And because it's on your mind, you can deal with it through your dreams, and you feel much better about it having done so.

Richard

[Berneta]

Dreams

Hi Rogere, I did not dream at all before my CPAP. My tests showed that I was only in REM sleep a few minutes at a time. I don't remember any of those few minutes--so I assume that I didn't dream long enough to remember it. Since starting CPAP--I dream all the time. At first it was the happy easy dreams of going places and doing things with friends--of my childhood--and when my children were young. Gradually over the months the dreams starting dealing with other things--like the passing on of loved ones, the loss of friendships, the family gatherings with those who are no longer around. I had lovely dinners with a bunch of dead people--and they were not scary at all. It just seemed that I was making up for time I lost. I had lots of dreams of other things too--beloved pets, old homes I lived in, Being young and gradually ageing, funerals, vacations, arguements with people,etc. None of those were ever scary--although quite a few had an Alice in Wonderland kind of rediculous script. Which I can make no sense of at all. Maybe we each have to deal with our lost dreams the same way--or maybe not. So just relax and go with the flow. Your brain has things to do while you sleep that should have been done long ago--like storing our dreams in the proper places--and healing your body, mind, and spirit. Pretty soon you will not concern yourself with weird dreams. They will just be a part of your healing process. x Berneta