Clearly my eyes aren’t* open and I cannot take in external visual stimuli in my dreams, however I experience them similar to the visual experience in my minds eye or imagination or whathaveyou. Similarly I feel like I experience something akin to touch or feel (like the occasional flying or falling dream, or the feel of grass or something).

I don’t recall having anything similar to smell or sound in a dream though (except occasionally hearing a real sound while waking up that wasn’t actually part of the dream) What’s your experience?

  • Random_Character_A@lemmy.world
    11·
    21 hours ago

    In the past I only remembered having dreams about 3-6 times a year and very little what they were about. I only needed 6,5 hours of sleep.

    Then I had COVID something broke.

    Now I dream almost every night and remember more what they are about. Compared to the previous it’s like whole another reality with all the bells and whistles. Now I need 7,5 hours of sleep.

    I’m actually happy with the change.

    • Forester@pawb.socialEnglish
      4·
      16 hours ago

      Are you able to picture things in your imagination normally in your waking hours? For example, if I said picture a ball, how deeply could you describe it? Could you see the colors? Could you see the reflections? What is the material made of?

      • Random_Character_A@lemmy.world
        1·
        4 hours ago

        You mean do I have aphantasia? No. On the contrary. My parents parents tested me as a child, because I was a really introverted, emotionally calm and had trouble with writing. They were afraid that I was on the autism spectrum.

        Turns out that I was just a calm kid with severe case of dysgraphic dyslexia with high average IQ. Only thing I was gifted in was spatial perception.

        So yes, I can visualuze things in my minds eye and do 3D-sculpting, however I don’t think the reflection are really reflections. Just something I fool myself with. I can do some reflective designing if I focus, but something simple and nowhere in the “raytracing” level.

        Dreams however tend to be more on a conceptual level. Even graphically. You just don’t mind because your consciousness level is lowered. When you reminisce your dreams after you’re awake, you automatically reconstruct it and fill the blanks to make it more compatible with your awakened state.