A Dream In A Dream

Have you ever had a dream in a dream before?

Many of our dreamers here at dream dictionary want to know the meaning behind a dream within a dream.  This common occurrence which is actually called a “false awakening” is a very vivid and realistic experience that convinces the dreamer about awakening from sleep.

The dreamer might seem to perceive they are awake, but in reality are still asleep. These vivid dream within a dream or false awakenings often causes confusion leaving you feeling anxious and confused in the morning.

Oddly enough the vividness of the dream become more bizzare when it is when accompanied by sleep paralysis; the feeling of being conscious but unable to move.

Article: Shadows In Your Room or Sleep Paralysis?

Dreams Within Dreams Meaning

Despite being in some sort of a matrix that you cannot get out, these dreams are perfectly normal and can be stopped once you become aware you are trapped in this never ending loop.

Usually in a false awakening type dream, subjects often dream about their day to day activities such as; cooking, making breakfast, using the bathroom or even cleaning. Confusion starts to kick in when the dreamer actually wakes up from their sleep perceiving that they where just up doing activities.

Continuity Dreams Reasons

It is also common for false awakenings to repeat multiple times, similar to Matryoshka dolls also known as stacking dolls feeling layered. These dreams are usually associated as a nightmares trying to break the spell of continuum. The false awakening loop can occur waking up to ten times, as the cycle repeats over and over again.

The dreamer thinks they are awake, though they are actually asleep. The horror movie classic “A Nightmare On Elm Street”  where the first movie to popularized false awakening. You know its scary when its in Freddy Krugers dreams.

Dream Within A Dream Causes

• insomnia
• sleep apnea
• restless leg syndrome
• sleep paralysis
• stress & anxiety

How To Stop False Awakening

Almost everybody will experience a false awakening some just don’t have any dream recall. False awakenings can be managed using a couple of tricks to help you break that scary cycle of illusion. If you doubt you are dreaming, your dreaming. Sometimes just wiggling your toes allows you to snap out of this loop.

For the most part we good at discerning these kind of events in our lives; so if you are wondering if you had a dream or if it was real, it most likely was a dream.

Other tricks would be to test your memory when you are dreaming like peoples names, phone numbers or location. This helps break the never ending cycle and bring forth a reality check by reassessing order and incongruities.

Turn False Awakenings Into Lucid Dreams

1. Reality Check In Daily Life – Regularly Perform a reality check for different times in the day. This helps recognizing a false awakening as soon as it begins.

2. Make Use Of Your Alarm Clock – Whenever you have the time to, ask yourself “Am I actually dreaming?” Studies have shown that numbers, words and letters are very difficult to read in dreams because the language centers of the brain are largely shut down. This is why numbers or words are often prone to changing or, switching into unreadable symbols after a few seconds. Your alarm clock is a tool that will help expose this.

3. Look At Your Reflection – Hey good looking! The very first thing we do is head to the bathroom, this is perfect for a reality check. Allow yourself a few seconds to examine your surroundings, face and body; check that the reflection of the room is normal, check to see if your hand goes though the mirror.

4. Leave Notes For Yourself – Written reminders placed around the house that you usually head to first; this will prompt you to do a reality check and reveal if you are dreaming. Be sure to check them every morning – don’t dismiss them.

False Awakening Dream

One of our dreamers posted what it felt like during her false awakening. “I woke up from sleep and my alarm went off. I usually wait in bed until I get up to start my day, I remembered vividly rubbing my eyes and brushing my teeth and walked to the kitchen. I made myself a cup of coffee and let the dog out of the house and picked up the newspaper. It was cold outside so as I went to grab my jacket my alarm went off and I jumped out of my sleep. I was back to where I started, I freaked out”.