Music in Sleep

I always fall asleep to music, like my headphones on my head not a radio on my nightstand. Anyways last night I had and I was shot and I fell to the ground and everything was turning white...all of a sudden I could hear music, and I remember thinking what the hell I can't be dead this is bull#. And my music ended, and my dream continued. Very wierd expierence I was wondering if anyone has heard of any effects like this when people fall asleep to music. I was listening to Alt. Rock at the time so it wasn't very heavy.

Music can sometimes help in lucid dreaming. I also remember goggles you could wear at night that flash dim red lights into your eyes. Those were supposed to help with lucid dreaming.

Originally posted by Umbrax
Music can sometimes help in lucid dreaming. I also remember goggles you could wear at night that flash dim red lights into your eyes. Those were supposed to help with lucid dreaming.

Those flipping goggles caused me to have some very bad nightmares once!
Chances are you fell into very heavy sleep, at the time the music ended.
I'm a very heavy sleeper, an atom bomb can go off near my head, the whole world could have just blown up, and I'd still be in slumber land as my body drifted through space. That being said, if music is playing in the background, it influences my dreams so much, IE once I fell asleep with CNN playing(which I don't recommend to anyone) , and I had a really vivd dream, where I was actually personal counsel to Saddam Hussein, I was even supposed to act as negotiator between him and Bush, weird

[edit on 9/26/2005 by denial28]

Listening to music either just before sleep or during sleep can indeed have a substantial impact on the content of your dreams. Often this impact can take various forms. For example I, and I am sure many others, have had a dream wherein one of the characters in my dream started singing. When I woke up, the same song was playing on the radio. This has happened to me many times and it is not merely restricted to music. Sometimes the television has been on in the background whilst I have been sleeping and the content of what is being shown on tv will insinuate itself into my dreams, warping storylines or dialogue.

Another example: there was a song which I had heard snippets of on the radio during the day, but I was frustrated that I did not know the name of the song or the band who sang it. I slept with the radio on and every single time that song would come on the radio during my sleep I would wake up, as though my body knew that I wanted to hear it. The point is that any number of external stimuli can influence your dreams in a variety of different ways. We still understand so little about the purpose and nature of dreaming that it is difficult to state definitively just what influence music might have on dreams, but it is clear that an influence does exist. This may be especially true if the music is more directly stimulating - running directly through headphones, for example, rather than being simple ambient background noise like through a radio on the nightstand.

You may want to check out this site, which is a dreaming FAQ that has some interesting answers. It has this to say about external stimuli and their influence on our dreams:

Sensual "input" while sleeping is incorporated into dreams. Most
notably, while sleeping, you hear as well as while waking - the ears
are never turned off. This leads to the consequence that what you hear
while sleeping, you'll hear in your dreams. The sound is always coming
from "somewhere". Common experiences of this kind are a telephone
ringing or music from the radio.

So you see, your experience with hearing music in your dreams is far from strange and nothing to be worried about. It is a very common aspect of dreaming that everybody will probably experience at one time or another.

As for being shot in your dream, I have experienced this many, many times. Often I experience a sense of disbelief or even defiance, exactly as you have described. Because my dreams are very often lucid, I have sometimes found myself manipulating the dream so that I "undo" the shot and have even found myself arguing with the dream character who shot me: "I shot you". "Yeah, I know, but I didn't want to be shot, so now I'm not" . No doubt there are a number of interpretations as to what this might mean, but the point is that this too is an extremely common theme in dreams and not something to be concerned about at all. It is possible that the music may have influenced this dream, but it is difficult to say, given our relative ignorance in determining exactly what impact music has on our dreams.

I hope this helped, Final. Let me know if you have any questions whatsoever or wish to discuss it further.

I dont listen to music before I sleep, I usually have some audio book on or occasionally the radio. But, I often have dreams where theres vivid music ive never heard before. Its usually really good too... shame I forget it else i'd recreate it. Now, its not the music on the audio book, or the radio, because its a totally different genre, and the radio doesnt play much music, its mostly news, drama and documentaries.

Another thing is sometimes i'll dream about what im listening to, but it will be different. Like a remix... its really good when that happens, you get to star in your favourite play

Originally posted by Jeremiah25
I hope this helped, Final. Let me know if you have any questions whatsoever or wish to discuss it further.

Yea it helped thanks, but for being shot I have heard before that if you die in a dream...that you actually die. I dunno if this is correct this is just what I have heard. Any input on this idea would be very helpful

Originally posted by The_Final
Yea it helped thanks

, but for being shot I have heard before that if you die in a dream...that you actually die. I dunno if this is correct this is just what I have heard. Any input on this idea would be very helpful

Well, I know personally that I have died plenty of times in dreams and, well, here I am. In all seriousness, I have had dreams where I have been shot and have subsequently died and, because my dreams are usually quite vivid, the experience is often quite offputting and sometimes quite painful. However, I can certainly vouch for the fact that if you die in your dream you do not die in real life.

This concept probably derives from the notion that dreaming is actually a form of astral travel or out of body experience and that if you were to die during such an occurence you would be unable to find your way back to your body. Many have pointed to Ecclesiastes 12:6 as evidence of this:

Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

The "silver cord" is believed to be a cord which connects your astral body to your physical body. Many believe that if this cord is severed whilst you are astral travelling, then you will die physically, since you will be unable to return to your body. Since dreams are considered by many (many here at ATS have voiced this opinion, for example) to be a form of astral travel that everybody experiences nightly, to die in your dream would mean being unable to return to your body and subsequent physical death.

To refute this argument and put you at your ease, let me just say that I have indeed, as I said, had a number of dreams in which I have died and it has not led to my physical death. Furthermore, if this were the case, I would expect to see far more people dying in their sleep, since I suspect that many people experience dreams in which they are dying (Reference).

In many modern dream interpretations, dreaming that you die is said to be indicative of change occuring in your life - a symbol that some chapter or important aspect of your life has or is going to change. If everyone who died in their dreams did so in real life, then there would be no interpretation of dying whilst dreaming, since everyone who did so would be dead.

So, in short, don't worry, I've dreamed of dying and I seem fine. I am sure that if you ask those around you they would have had similar dreams. I hope this has helped.

[edit on 26/9/05 by Jeremiah25]

yeah, its really wild:

On more ocassions than i can remember, When im REALLY tired and try to stay up (im ususally in school). Usually, right before i go to sleep, I hear music, like some kinda angelic, instrumental music. Its creepy, but im too tired to care about it.

has anyone else herd of or experienced it??

I have never had music carry over into dreams, but I have fallen asleep to music quite a few times. Usually in the afternoon on weekends or after a long day if I'm tired, I will just lay down either to take a nap or try some astral projection exercises while listening to music. While I don't usually get any of the music carrying over into my dreams, I have noticed that when the CD stops playing, I wake up usually. I guess your body notices that it suddenly gets quiet and wakes you up because there might be danger, I dunno. It's good if you only want to take about an hour nap, anyway .

I just want to ask some things without trying to change the subject too much :

What is vidid dreaming ?

One time I dreamt that I was fighting someone with swords and sticks , then suddenly I was hit ... I fell down on the ground , the person had a big spear : 40 x 40 cm approxly . He stuck the spear right down on my left side right under my heart. And I could actually "Feel" the pain , it was horrible and it took many seconds before I would wake up (at least 24 sec) ... when I woke up I had the same pain for about 1 minute after...

Can someone explain this ?


Anyway is there any other good tricks to lucid dreaming ? : I have tried to think of : I am going to have a lucid dream now , and when I am in a dream I look at my hands etc.


Thanks in advance for answers

Originally posted by Forsaken Druid
yeah, its really wild:

On more ocassions than i can remember, When im REALLY tired and try to stay up (im ususally in school). Usually, right before i go to sleep, I hear music, like some kinda angelic, instrumental music. Its creepy, but im too tired to care about it.

has anyone else herd of or experienced it??

To me, this sounds exactly like a hypnogogic illusion. I go into more detail regarding the causes and types of hypnogogic illusions on this thread. Suffice it to say that these are illusions you experience during that strange period between wakefulness and sleep. Everybody experiences them to some degree, and sounds and music are not uncommon varieties of hypnogogic illusions. Have a read and tell me if this is similar to what you are experiencing.

Originally posted by gamerman
What is vidid dreaming ?

I have experienced exactly what you are describing. As a result of conditioning I have undertaken to induce lucid dreams, my dreams are often incredibly vivid. I have felt intense pain many times in my dreams, often as a result of being either shot or stabbed. I have experienced a type of "carry over" pain upon awakening, but this is extremely rare for me. I think that this type of residual pain is purely mental and, as long as it doesn't last too long, should be of little concern. It is important to note that when you sleep, your brain is extremely active. It reacts to your dreams in the same way that it would react to real-life situations. This is why your body produces chemicals during REM sleep to paralyse your body, since your brain does not know the difference between dreams and reality. Were these chemicals not produced, we would act out our dreams each night. Given this, it is likely that your brain has triggered a pain response in reaction to the events of your dream and this has carried over into wakefulness, resulting in the physical pain you feel. After all, pain is simply a message being carried by your brain and, to your brain, dream pain is as real as normal physical pain.

Originally posted by gamerman
Anyway is there any other good tricks to lucid dreaming ?

There have been a number of threads in which you may find tips for experiencing lucid dreaming. In this thread, for example, I go into some detail about the tips and techniques I use to induce lucid dreams. These techniques have been found to work even on my friends who did not even know what lucid dreaming was before I showed them how to do it. Have a read of my post, as well as the others on the thread, and experiment with the techniques outlined there. Hopefully, one or more of them will work for you, but the real key to successful lucid dreaming is practice and perseverance.

[edit on 26/9/05 by Jeremiah25]

It is strange how there is a correlation between the sound/ambiance of the music and the dream.

When I would be listening to Rammstein I would always experience these dark and at times militaristic dreams that are quit disturbing, these would always be accompanied by brief images of German military officers and everything would be in a hue of grey.

Originally posted by Majestic12
It is strange how there is a correlation between the sound/ambiance of the music and the dream.

Yea I find it rather wierd, but since I listen to the same genre of music I don't often have sporadic dreams when I fall asleep to music. But when i don't listen to music I am almost garunteed a wierd dream.

Hey Majestic12 haven't seen you around the SS board in a while whats up?

When I listen to classical it is almost entirely different, everything is whimsical and blissful.

Nothing really, my interests shift from subject to subject. I'm going to start posting there again anyway

Originally posted by Majestic12
When I listen to classical it is almost entirely different, everything is whimsical and blissful.

I listen to Alt. Rock like Incubus and stuff, so I wonder if that always makes my dreams the same type of Love theme they seemed to be. Does anyone know if you can actually control your dreams through the medium of music?

Nothing really, my interests shift from subject to subject. I'm going to start posting there again anyway

Thats good I put out a thread that right now is about 10 pages long, its not that good it just sparked a lot of people to talk.
Concerning Lucifer in Freemasonry

When listening to the Industrial-Electronica typed stuff my dreams are usually chock-full of strife or some sort of bliss. It will vary depending on what song it is. I have made the mistake of listening to Rammstein's darker tracks which will incite horrid nightmares.

Thanks for the link, I'll post in there

[edit on 26-9-2005 by Majestic12]

Originally posted by Majestic12
incite horrid nightmares.

Oddly enough I haven't had a nightmare in some time. At least a few years, I dunno if this is related to myself listening to music, or mere chance. Once again I am wondering if this is at all connected with the genre of music I am listening to.

As far as dictating your draems through the music I think it is possible. I remember my grandmother purchased some sleep system which incorporated new age music.

I ALWAYS listen to music before sleep, yet I rarely dream.

Like another poster mentioned though, I will dream about the song playing on the radio before I wake up though. It somehow makes its way into the dream.

Originally posted by Majestic12
As far as dictating your draems through the music I think it is possible. I remember my grandmother purchased some sleep system which incorporated new age music.

Well doesn't it go back to the old dream of being able to study if you listened to your lecture notes? Sorry I just thought of that, maybe it uses the same ideas. Because I also heard that your eyes sorta discharge everything you see in a day to form a dream, so I am thinking that maybe music is the sound part of your dream. But what I find really odd, that if I am not listening to music there seems to be no noises in my dream. Maybe thats normal, but I have never seemed to have payed much attention to my dreams before.