Have you ever heard of this myth?

Steven · **Posted:** June 18th, 2010, 2:12 pm

I've known of this myth for quite some time, but never really thought about it until today, because of a dream I had last night.

Have you heard of the myth that if you die in your sleep, you die in real life?

EG: You get shot in your dream, you die in your dream, and thus you die in real life.

What do you think about it?

Adbot · **Posted:** June 18th, 2010, 2:12 pm

Iron Maiden · **Posted:** June 18th, 2010, 2:41 pm

I killed myself sereval hundred times in my dreams.

Sadly, I'm still alive.

hummerwar921 · **Posted:** June 18th, 2010, 3:03 pm

Nope.

Ever have those falling dreams (not hypnagogic imagry/spasms, but a real dream) where you fall off a building, or a cliff, or out of a plane, and as soon as you hit the ground, you wake up?

Also, anyone here ever lucid dreamed before? You can get out of them by killing yourself violently.

When you go into REM sleep (when dreaming occurs), your brain paralyzes your body so you can't act out your dreams.

When people are stressed out, have lack of sleep, or various other things, their brain doesn't paralyze them properly, causing them to sleepwalk/sleeptalk, or act out their dreams. That's how people kill themselves while asleep, by doing something/going somewhere they really shouldn't.

Duke Juker · RSBandB Donor since 07/01/2010

In movies like the Matrix and the Jason series, if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. I'm not aware that this can happen in real dreams or altered states. If it were possible, it would have to be so realistic that you would have to be believe it was real life. But even then, your brain is thinking it...it's not happening to your body (at least theoretically). I have had it happen when I do fall off a cliff in a dream and when I hit the ground my entire body jumps and I wake up. That's just a reaction. I just don't think dreams are that realistic and you can usually figure out when you are dreaming and when you are not.

Iron Maiden · **Posted:** June 18th, 2010, 8:10 pm

Duke Juker wrote:

In movies like the Matrix and the Jason series, if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. I'm not aware that this can happen in real dreams or altered states. If it were possible, it would have to be so realistic that you would have to be believe it was real life. But even then, your brain is thinking it...it's not happening to your body (at least theoretically). I have had it happen when I do fall off a cliff in a dream and when I hit the ground my entire body jumps and I wake up. That's just a reaction. I just don't think dreams are that realistic and you can usually figure out when you are dreaming and when you are not.

Actually, that's Freddy from A Nightmare on Elm Street. :wink:

I remember dreaming about me as a jester nuking myself to destroy the city, blowing off my head with a shotgun, get killed by Leatherface, dying in an explosion. Not dead yet.
They are quite frequent. I do alot of nightmares and I barely sleep. I'm really tired since about 2 months.

Your dreams are often a good way to know a bit about your future. Whenever I dream about the birth of a baby, someone in my family dies in real life.

Evelyn · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 2:09 am

I've been killed plenty of times in my dreams.
I've killed more than I got myself killed however.

Adbot · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 2:09 am

Chief Snake · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 5:00 am

Cliff Dude wrote:

I've been killed plenty of times in my dreams.
I've killed more than I got myself killed however.

Really?

That's an interesting thought actually. I can't recall any occasion on which I've killed anyone/anything else in a dream.

So Steven... is this to say that you've never died in a dream before?

Pennstate315 · Runite Member 5-25-10

I never die in my dreams. Just before I die I wake up. The worst thing i remember happening to me in a dream is my finger getting chopped off by a chainsaw.

Ranging God · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 10:12 am

Yes I have, and it is very interesting thought because in my dreams when I am about to die, I ALWAYS wake up, right before I would die.

Evelyn · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 11:30 am

Chief Snake wrote:

Really?

That's an interesting thought actually. I can't recall any occasion on which I've killed anyone/anything else in a dream.

So Steven... is this to say that you've never died in a dream before?

Let's just say playing FPS games late at night can do things...

The Unknown Man · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 1:18 pm

Im going to make a random guess here, and say this myth was initiated from parents towards there kids to stave off negative thoughts. IE No thoughts of suicide, or anything of the such of wrong doing. Why not punch some fear into the kids that way?

trekkie · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 4:53 pm

not a myth it is a FACT.

it is not like a nightmare that kills it is sleep terror.

sleep terror:
Sleep terror disorder is defined as repeated temporary arousal from sleep, during which the affected person appears and acts extremely frightened.

symptoms of sleep terror are very similar to the physical symptoms of extreme fear. These include rapid heartbeat, sweating, and rapid breathing (hyperventilation). The heart rate can increase up to two to four times the person's regular rate. Sleep terrors cause people to be jolted into motion, often sitting up suddenly in bed. People sometimes scream or cry. The person's facial expression may be fearful.

so if you're having a dream where you actually feel the fear, and then you get shot you can die. you'll basically can end up having a heart attack.

there's a reason all those poltergeist things make great stories. people go to sleep suddenly they start screaming and you try to wake them up and they can die.

if you know somebody that is going through sleep terror do not try to wake them up. the body is still reacting to the stress and if you try to wake them up, the body still thinks somebody is trying to kill them and they could die.

Alex_SE · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 5:34 pm

trekkie wrote:

[...]

I don't know... It's really hard to believe. Is there any kind of source on that?

I once dreamt I was in the rooftops of a very tall building at some party (it was 21/12/2012 in the dream for some reason), and suddenly a strong earthquake started. The building started falling and my head was crushed during the fall, and I actually felt that

. When images came back, I could only hear water flowing, and a pink background. I forgot what happened next. When I actually woke up in the morning I couldn't stop thinking about this dream for the whole day... Specially because I actually felt some pain when I "died".

trekkie · **Posted:** June 19th, 2010, 7:56 pm

well i had a psych teacher in one of my classes that had to do research on people with sleep terror. some of her stories that she said in class were... very freaky.

dafin0 · **Posted:** June 20th, 2010, 12:32 am

Yes i have heard of the myth before. But, i didnt know it could actually kill. I might have to cut back on my game play before i go to bed iin the evening.

Cheers, dafin0 :lol: