Dream, Dream, Dream
I sometimes - fairly often, I would say - have a moment in my dream, right before the alarm clock rings, where I know that the alarm clock is about to ring. And then it always does, and I wake up and wonder how I knew that in my sleep. I have given it a fair amount of thought (during my waking hours), and can think of a couple plausible explanations.
When the alarm clock goes off, there is a short delay before it actually starts making the alarm noise. It makes a sort of static-like clicking noise, and then there is about a half-second pause before the shrieking begins. It is generally believed that our minds are fairly lucid and unencumbered during late stages of dreaming - perhaps, in this state, I can react to the click and think to myself, "Hey, the alarm is going off in half a second," all before it happens.
Another possibility is that I have a superb internal sense of time which is accessible to me only in my sleep, and when I wake up, I can't even accurately gauge a minute. I'd be like a superhero who's someone ordinary during the day, only my power would only be while I sleep.
A third possibility is that from the instant I fall asleep, I start thinking "the alarm's about to go off," nonstop, just thinking that one thought. That way, I always think it the instant before it really happens, and then I forget about all the other times I thought it. This strikes me as a depressing way to dream.
« Rhode Island | Home | whygodwhy »
Comments
I’ve heard that “dream time” doesn’t necessarily match up with real time. So you might experience an entire sequence of events that culminates in you falling from a very high place for an appreciable amount of time, only to wake up on the floor. The entire dream took place in the moment you starting falling off your bed.
If this type of thing is true, it’s very possible that your brain goes through a similar sequence of thoughts and/or events in the moment the alarm begins.
OR, could there be half a second where you don’t actually hear the alarm in terms of sound, but your ears still pick it up and send a signal to your subconscious brain to the effect of “The alarm is going off.” Essentially, a delay before you interpret the sound as sound. ;)
Posted by Kieran at June 30, 2002 1:09 PM :: LinkMy alarm has a little static click too, and that usually happens to me, so I think it’s the first one.
Posted by Ben at July 6, 2002 7:38 PM :: LinkPost a comment
Comments for this entry have been closed. Try e-mailing me instead.
That, or you mind and body have become accustomed to waking up at that time to the alarm, so, you’ve trained your subconscience to wake up at that time.
Posted by Kylen at June 29, 2002 6:43 PM :: Link