So I woke up this morning at 5:33am and shut off my alarm clock. Got up, brushed teeth, made coffee and was starting my day when I realized I was actually dreaming. I don't have an alarm clock and I was still comfy on the couch where I had fallen asleep watching hulu. Out of simple and pure curiosity, I got up (for real), found my phone, at it was 5:33am. This happens far too often to be coincidense. Many times have I awoken in a startle having drempt I was late only to find that I had forgotten to set my alarm on my phone and was indeed late, but only by a couple mins or so. Or I wake up just to have my alarm go off a minute later. However, when I try to guess the time when Im awake, Im nowhere near as accurate. It should be noted that this not the result of habit or routine. My job isn't a standard 9-5. I have varying duties that need completed on a weekly or monthly basis which I can generally schedule myself, resulting in a total lack of any semblence of a daily routine. Sometimes I get up at 6am, sometimes I sleep til noon, sometimes I work an 18 hour day and sometimes I work just a couple hours or take a few days off. Apparently, my brain is capable of calculating the precise time by some method or another, but Im not able to consciously access this function. Anyone else have similar experience and/or alternative explanation?
Sometimes people open their eyes when they sleep. You probably could see the clock in your sleep. While it registered in your brain, you weren't consciously aware of it.
I dont have a clock. The only things that display time are my phone and my pc, and neither had the screen on.
I do that also. I get up every day at 4 am to get ready for work. I've been doing it for so long that I don't even need to set an alarm anymore but I still do. I always wake up shortly before the alarm goes off and the times I guess the time its usually down to the minute accurate. It never varies more than a couple minutes but I'm always guessing it correctly. It goes one step further though. Sometimes, right after waking up, I will guess what song might be playing on the radio and sometimes when I turn it on its playing. And these aren't current songs they are obscure ones you don't here often when it happens. I can usually guess the time accurately all day however, some say its an internal clock I have.
Sounds like you are on the verge of lucid dreaming. I’ve messed around with it quite a bit. It’s amazing what the mind is capable of.
Yes. Some people can do it naturally, but there are a number of mental exercises you can do to make it easier, including "reality checks". The idea with this is to make it a habit to question whether or not you are dreaming while awake. The habit then carries over to when you sleep. this allows you to realize that you are dreaming. Once you reach this state, you are "lucid", and can then start other mental excercises that allow you to manipulate and interact with the dream world around you. For some people it comes easier than others. Ive had some success, but it's hit or miss. The biggest early obstacle is staying calm when you realize you are dreaming. Often times people get so excited that they wake themselves up, lol. It's a lot of fun when you do it successfully though. Also, "dream diaries" are important. A lot of times you may have had a lucid dream, but you just forget upon waking. By making a habit of recording your dreams as soon as you wake, you will find that you are remembering the details of your dreams more and more.
There probably wasn’t a specific time in the actual dream, just the general concept of a clock with a time on it. When you woke up and looked at the real time, that could have generated a false memory of that being the time in the dream. Alarm or not, you’re likely to wake up at around the same time (assuming you’re getting a relatively standard amount of sleep. You can also be subconsciously aware of a lot before you consciously awake, especially light and sound. You’ll also remember those mornings you describe but not all the ones where you wake normally to the sound of the alarm. Yes, pretty much everyone experiences exactly the same events and perceptions. It’s mostly a function of the weird and wonderful workings of the human brain, both in subconscious processing and our conscious rationalisations of it.
