Why was I dreaming that I wasn't breathing and then awaken to realize that I really wasn't breathing?

Question

after awakening it took about 2 seconds to catch my breath. What would've happened if I didn't stop dreaming? Now I'm afraid of sleeping because I don't want to die.

Answer 1

You really were not breathing for real before you started dreaming about it. Outside stimulus actually works itself into your brain. Think about this.... have you ever been asleep and having a dream, and your alarm clock started going off(in real life) and that noise somehow worked it's way into your dream? Or maybe this.... you are having a dream, and in your dream you hear a phone ringing, only to wake up and find that your phone really is ringing? Or how about the famous pee dream? You dream that you need to pee so you go to the bathroom and pee(in your dream), only to wake up and realize you have peed the bed? Even if you wouldn't have stopped dreaming, you wouldn't have died. The worst that would have happened is that you would have passed out, but once you passed out you would have started breathing again. It is impossible to kill yourself by holding your breath!! You will pass out first and once you do you will start breathing again.

Answer 2

sounds like central sleep apnea (different from obstructive sleep apnea)..
in a normal person, no matter how long you try to hold your breath, you are never going to die because brain is goint to send you signals that it needs to breathe, therefore the involuntary part of our body (we have no control over it) will take over and make you breathe whether you like it or not. funny thing is, i've heard of children throwing tantrums by saying "if you don't do what i say, i will hold my breath and die!" -- i'd tell them "go ahead!"

however... this doesn't mean that we should ignore your not being able to breathe during that dream. was it a one time thing? or you've experienced it multiple times? central sleep apnea is kind of a defect in the brain (while it's sleeping) when it doesn't tell you to breathe. your inability to stop breathing doesn't have to do with your dream. in fact it works the other way round. your body probably stopped breathing, and this affected your dream -- that's why you were dreaming that you were not breathing. ever experience a dream when you're half asleep and let's say something from the real world is making noise, let's say knocking 3 times... and in your dream, you are also seeing/hearing the knocking?(also 3 times) weird i know... but it has something to do with your dream and the subconcious part of your brain that recognize something in the "real world" and incorporating it in your sleep.

speak to a family doctor if you feel like you have this condition. in order to diagnose this problem, you will need to be sent to the sleep lab and they will hook you up with a somnograph and monitor your sleep.

Answer 3

Dreams result from a lot of things. One is your subconscious brain's attempt to explain stimulus it's actually receiving when you sleep. I once dreamed sharks were biting me only to wake up and realize that my cat was clutching at my legs and his claws needed to be clipped a bit.

So, you probably weren't breathing. You may have sleep apnea. You need to see a doctor to get it diagnosed. It's serious in the long term. It's not, however, life threatening in the short term. Your body *will* wake up and start breathing again. You won't simply stop breathing and not wake up.

Answer 4

Wow! I have the same problem but rarely. I would go to sleep and panic because I would stop breathing and I would realize it and try all my might to wake myself up or try to move a hand or make a noise to get my boyfriend to wake me up. Its a sleep-apnia and needs to be addressed if it happens enough to where your afraid to go to sleep. They will put you on a machine and monitor your breathing and most likely you will need a machine at night,but Im not certain cuz everyones different. I tell people this story about myself and they think im wierd so its nice to meet you

Answer 5

Im sorry to hear that, I have had similar dreams. Dreams I had seems to be equal to what you were going through the funny thing is when I stop breathing in my dreams it felt like I was taking in air, so I didn't need to breath, Kind of weird but , It's happen before ...

Answer 6

You won't die so don't worry about that anymore. You may have sleep apnea. Look it up. It could also have been a lot of things, you could have had your face in your pillow, in which case your mind will tell you to wake up like it did to make you breathe. You won't die in your sleep don't worry about it. Just go to the doctor if you think it's sleep apnea.

Answer 7

I have had that happen, sounds like you have sleep apnea. I awoke to find my lungs burning from not breathing.. I dreamt I was in an aircraft that was crashing, it hit the ground, in my dream I died..I awoke to burning lungs.. You should see your doctor, if you are overweight get some weight off, as overweight people tend to suffer with apnea more than fit people.

this is a good site for info.. http://www.sleepapnea.org/info/index.html

Answer 8

yes this is most likely sleep apnea, i have asthma, and alot of time the same thing happens. i stop breathing while asleep, so i dreem that theres no oxygen and i wake up gasping for air. if its really bothering you you should see a doctor.

Answer 9

Its anxiety hun, and if ur not breathing in ur sleep you may want to see a doctor. When i was little i stoped breath when i was sleeping and it made my heart beat irregular so i had to be put on pills becareful

Answer 10

This is a type of sleeping disorder. It is called sleeping paralysis.You are usually in between being asleep and being awake. You can hear and see what's going on around you but you are unable to move.