Hypnagogia

Most recent answer: 11/30/2016

Q:
I have never seen or heard anything like the following phenomenons which I have experienced for the last few words and which my eye specialist can't explain, These do not bother me and only take place at rest on my bed.1. I see scrolling pages of words which gradually speed up, sometimes can make out words like 'and' 'the' etc.When it scrolls really fast, it disappears - I don't need to be reading a book prior to this. It is obviously coming from my brain.2. This to me is fascinating. I start seeing random images maybe 3 to 4 a second, anything from landscapes, animals, abstracts, paintings, all colours. Again it speeds up and eventually disappears. Only happens at rest on the bed and during the day when its light. The walls of my bedroom are off white. I am always quite awake.ps. At night I dream frequently, in colour, and have lots of adventures (I am a sci-fi buff.)Hope someone has run across this before. I have no mental distorders or medical conditions that could cause me to have 'visions'. cheers, Barb
- Barb (age 60)
Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
A:

This is outside my area of expertise, but it sounds like hypnagogic hallucinations—"hypnagogia" is the transitional state between waking and sleep, or vice versa. There are many documented unusual sensory effects that can occur in this state, all considered normal (unless they bother you or began suddenly; then I'd ask a doctor). Read more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia#Symptoms

Rebecca H.


(published on 11/30/2016)