SENSORY STIMULATION AND DREAMS

so, i recently started using rain noise (rain.simplynoise.com) to sleep and noticed that it causes me to vividly dream every time. normally, i dream every now and then but with this thing i am brought to dream every night... i kinda feel i dont rest as usual tho, idk. has anyone had any experiences with how external sensory stimulation influences dreaming? sound or light or anything else. i think it can be an interesting field to explore.

I don't know if this counts. Usually I sleep on my stomach, but when I sleep on my back, my sleep starts getting weird. The shallow dream phase, the one right before you enter a deep sleep, is always far more lively and lucid. It's the part where your rational thoughts slowly turn more and more irrational and dream-like, but in a much more lucid sense. It's sort of like day-dreaming but less in control. Sometimes my body lets me enter a deep sleep if it isn't bothered by the new position, and when it does my dreams will be much more vivid and I'll wake up either feeling incredibly soykafty or incredibly fresh.

>>2645 interesting, position is also a relevant influence. so, you always sleep on your stomach? how do you orient the head? i have tried but my neck gets tired of being bent to one side and i also need to put an arm or something between me and the bed... for me it is never possible as a permanent position to sleep. i guess it is all based on acquired habits, and maybe any change in those habits would influence dreams.

>>2647 theres a method to it where i sleep at the edge of a pillow looking down, while my hand supports my chin so my head doesnt fall off the pillow, and my knee is bent up so my back doesnt twist. It's much more complicated than sleeping on my back for sure, and apparently its not healthy so im trying to change positions.

Protip: You might prefer MyNoise which allows you to customize a large variety of soundscapes easily in an EQ type interface.

>>2645 I think sleeping position is most likely to influence dreams if you have some kind of sleep apnea. Sleeping on your back worsens sleep apnea in most cases. When an apnea occurs during REM sleep (the dream phase of sleep), it can interrupt the dream, enhancing dream recall. Additionally, the actual dream subject matter can be influenced by an apnea because apnea causes a dramatic decrease in blood oxygen levels. >>2643 Could it be that you are habitually sleeping on your back by wearing headphones?