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Colours In My Sleep

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Alternative
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16 Oct 2009, 6:54 am

I've asked my mum this, and she has no idea, so I might as well ask you lot.

I've always thought it was normal, but as my 18th birthday approaches, I'm beginning to question, why all my life, when I close my eyes, I see colours of purple and green, right before I hit REM. These specifically coloured objects float around and make strange aura like, patterns, and as well it is only now, that I am able to explain it, as I found it hard in the past to.

I'm not asking if anyone else has had this strange phenomenom, I'm asking if there's an answer or a reason to it. I've tried Googling it, but no help, so feedback and answers would be appreciated.



sinsboldly
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16 Oct 2009, 7:19 am

this is what I found, Use some of the terms for more of a context with which to search on Google (or WebMD)

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The rods and cones on your retina are chemically fired. When the activators build up, they will fire, even in the absence of light. For those who see patterns in this more-or-less random pattern, it is a psychosomatic response. The Human brain is made to see patterns. This is why people can see a face in an arrangement of other objects which only superficially resemble a face. Incidentally, it's also the reason why we can see emotions in anime faces. The mind fills in the rest of the details from the portion that the animator fills in.

Most people's memories are very visual in nature. It's very normal to be able to picture someone when you think of them. This isn't a reaction of the eyes, but of the visual cortex of the brain.


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Tim_Tex
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16 Oct 2009, 7:26 am

I have had this happen with me as well, but it was shapes rather than colors.


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arielhawksquill
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16 Oct 2009, 7:54 am

Those are called phosphenes. They are a normal kind of hypnagogic imagery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogic



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16 Oct 2009, 8:45 am

Ohh right. :o

Thankyou very much for that. :wink: :D :)



Aoi
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16 Oct 2009, 1:27 pm

A common enough experience. I've had it all my life, with far more variety in color and shape than most people seem to get. I assume, but my neurologists are uncertain, that this is related to my synesthesia.



SabbraCadabra
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16 Oct 2009, 1:32 pm

Alternative wrote:
...when I close my eyes, I see colours of purple and green, right before I hit REM. These specifically coloured objects float around and make strange aura like, patterns...


I get this a lot, though it's when I'm meditating and not about to fall asleep...heck, I just closed my eyes, and I can kind of see them right now (I'd need to relax much more to be able to see them clearly). I always thought of it more as a red than a purple, but I guess it is more of a magenta, which is halfway between the two.


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CockneyRebel
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16 Oct 2009, 1:47 pm

I get these images as well. They can be quite trippy.


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16 Oct 2009, 3:17 pm

Spectral version topic

A very pedantic explanation of this can be found in Simon Ing's The Natural History of Seeing.

The explanation provided by Sinsboldly is crystal clear, and the one by Arielhawksquill is correct.


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