INSANE dreams and improved sleep while at high altitude.

I won't say anything about insanity, but some pharmaceuticals can cause vivid dreams for sure. I have a list of those around here somewhere. I've seen people who were taking some kind of quack supplements to help them with altitude, but they were causing big side effects.

Sometimes while backpacking, I find myself to be too tired to sleep. That's awkward. I get to sleep around dawn, and that makes problems during the day.

Sleep apnea can sure foul up your sleep quality. However, I have never seen anybody affected by that anywhere below 15,000-16,000 feet. The higher you go, the more sleep problems there are. I would think that if you are having altitude-related insomnia, then that is one sign that you need to acclimatize more. I have a little pulse-oximeter that I carry whenever I will be sleeping above 12,000 feet or so, but it has never shown me any red flags while I'm awake.

Sometimes also your body's water balance gets all fouled up. Either dehydrated or else overly hydrated in the evening. So, that can easily foul up your sleep.

The good thing about insomnia is that it is self-correcting. If you get sleepy enough, you will fall asleep.

–B.G.–

which pulse oximeter do you use? I'd love to find one that had a decent log or bluetooth support.

Basically, I just want to tape it to my finger at night and wake up with the data in the morning.

I've experienced not even remembering sleeping many times.
On a recent trip I went to bed cold. I was frustrated because I wasn't going to get much sleep that night. After a little while looked at the time on my phone and realized that I had actually been asleep for 6 hours until my bag got soaked with coastal dew and made me cold, waking me up. I had honestly thought that I hadn't even slept yet.

oh yeah.. I've had that happen too. I've woken up and it was like 5AM and I realized that I had been asleep. man the mountains play some weird tricks !

I don't have any fancy oximeter with data logging.

Mine is a dinky little thing smaller than my fist. I stick my finger in it, and it lightly clamps to the fingertip. I push the ON button, and it thinks about it for about five seconds. Then it displays beats per minute and blood oxygen saturation percentage. I pull my finger out, and it shuts off automatically. It has a battery inside.

The label says: Pulse Oximeter, Model CMS50L.

I think I bought it on Amazon.com a couple of years ago. Maybe $35-40?

OTOH, if you are interested in brain activity, then get a Delta wavelength EEG. I designed one of those about forty years ago. Delta waves are the indicators of normal restful sleep, as opposed to Alpha or Beta waves.

–B.G.–

I got one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Finger-Pulse-Oximeter-AH-50D-Sofware/dp/B00B8L8ZXE/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1396331174&sr=8-14&keywords=oximeter

$45, 2 AAA, you put it on your finger

memory holds maybe 12 hours of data

software installs on PC, then you plug it into USB port, it took a bit of playing with to get it to work, like one of my USB plugs doesn't work with it

your O2 level goes way down when sleeping at altitude

My main hiking partner has vivid, complicated, insane dreams almost every night when we are at altitude.

"So…..What did you dream LAST night?" is part of our morning entertainment ritual.

– Elizabeth

Not completely related, but a couple of times during deeper meditation (around sea level), i've experienced what i could only call "waking dreams". They seemed just like regular nightime dreams, with vivid visuals, a sequential story, and holistic impressions, the difference being is that some part of me was still conscious or aware of my body to some extent and i was otherwise "awake".

Re: dreams in general, i think there are various factors of same. Sometimes it's primarily physical (diet, meds, eating to close to bedtime, apparently altitude) and sometimes it relates to less overtly physical (mind, emotions, etc) or completely nonphysical influences (consciousness or what some might call "spirit"). But since this is such a heavily left brained group for the most part, might want to avoid that latter topic if you have any attachment to image and being 'accepted' by the group. (i don't, so i say what's on my mind or in my heart).

I've experienced chayne stokes breathing patterns a couple of times and listened as my tent mate had them. They are altitude related. While sleeping, your breathing starts speeding up (like hyperventilating ) and then you have a long pause of no breathing. When I had it I jerked awake pretty freaked out. It was pretty unsettling to hear someone else breathing in that pattern. It's all normal and goes away when I acclimated. It didn't lead to any dreams, but it sure made for a rough night.