I am brand new to learning I have this. I was stunned. But it may explain something and I wondered about others. I have vivid, colorful, active dreams occasionally. Not all the time. But when I do, I awake exhausted and with an intense headache. I now wonder if this is because of my Aphantasia. Is my brain trying to make up for my lack of visual content?
Hey Cheryl, thanks for sharing. It’s interesting to hear you have active and visual dreams. One study showed aphants have fewer and less sensory-rich dreams. However, we have heard from other aphantasics who do have visual dreams yet no conscious visual experiences while awake. I can’t say for certain whether the headaches are related or not, I’m not a dream researcher, but from what we know so far dreaming and mental imagery seem to involve different brain networks. You mention “not all the time.” Do you dream often? Or is this more of a rare event?
I heard dreams come from the occipital lobe (visualizing from the frontal). So maybe the headaches and lucid dreams are connected with something going on with your occipitals? Hope this helps.
