Every so often, about once a month, I experience a dream that wakes me up and I temporarily semiconsciously react to it. Some examples include:
- dreaming a wall was falling on me so I got up and laid on the couch in my living room
- dreaming that bugs were under my pillow and taking a different pillow and laying on the floor
- dreaming someone was in my living room and beginning to get dressed to see what was going on.
- dreaming that something was on my bed and woke up to kick it off.
- during a home sleep study while wearing a monitor, dreaming that it was 5:00 am (about the time I usually wake up) and taking off my monitor. It was only 11:00 pm.
In all these instances, I am at least semiconsciously aware acting as if the dream was real. Within a few minutes however, I also realize it was just a dream and I go back to bed.
What type of dreaming is this? Are these nightmares or a form of lucid dreaming or sleep walking?