Last Updated on November 4, 2010 by James Dziezynski
Update: Here’s the link to the Elevation Outdoors High Altitude Dreams blog.
I’m just finishing up my blog entry for Elevation Outdoors about the wacky, wonderful world of high altitude dreaming. While you can read more about it tomorrow on that particular blog, here’s what I’m talking about: as your body adjusts to altitude, usually over 9,000 feet for me, I have some of the craziest, most vivid dreams. Now what’s actually happening isyour body adjusts to the lower amounts of oxygen, red blood cell production is increased and as a temporary measure, respiration rate is increased as well. The result is sleep tends to be much lighter and dreams much wackier.
Unlike “normal” dreams that are awash in symbolism and all sorts of hidden meanings, altitude dreams seem to be about nothing in particular yet still powerfully vivid. The last few times I’ve camped over 10,000 feet I’ve kept a journal of some of the dreams. As disjointed as non-oxygen deprived dreamscapes can be, elevation brings in a new degree of weirdness.
Keep in mind your humble author is by nearly all accounts a teetotaler, except for the fact I don’t particularly care for tea. Maybe I’m a dewtotaler. Anyhow, the vivid and trippy worlds are au natural. Have you ever had altitude dreams? More to come tomorrow!
