I've recently joined NoFap and began my reboot. I'm currently on almost day 60 and have noticed a multitude of changes and benefits but in this I want to talk about something I find is not often touched upon - dreaming. I began to watch P at 11. I had never had a wet dream and for as long as I could remember I hadn't had a dream of any sort. It's crazy to think I did not have any dreams for years. I know people will be thinking 'everyone dreams, you just don't remember them' and I don't disagree, but for the purpose of this article I am talking about the recollection of these dreams. A conversation I had with IGY towards the start of my reboot is what has sparked me to write this. He mentioned that he also had no recollection of his dreams, and another member also said he was experiencing the same situation. I found it strange, I do not believe that it is very common to have no recollection of dreams. Some dream more, others dream less but to have no recollection is rare. Yet, in a (relatively) small community, 3 people all had the same experience. Not to mention very few members would have actually read that particular article and fewer still would have responded. This made me wonder whether PMO in excess can stop/reduce dreams/dream recollection. Everyone on here knows the effects of porn. There are quite a few physical issues but perhaps the most significant is the mental effect it has on us. Brain fog; reduced memory; depression - the lost goes on. It would not be too much of a leap to suggest that it may also affect areas associated with dreaming. I remember reading that P burns the brain out on another chemical besides dopamine, a neurotransmitter which unfortunately I cannot remember the name of - although acetylcholine sounds right in my head. Since beginning NoFap I have had a few wet dreams, but as of about day 40 I have woken up every day from the dream I was having. The only thing I have changed in my life is removing PMO. It seems an awful coincidence that this would change when I stopped watching P. Could the two me linked? As I said above, others on here have mentioned the same thing. A small disclaimer: I am not claiming that masturbation prevents dreaming. I am not even claiming that masturbation is bad. I just know that I can't moderate it myself - it's all or nothing. The idea I am focusing on is PMO in excess, often with hardcore P, that has unequivocal mental effects. So my question to you guys is whether you have noticed this. Has it effected you? If not, perhaps suggest a reason why. I have just been wondering if extreme PMO can have even more effects than we currently think. Thanks to anyone that contributes to this topic. I really do believe that P messes us up in more ways than we realise.
Hey man, I'm on day 38 today and experiencing the exact same thing you are! I'm having these vivid, full technicolor dreams that seem to last forever and when I wake up I can remember almost every detail. And the great part is most of them are very positive happy dreams. When I would dream back in my PMO days they were usually very angst filled. Full of anxiety and fear, bordering on nightmares, and I never remembered them very well when I would wake up. This is completely different. Sometimes they do wake me up, but I have almost full recollection of everything that occurred. They aren't fragmented either. They evolve and go on for what seems like hours. I actually look forward to going to sleep now because not only is my sleep better, deeper and more refreshing, but I also think to myself, "Wonder what my dreams are going to be like tonight." I'm also never scared anymore in my dreams. I seem to be full of confidence and also assertive if I sense any danger, which is getting rarer and rarer. I think stopping PMO and my new dream state are definitely linked.
