I found out you really CAN scream in your sleep!

[Red State Rebel]

I woke my hubby up last night screaming from a dream I was having. This suprised me because before when I had a nightmare I always tried to scream but couldn't. This time I remember the "trying to scream" feeling but was finally able to let loose.

I was more amazed about this than frightened by the dream...went right back to sleep.

[CaseyKC]

1. scary dreams

It's weird I have scary dreams all the time and I never wake up from them though. It just seems that I remember them more in the morning than my other dreams yet they are terrifying but don't affect me at night, that I know of...although apparetnly I make noised in my sleep, so maybe I just scream in my sleep too?

[On the Road]

2. You Were Probably in a Transition Phase

During normal dream sleep (REM), control over your muscles is blocked.

But if you're coming out of dream sleep into another phase and the dream is continuing, you will start gaining control of your muscles. This is supported by your feeling of unsuccessfully trying to scream at first and then suddenly being able.

The other possibility is that you experienced a "night terror" which was during deep sleep (phase 4). Usually there are no images or other elements of a dream during deep sleep, and you are thinking in a more typical way. This is usually when people sleep walk and do other strange things when they're asleep.