Inability to run in dreams and do other quick-limb stuff

Stumbled on this the other day. Basically, you have difficulty running like it feels super sluggish as in stuck in peanut paste and doing other “quicktime” events because your feedback sensations are deliberately dullened – to keep your sleep actions from manifesting in the physical world.

It’s because punching (like running) is a highly-coordinated activity that relies on proprioceptive feedback throughout the motion to work. Since the thalamus clamps down both on the transmission of the motor signals you’d need to effectively complete the motion and the perception of joint-motion data while you’re asleep, everything feels bogged down and slow.

Compare that to ‘flying’, which is a), something we can’t do normally, so we have no basis for comparison to see if it feels right or not, and b) superman-style flying about doesn’t require significant body motion anyway.

Reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/gg3dj/why_cant_i_throw_good_punches_in_my_dreams_i_cant/

As an avid lucid dreamer it puts another piece of the puzzle in place, and hopefully this little tidbit of knowledge will crop up next time I’m trying to “run” and failing, and remind me to fly and shit instead.

Or do that super cool “glide” on your heels thing.