Yep, hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations are extremely common and generally nothing to worry about. If they happen to you a lot, it might be a sign of a sleep disorder, but they aren't connected to mental health issues.
EponymousBosh
Honestly, if you like Ubuntu but dislike Snaps, Linux Mint might be a better choice than Fedora if you're not as comfortable with Linux. Mint is basically "Ubuntu without all Canonical's garbage."
Not "cheating" per se, but still bad.
Linux Lite. Trying to pare down Ubuntu is a fool's errand, and they still use snaps.
I use SpiralLinux on my old Inspiron but it's basically just Debian with some user-friendly tweaks. I guess you could try Tiny Core or Porteus or something really small like that.
Oh they're not as dumb as the rest of us, that's the scary thing. They're even dumber.
Furby sausage
I like SpiralLinux a lot. I installed it on my old Inspiron and it runs like a dream.
The corn chips are also cursed.
Why not Zoidberg?
As someone who uses a fairly cheap gaming laptop with an NVIDIA GPU: I would advise against NVIDIA. I've successfully gotten mine to work, but it's been a hassle. If you can avoid it, do so.
I'm on the bathroom floor with my pants around my ankles