I can only take naps when I am sick; I am usually not so exhausted. However, within the past two years, every time I have been sick I fall asleep for five-to-ten minute periods, then settle into a deeper sleep. During these shorter sleep sessions, I have vivid dreams, then wake up fully concious and without any feeling of stiffness or drowseeness (Other than the fatigue one normally feels when sick)
I then fall asleep agian and do the exact same thing for up to an hour, then am able to stay asleep for an hour or more.
Though I am not studying neurology, I do know a bit about sleep, in particular how one tends to move through several stages of sleep before actually getting to REM sleep. I have not found anything relating this to general fatigue, either, which concerns me.
Thank you in advance for your help and concern!