Vivid Dreams cause of excessive sleepiness

[Ms.April]

For years I have been "suffering" from excessive dreaming. I have dreams that are extremely graphic, detailed and vivid. Most of the time I am aware that I am dreaming and cannot wake up. It does not occur every night, but several nights a week. I wake up feeling EXAUSTED. I nod off during the day, cannot keep my eyes open. Last night (for example) I got 8 hours of sleep and yet today I'm so tired I could cry! I should also mention that I fall asleep almost instantly and I dream as soon as I fall out. There are some days where I "fall asleep" here at work and begin to dream instantly, it's almost as if It's an instant hallucination. My husband says I'm lucky to fall asleep when I hit the pillow but I'm to the point where if sleeping makes me THIS tired I don't want to. The dreams are often traumatic and I'm tired anyway. What's the point of sleeping?!

I'm not suffering from depression and I have a regular schedule in terms of sleep (Usually get at least 6.5 - 8.5 hours a sleep). My diet is pretty good and I get an average amount of excersize. Everything I do is in moderation (no drugs either, btw).

Can someone PLEASE shed some light on this? Why am I dreaming so much and why do I feel exhausted after a "good" nights sleep?

Perplexed,
Ms.April

[sokmnkee]

I've just underwent a total system detox and wondered if my changing metabolism, as well as upped nutritional values caused my sleep to go nuts.  This all happened about the same time.  I don't eat sweets--only natural sugars like in fruit.  I eat an abundance of fruits and veg. I don't drink soft drinks.  I don't drink cow' milk because I'm lactose-intolerant.  I do exercise, but not as much as I used to.  I used to practically live at the gym.  I do have a high-stress job, but I'm good at it and used to it.  Lastly, I've just recently started weaning myself off alcohol.  I've wondered if that's caused my crazy dreams.

[sokmnkee]

I share your relief that we're not alone!  I've been having some really vivid dreams that impact me so emotionally that I remember them for days.  I started taking Paxil 20mg the end of last year for work-related stress, but now things are better and I plan to start weaning off it.  I don't know if that's causing it or the fact that I've been weaning myself off alcohol (I am a mild abuser, but an abuser nonetheless).  I do NOT want to be on Ambien.  I was a few years back and I started doing stuff in my sleep.  Not good.  I weaned myself off it.

[scaredtosleep12]

I can not believe how many of us there are.  I talked to my doctor and she said, maybe sleeping pills would help, but to tell you the truth I want to be able to wake out of some of these dreams.  I have been going through this for 12 years.  I stopped exercising, eating well, caring about pretty much anything about myself.  The only thing I did care about are my kids, getting to my couch to nap so I wouldn't feel so horrible but only to wake and feel just as exhausted as I did before I napped.  My family doesn't get it but how do you explain it.  Most people want to win the lottery, I want to wake in the morning, stretch and feel rested.  Not dizzy, tired, and ready for bed the minute I wake.  My daughters have recommended pot also.  I am almost ready to try anything at this point.  It made me cry when I saw all of you with my problem.  I even had a brain scan a few years back thinking that something had to be wrong in my brain.  I so wish there was something out there that would make me get up in the morning and ready to face the world, or at least a good day of house cleaning.  Thanks for listening.  My sister also thinks I never reach stage 4 and 5 of sleep.  

[noahchunk]

I am a 22 year old male. I started having very vivid dreams about 4 weeks ago, the kind where you are consciously making decisions, but never realize that you are dreaming. It's so strange, because I remember every dream, and feel like I've been awake for every hour that I was asleep. In one of my dreams, I felt a pressure in my stomach, which made me feel like I had to push one out. I realized a few moments later that I was awake, in my bed, trying to take a dump. I woke up the next morning feeling like I never slept at all. I'm not sure if I was in a perpetual state of REM, or I just never fell completely asleep. It was like I would wake up from one vivid dream, and turn over and make the conscious choice to enter another dream. I'm not sure how to get rid of this, because it has been extremely draining.

[REMjunkie]

Dear dreamers,

Welcome to the new dream junkies who have recently posted! ;)....we've gotta help each other, and I'm glad more of us are coming together.

I mentioned in my last post, that I have been taking SleepAid, an over the counter sleeping tablet mainly available in the US. It's an anti-histamine which has sedative properties. I got it shipped to London...

Just to let you know that it has worked to a certain extent for me. I only felt some relief for about 2 weeks on 1 tablet. I was still dreaming, but alot less and I woke up slightly more refreshed. It did take my body a while to accept the medication though...so initially I was still waking up rather groggy....Still dreaming, but less....if any of you wish to try it out it is an OTC medication. I still don't have as much energy in the day, but I find I am slightly more productive and alert during the day on the med.

At the same time, I'm chasing some specialists in the field of neuropsychiatry...will keep you posted if I discover anything else.

If any one else has found anything that helps, please do share.

Keep faith!

[brednbutrflis]

I am so glad to have found this forum and see that there are so many people with issues similar to mine; I have always felt so alone. I am a 29 year old female, and I have had sleep issues as long as I can remember. I walk and talk in my sleep regularly, and move and flop around a lot. My dreams have always been incredibly vivid and almost always stressful, but the last few years it has become almost unbearable. I hate to go to sleep at night because I don't get the feeling of rest or relaxation that you are supposed to. I wake up exhausted after a full night's sleep. I remember dreaming almost every single night (maybe once every month or two I have a "regular" night's sleep where I don't remember dreaming at all), and they are almost all very stressful. I wake up frequently in the night because of them, and when I go back to sleep they often resume where I left off, even if I got up and was awake for a little while before returning to bed. I have been this way as long as I can remember, but only recently has it gotten so bad that I can't seem to function anymore. Some of the dreams are recurring, and some are new crazy things all wrapped up into one. One of my common recurring dreams (always a little different) is that I've been shot in the head. On the outside I look dead (people are always gathering around and hovering over me) but on the inside I can feel, see, and hear everything going on around me, but I can't move. I can vividly feel the pain of the bullet ripping into me, and all the physical pain and emotion, but I'm just screaming on the inside while I'm being declared dead. I usually wake up either crying or screaming, sometimes still feeling the "pain" that I was feeling in my dream for a few moments. This is just one example. Others include snakes (I have a deathly fear of them), being chased, etc... I often dream of people I don't know in real life and can't remember ever seeing, but I seem to know very well in my dreams. I'm just so beyond exhausted and frustrated at this point, but all doctors want to do is hand you a prescription and shove you out the door. I really had no idea there were so many of us though! I'm so glad that I sat down in front of Google this morning and ran across this forum.