i have dreams almost every night

[iry]

Hi everyone,

Since young, I almost have dreams almost every night and it makes me feel tired when I wake up as I think it has burn out most of my “energy” during the night. And I also “talk” during my sleep and it’s quite disturbing.

Does anyone have similar experiences and please share how do you overcome the problem?

Thanks.

[Henry]

Q: Can you remember your dreams?

[iry]

ya .. most of them

[Erin Pavlina]

Every human being has 4-6 dreams per night. We don't always remember them, but you do have them.

Dreaming keeps you safe, it doesn't harm you.

Other things could be causing you to wake up feeling tired. Sleep apnea for one.

[Zulu]

When you say dreams, do you mean nightmares? Can you tell us a bit more iry?

Correct me if I'm wrong Erin, but wouldn't Sleep Apnea prevent you from attaining REM sleep?

[Erin Pavlina]

Yeah, sleep apnea could prevent much needed REM sleep.

[Lotus]

Just to tag on a bit to what Erin said...

Your body needs REM sleep (REM sleep is the stage in which dreaming occurs). Sleep-deprivation studies in which people were consistantly aroused right before entering REM sleep led to psychosis. The studies had to be halted part-way in because of danger to the test subjects' mental well-being.

People tend only remember dreams that are in progress when they wake up.

How many total hours are you getting, iry?
How does this total compare to what you've gotten in the past?
How old are you?
Do you have any major health problems?
Are you under any kind of notable stress lately? (keeping in mind that even positive life-events cause stress, like having a baby or getting a new job)

Of course, I can only speculate from here; anything you tell me will probably prompt a "see your doctor" reply from me, so if you don't feel like disclosing, don't feel like you have to.

[Zulu]

A book on sleep I highly recommend is Jim Horne's "Sleepfaring". He talks quite a bit about REM sleep. Here is what he says:

REM sleep is NOT essential. Case in point: several anti-depressants eliminate REM sleep without noticeable side-effects.

REM sleep deprivation (or sleep deprivation) is NOT associated with psychosis. It is associated to visual hallucinations (which is different from psychosis where you think what you're seeing is real) when sleep is severely deprived.

REM sleep may not be sleep at all. It may lie along a continuum between sleep and wakefulness. He cites some fascinating evidence regarding this subject.

Great questions, though. Hopefully we can put our heads together and try to think of what might be the cause of the problem.

[iry]

Originally Posted by Lotus

How many total hours are you getting, iry?
How does this total compare to what you've gotten in the past?
How old are you?
Do you have any major health problems?
Are you under any kind of notable stress lately? (keeping in mind that even positive life-events cause stress, like having a baby or getting a new job)

Hi, I do have some problem with my breathing since I was young and I always sleep on high pillow. If I sleep on low pillow or in a “low air motion” environment like in the lift or flight, I will experience some minor breathing difficulties. Normally I apply some creams or fluids containing “mint” around my nose to keep me feel well.

Currently I’m 23 and normally I sleep around 8 hours. Previously I always get nightmares but things is getting better now, yet dreaming is still a tiring “job”.

[Alarin]

Hi Iry If you're remembering your dreams it means you're waking up in the middle of a REM cycle which is why you're also waking up tired. The body functions much better if it wakes up at the very end of a REM cycle because by that stage it's already preparing to wake up, but if you're waking up in the middle of a cycle you're body is still in sleep mode and you're going to wake up groggy and be tired and sometimes lethargic all day.

I used to have the same problem but it's not actually that hard to fix. Firstly realise that with sleep, quantity does not necessarily equal quality - our bodies are lazy and if we sleep 10 hours each night our bodies just think "well I've got 10 hours to sleep so I'm going to give you lousy sleep." Whereas if you sleep only for 6 or so hours a night the body has to work harder to do all it's maintenance work while you sleep and you end up getting much better quality sleep.

Secondly it's important to time when you wake up if you don't want to feel groggy. This can take a bit of experimentation but isn't hard. If you currently get 8 hours sleep a night try setting your alarm clock half-hour earlier so you get 7.5 hours sleep, hopefully this will wake you up before your next REM cycle starts and your body will be more awake than asleep. You'll know when you've got the timing right because you'll wake up feeling alert, not tired, and a lot of the time you won't remember your dreams anywhere near as vividly, if at all.

Another trick is to keep the time you get up each morning the same, but vary the time you go to bed depending on how tired you are. I do this and it works really well. Since I get up at 6:30am each day I sometimes go to sleep at 11pm if I'm tired, and if not I'll stay up until midnight or later. My body knows it has to be up and about at 6:30 every day so it tells me when it wants to rest.

I'd recommend trying setting your alarm clock back half hour and getting up at the same time each morning and seeing how that works for you. If the half hour makes you more tired than before try intervals of 15 minutes forwards and backwards until you find a time that works for you.

Also if you're sleeping badly once you do get to sleep, and you're not already doing these things, try to incorporate regular exercise and sunlight into your day as these things increase your circadium rhythm which means you'll be able to stay awake longer and you'll sleep more deeply. Having a warm shower (not hot - hot speeds up the circadium rhythm making you more alert) before bed with the lights off also works well if you have trouble dropping off. And remember to keep lights to as minimum as possible just before bed and during sleep as light will prevent melatonin production, making it hard for you to get to sleep.

I hope that helps

[Zulu]

"Hi, I do have some problem with my breathing since I was young and I always sleep on high pillow."

Are you known for any cardiac problems?

[iry]

Alarin : Thanks for your suggestion and I will try to experience some of your recommendation and also incorporate with some exercises. Hope it helps. We'll see..Haha..


Zulu : I’ve my regular body check up once a year and have not encounter any results relating to cardiac. Probably I can ask my doctor about it later on.

Thanks everyone for the information.