Sleep Disorders Forum - Huge dream spike with insomnia

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Q: Huge dream spike with insomnia

asked by: samba88 on March 18th, 2008

Experienced User

I have a pretty steady case of insomnia, I haven't fallen asleep before 2a.m. in about five or six years. I've tried every sleep med they make and they've all done the same - nothing and made me feel really crazy. When I do fall asleep I never wake up until I have to, so when I fall asleep I stay asleep.
I used to have dreams every now and then, at random times about whatever, it was never noticable or a big deal. But in the past month or two I have had a Huge spike in dreaming. I dream every night, about extemely detailed events, and thy are quite long. I usually remeber them too. But the creepy thing is Every now and then with these dreams I"ll have kind of tough time knowing whats real or a dream in the morning, it's like the first half hour I wake up in the morning I halucinate. It's not scary or crazy stuff it's just I don't know if some things are really happeneing or not or if they already have and stuff like that.
Any idea why the spike and intensity?

Replies(17)

MandMs

replied on March 19th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Have you been on sleeping drugs for the last two months?
Are you aware of dreaming while having a dream?
Have you experienced a dream or moments when you believe that you have awakened and then ‘fall back asleep’ in the dream?

samba88

replied on March 19th, 2008

Experienced User

The first two, No, but the third yes.

samba88

replied on March 26th, 2008

Experienced User

MandMs

replied on March 26th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

At that moments, have you dreamed of performing daily morning rituals, believing that you have truly awakened?
When you have been awakened in dream, have you noticed that you are not able to talk or you have difficulty reading?
Have you experience an intense burst of fear and anxiety, or possibly pleasure?
Have you noticed that things around you seem wrong or you may see them in greater or lesser detail?

samba88

replied on March 26th, 2008

Experienced User

I don't dream of doing my morning routine, just conversations and events with my friends or family, but the events are usually scary or anxious or they'r really exciting and good. And as for the last three questions those are pretty much all on the nose, yes.

MandMs

replied on April 3rd, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Dreaming about having woken up is known as a false awakening. It occurs when you believe that you have woken up but in fact you are still asleep.
Is it more common for you to experience false awakening when you have something in the day ahead that you are either strongly looking forward to or really dreading?

I forgot to comment on your insomnia case.
Is it always in form of not being able to fall asleep earlier?
Do you usually take naps in afternoons?
Do you have difficulty waking up in the mornings?

samba88

replied on April 4th, 2008

Experienced User

Well I'm incollege so pretty much everyday is a day that I'm either looking foward to or dreading. As for my insomnia, it's always me not being able to fall asleep before 2 or 3 am no matter what. Sometimes I take afternoon naps if I'm just that tired from 4 or 5 hours of sleep, and I hate mornings, it takes a good hour or two for me to feel really awake.

MandMs

replied on April 4th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Do you usually cannot get to sleep for at least two hours after you've started trying to go to sleep at night?
Are you unlikely to wake within the night sleeping deeply, once you've managed to fall asleep?
Are you catching up on the lack of sleep at weekends, sleeping around 9-12 hours?

samba88

replied on April 4th, 2008

Experienced User

Yea it usually takes severl hours for meto fall asleep, I never wake up oce I'm asleep until it's time to, and yes I catch up on sleep on the weekends sleeping for a long time. No offense but I've answered a lot of questions, are you just really curious or do you have any advice ?

samba88

replied on April 4th, 2008

Experienced User

see check it out it's almost 5am and I'm barley tired, grantit I've been drinking coffee and studying for a history mid term though, but staying up this late is very easy for me to do if I need to, unlike my friends haha.

MandMs

replied on April 4th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Before giving advice people should be sure about what they gonna give one.
So, it's always best to ask and to read what other have to say, before sharing opinion (very soon I'm gonna be a medical doctor and one of the main achievements for every doctor is to know what to ask and to hear to people words)
So, after questioning you, I think you are experiencing Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. People who have this syndrome, have a slightly different body clock that is out of sync with everyone else’s. You have difficulty falling asleep and difficulty waking up because your natural biological clock is out of phase with the sleeping and waking times you need to go to school.
This is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder and one of the most common complications of sleep-wake patterns.
DSPS may surface in childhood and it occurs most often in young men. It is estimated that the disorder affects approximately 7% of teenagers.

Have a good sleep!
Marija

samba88

replied on April 4th, 2008

Experienced User

Congradulations on being a doctor. Thanks for the information, any chance the DPS will go away?

MandMs

replied on April 11th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

DSPS is frequently misdiagnosed as primary insomnia (7-10% of cases where patients complain of chronic insomnia are cases of DSPS) and often goes untreated or is treated inappropriately.
Bright light therapy, chronotherapy, melatonin, vitamin B12 are main treatments techniques used most with varying degrees of success.

samba88

replied on April 11th, 2008

Experienced User

Well should I ask my doctor about all that and try to get it solved, bc I dont really have any idea of what those treatments are.

MandMs

replied on April 15th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Yes, you should talk to your doctor, but keep it in mind that many doctors are still not familiar with this condition. Maybe, it will be better to ask for referral for sleep specialist (an overnight sleep study may be recommended to be sure that no other sleep disorder is present). There is no definitive test for delayed sleep phase disorder, so, diagnosis is made based on the description of the problem.
Many people outgrow DSPS naturally, suggesting that DSPS often is caused by lifestyle. It may take a few months to a few years to outgrow the disorder.
In most of the cases, it is a difficult disorder to treat, because the goal of treatment is to re-train the internal clock to a more regular schedule.
Do you usually fall asleep at about the same time every night, no matter what time you go to bed?

Best wishes!
Marija

samba88

replied on April 15th, 2008

Experienced User

I pretty much fall asleep between 3 and 4am no matter what. Sleeping medication hasn't been very effective but it's been a few years since I tried it, do you think it might help me get into a better rhythm if I tried it again, however, I'm really afraid of getting dependant on them so I try to stay away.

MandMs

replied on April 16th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

DSPS is a disorder in which the major sleep episode is delayed by 2 or more hours of the desired bedtime.
Although the cause of delayed sleep phase disorder is not completely known, it likely is an exaggerated reaction to the normal shift in sleep times that occurs during adolescence. All adolescents have a shift in their internal clock after puberty of about two hours.
The syndrome differs from insomnia in that patients with delayed sleep phase tend to fall asleep at nearly the same time each night/morning no matter what time they go to bed.
Other difference from insomniacs is that DSPS people don't find sleeping pills effective (don't take them). In fact, the use of sleeping pills can aggravate the daytime drowsiness issues.
You have the both characteristics.
Before consulting a doctor, you can start helping yourself with good sleeping hygiene.

Have a good day!
Marija

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