Fatal insomnia worries - can someone reassure me

[littleme92]

A major part of my health anxiety is worrying about getting fatal insomnia. I can't sleep for more than an hour at a time, and that is when I do sleep. When I sleep I go straight into a dream even if I only sleep for ten minutes. I am so exhausted and just trying to reassure myself that I don't have fatal insomnia. I am 20 and turn 21 in August so is that too young to have fatal insomnia? I wouldn't dream if I had fatal insomnia would I?

Sorry if this sounds really pathetic but I didn't sleep last night and I am just trying to rationalise it.

Please can somebody just reassure me, it would really help!

[Stormsky]

It's very rare , usually hereditary ...I saw documentary ages ago..
Normal sleep has different stages that together last 90 to 100 minutes:
Non REM Stages 1 and 2: Light sleep NREM-sleep
Non REM Stages 3 and 4: Deep slow wave sleep
REM-sleep when dreams occur
FFI patients cannot go past stage 1 and thus their brains are not getting the rest they need to revive because most reviving and repairing processes of the body are believed to happen during these sleep stages.
If you dream then you are getting past stage 1, so you don't have the condition .theres only been 8 cases in last 8 yrs..it's so rare.

[Uncertain27]

I agree with Stormsky. It's also inherited, so unless at least one of your close family have died from it you have nothing to worry about. You probably just have insomnia from anxiety or because you think you won't be able to sleep, so then you can't, like I did a few weeks ago. :)

[littleme92]

Thanks for replying, you have both really helped!

None of my family have ever died from it that i'm aware of so thats a good sign.

I always used to sleep all through the night without waking up. So now that I am not sleeping for long periods, it has just freaked me out.