Disturbed Sleep

[NotCool]

Hello.

For the last 3 months, my sleep is seriously disturbed. My dreams are vivid, and nightmarish, I wake up multiple times per night (usually 2-4), I'm groggy and not refreshed in the mornings when I wake up. I had experience with sleep paralysis, I wrote it off to stress.

But there are symptoms bothering me more. I'm 25 years old, and at night, when I wake up, if i try to go back to sleep, many times the back of my head will "vibrate", tingle, it almost feels like a bit of pressure, and my heart is beating faster, which makes my ear, or head vein throb on my right side.

Can anyone relate?

[PanchoGoz]

Yes, I occasionally struggle with disturbed sleep, especially vivid and disruptive dreams.
My advice for this is to try to "go into it". You become scared when you feel the exaggerated symptoms of sleep coming to get you and pull away from it. It's helpful to change your attitude towards it and go into your dreams and opt to participate in them. Then your body should get used the idea of sleep and be less disruptive.

[ankietyjoe]

I've also had this on and off for a few years.

A recent bout of illness brought it back with a swift and unwelcome bang.

The only way I found to deal with it is to just ignore it, even if that means picking up a book for 15 minutes or switching on the TV. The moment I try and concentrate on something else I fall back to sleep.

[anthrokid]

Had you started a new medication soon before or around the time you started having problems sleeping. Some medications do have side effects that include nightmares and disturbed sleep.

It could also just be down to anxiety. Anxiety can cause sleep disturbance, increase in dream activity at night and tingling/pressure in the head.

I would recommend checking in with your doctor and seeing if there is anything they can do to help you out. It's never nice to have a bad night's sleep, let alone 3 months worth of bad sleep.

[NotCool]

Had you started a new medication soon before or around the time you started having problems sleeping. Some medications do have side effects that include nightmares and disturbed sleep.

It could also just be down to anxiety. Anxiety can cause sleep disturbance, increase in dream activity at night and tingling/pressure in the head.

I would recommend checking in with your doctor and seeing if there is anything they can do to help you out. It's never nice to have a bad night's sleep, let alone 3 months worth of bad sleep.

I do not take anything else other than a Vitamin D supplement, which can't be the reason, since the problems were present before i started taking that.
Overall my greatest worry is the tingling, vibrations, and slight pressure in my head, especially on the right side of my head, and near the back. It's not pain or anything, but it's disturbing, since it usually starts in the morning, when I'm dozing - basically, after i fall asleep for the first time, I wake up 3-5 hours later, and after that my sleep is light, REM filled, and full of these sensations that I described.

I think that in general, I seriously lack sleep Stage 3 and 4 lately. Does that make sense? I don't wanna blow this out of proportion, but I'm prone to obsessing about cancer quite strongly, so that's on my mind, especially because my grandmother died from some kind of a slow growing brain tumor (she died 10 years after diagnosis).

Also, thank you all for taking the time, and providing input.

[Lilharry]

Your circadian rhythm might be disrupted. Make sure you take the vit D in the morning and try a melatonin supplement at night. Stay away from bright lights and screens at night. The blue light we are exposed to at night tricks our brains into thinking it's still daylight so our bodies don't produce melatonin - the sleep chemical. You want your body to get back into a natural rhythm so sunlight, light exercise and social interation during the day is very important, as is relaxing, winding down and staying away from lights at night. Also, have your last meal while it's still light and don't eat anything after dark. A magnesium supplement at night can also help you relax and sleep better. A bath in epsom salts is a great way to wind down and get a magnesium hit.

[anthrokid]

It would make sense if you were lacking in stage 3-4 sleep of a night, especially if you are frequently dreaming and waking up often. It might mean that your body doesn't get a chance to reach stage 3-4 for long enough periods. I wouldn't say this is an indicator of cancer though. It might be worthwhile going to see your doctor and asking to see a sleep specialist. There are many reasons (generally not at all dangerous to your life) that you could be getting poor sleep. I have one friend who has had trouble sleeping her entire life. She finally saw a sleep specialist at 40 years old and found out that her body was skipping REM sleep, which is just as vital as other stages. And the reason? Some odd structural problem with her nose fixed very simply!

[PanchoGoz]

I find the above two posts very interesting, thank you guys.