Insomnia and excessive dreaming.

[ankietyjoe]

My insomnia these days is defined by recurring waking rather than an inability to get to sleep (although I still don't drop off quickly).

I'm seeing a pattern lately that means I fall asleep and within 2-3 hours I'm awake again from a vivid dream. Nothing dramatic or disturbing, just very vivid. They tend to be preoccupied with being late, not being able to find something or being somewhere I don't want to be.

Once I'm awake from the first dream I tend to only get sleep again in batches of 45-60 minutes so my night will be something like this :-

1am - Asleep after a 10-11pm bedtime.
2-4am - Awake again from a dream, takes about 15 minutes to get back to sleep.
5am - Awake again from a dream, 15 mins to get back to sleep.
6am - Ditto.
7am - Ditto.

Then by 7-8 am my son is up and sleep is over.

I can't help feeling that if I could stop the dreaming, my sleep would improve. 5-6 hours (on a good night) very broken sleep per night is doing me no good at all and this has been going on for several months.

We are going through a particularly stressful legal battle with the sale of my property which has left finances in a terrible state right now, and whilst I know that has a massive part to play, it's not something I can do much about in the short term.

Has anybody had similar experiences, and if so did you manage to find a way to cope with the night time dreaming?

[MyNameIsTerry]

AJ,

Do you have a sleep routine that you apply befofe going to bed? I found winding down and reading in bed really helped me to get to sleep more peacefully.

I think tackling anxiety by using things such as Mindfulness meditation helps.

Do you get much exercise? Probably a silly question with you having a child to look after, but exercise is well proven to regulate hormones and give deeper sleep. I'm wondering whether deeper sleep might mean less dreams?

I still get very vivid dreams and I can wake up stressed but I get back to sleep easy enough now because my sleep patterns mean I sleep through all sorts of loud noise so I've had to adapt.

I wake up still but not the 3-4 times a night I used to.

[ankietyjoe]

Hi Terry

I do have a bedtime routine that usually involves either reading or watching TV. I know some say that TV isn't a good idea, but it's something I've used for years to help me sleep and it's only recently that the dreams and waking have become a real issue.

It's interesting what you say about exercise though, and somewhat of a 'duh' moment.

I recently had a very bad infection that has left me with some kind of post viral fatigue (lasting several weeks) that means I've been pretty much on my bum for most of the time. Even going out and doing a bit of shopping is leaving me exhausted, although it's improving slowly over time.

Perhaps the inactivity is effecting my sleep, even though I feel exhausted all the time.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi AJ,

That sounds possible. If you think about it, when we get depressed we are always tired and lethargic but we don't sleep that great either. At this stage, we don't tend to be getting out of the house as much and going for walks either.

Have you been more anxious as well? If your general state of anxiety is worse, that could mean an impact to your sleep.

Also, antibiotics have caused anxiety in people due to their ability to weaken the immune system, which allows the bad gut bacteria to flourish since the good bacteria has been killed off. Some people get IBS this way from what I've read. So, perhaps cutting down on sugar that feeds the bad bacteria will help and taking probiotics to restore the balance of the good bacteria? Lilharry and mbarger discuss this on the Top Tips and Natural Remedies boards on occasion.

[ankietyjoe]

Thanks again for your thoughts Terry

Overall I'd say my overall level of anxiety is definitely higher right now, or rather my level of stress is. There was a recent (February) bout of pretty nasty illness (bronchitis and pneumonia) that lasted several weeks and involved two lots of antibiotics, followed by a return to work that put me in hospital (tachycardia for 18 hours most likely caused by post viral fatigue and going back to work too early) combined with a legal battle that has left me financially screwed.

I guess when you look at those facts it's pretty obvious why I'm dreaming and sleeping the way I am. I do need to find a way to consolidate my thoughts each day so that I can get better sleep though.

I have noticed that since the illness and the associated problems that arose because of it I am FAR more prone to anxiety. Even watching a film with mild violence in it causes trembling. I guess that even though I can control panic attacks, I need to be very mindful of the underlying anxiety as well.

Thanks again for the pointers, they make great sense.

[MyNameIsTerry]

There are some very interesting points you've raised there.

Did you find your anxiety became worse after the antibiotics? I've read, courtesy of Lilharry on the Natural Remedies board, that Candida can become a problem in this instance because antobiotics weaken the immune system and kill off the healthy bacteria in the gut. You may find that taking probiotics will held redress this but I would bump Lilharry's thread/posts as she knows a lot about all this. It makes me wonder because you do say you you are more prone since the illness so perhaps it's just you've sunk more or something is causing it like Candida.

I think we need to investigate issues like these because most doctors have little time and dish out meds and referrals and therapists do their thing but who is looking at things like this, like deit, gluten, sugar, etc. Care needs to be more holistic in my opinion. I've spent time trawling the internet about anxiety disorders but I'm only finding these things from coming on here.

I had the issue with films and TV in general. I remember an advert for a drama that always had a very sharp alarm clock going off in it and it always used to make me feel worse. Films had a similiar reaction but for a different reason, it was the feeling of excitement from them and because it brings similar sensations to anxiety, bingo, it's bound to turn into panic. This disappeared on it's own as I became more relaxed and the anxiety levels dropped but I still get wobbles where I'm very stressed and I feel the flutters. I had it tonight in fact, but it's gone now.

To consolidate your thoughts, you could try writing it all down before bedtime. Sometimes, especially if you are feeling anxious, having things on your mind can make you more alert subconsciously as we are trying not to forget something. I think writing down things to do tomorrow or next week if you've just thought of something, can help here.

It all depends on your stage in anxiety I reckon. I felt all this when I was at my worst, sensations form having a shower would do it, a knock at the door, etc it's just a highly alert state and once you get out of it, you regain more control over these stressors.

[ankietyjoe]

Tbh there were a lot of weird reactions to the antibiotics including some horrendously lucid dreaming and little bouts of psychosis (this was on the second lot). Despite this I never really became anxious as I pretty much have that under control no matter how bad it gets using meditation and deep breathing exercises.

My digestive system has been a bit of a mess since though, with symptoms of IBS, itching, bloating, reflux and chest pain. I've been using probiotic yoghurt and watching what I eat especially late at night, but it's still there. It feels like it's getting better slowly however.

Your comments about Candida made me look at some of the symptoms and the 'fit' is quite astounding. I guess I'd always assumed that I'd know if I had that due to skin irritations, which are absent. Saying that the skin under my nose has been itching and flaky lately, but I hadn't even paid attention to it.

One other thing I've noticed since the infections and antibiotics is that my body feels utterly wrecked. I seem prone to experiencing massive bouts of what I call physical anxiety (that is anxiety that appears to begin from the stomach, as though adrenalin is being released and not due to a psychological reaction). Again, this is something I can cope with, but oddly something I don't seem to be able to prevent. This could well be a combination of underlying and prolonged real life stress, and the fact that I was far iller than I probably recognised at the time, combined with antibiotics that alone can cause havoc with your body and mind.

I've also started a dream journal, and it was interesting looking at the themes that cropped up in them and comparing them to what was going on in my waking life. Last night I also tried using imagery rehearsal which means thinking about the normal tone of the dream, and consciously rehearsing a different outcome. Coincidence or not, I only woke once and didn't remember dreaming when I did. This is something I'll try again over the next several days to see if it was just a fluke or not! It's definitely worth trying if you have sleep disturbances due to dreams.

If nothing else, this thread has reminded me that being mindful is essential to overcoming anxiety and depression. Factors can build up that 'normal' people would recognise, but that we simply put down to yet more anxiety, which is not always the case.

[gdot]

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