Why am I suddenly having vivid exciting dreams every bloody night? I AM TIRED

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I just want to go to sleep, and have nothing to do, and not be aware of whatever dreaming is going on. I'm tired. All my dreams are exciting or daunting and the relief when I wake up and realise it's only a dream is indescribable. They're not nightmares, just I keep being thrust into gruelling situations where I have to do stuff/ solve stuff and I AM SO TIRED. It's like being cheated out of sleep although obviously I'm sleeping.

I'll wake up in the early hours, and then drop off again, into another fucking adventurous dream. Sometimes several times a night.

What the actual fuck is going on? Has this happened to you? Why?

Up until a week or so ago, I only rarely remembered a dream when waking. It was not a nightly thing.

Could you be pregnant? This is classic first trimester.

Have you started a new medication? My anti depressants give me very vivid dreams.

It’s cheese for me!

Post menopause my dreams are bonkers. I know exactly what you mean about being exhausted OP.

Definitely not pregnant, and no new medication. Cheese may be responsible. Although, I've always eaten lots of cheese?

Oh now I'm wondering if it's perimeno in my case then!

I get this too! It's exhausting like I'm having a second life while asleep. Think it's confinement as I had the same dreams while pregnant

Dairy before bed ?
Alcohol ? It gives me a restless night.
Peri menopause, how old are you ?
Try taking an antihistamine or Nytol to get some decent sleep.

When I get like this it is always hormones one way or the other

I know exactly what you mean. My DH doesn't get it, he very very rarely even remembers his dreams.
I have always had vivid dreams but since I had my first child 4 years ago I've had them pretty much every night, most nights at least two dreams.
They range from fleeing from a plague of zombies to turning up to my old job to find that noone realised I had left. Last night I had a dream that I went back to University and the accomodation was single occupancy houses but they were all 5 stories with one room and a ladder on each floor!
I do wish my brain would have a rest.

This has been happening to me and reminded me of when I was pregnant. I'm waking up emotionally exhausted.

I dreamt of my assistant telling me how to sort this problem out that I was having trouble with. Went into work really pleased with her!

I've woken up on countless occasions feeling angry with DH cos he's pissed me off in my dreams.

And everything in between. I reckon it's hormones.

They're not nightmares, just I keep being thrust into gruelling situations where I have to do stuff/ solve stuff and I AM SO TIRED. It's like being cheated out of sleep although obviously I'm sleeping

Oh god I could have written your post. I have suffered this for many years. I'd love to stop too. I'm so tired too.

This is happening to me!
I fall asleep quickly and sleep deeply for around two/three hours with no dreams but wake up in the early hours and when I finally go back to sleep I have ‘loud’, hectic, distressing but not necessarily nightmarish dreams. I wake up for work upset and tired.
I’m peri-menopausal btw.

This happens to me in early pregnancy too! Could well be hormonal.

Ditto. Not necessarily scary, but so vivid and just...intense. I can recall them in pretty strong detail the next day. I think mine are anxiety based.

Happening to me too. I think a lot of it is living through a traumatic historical event and my brain is processing it. It is very tiring.

This has happened to me twice: when I was on quite a high dose of Sertraline and (I don’t really know whether to say this) since I had my first vaccine shot. That was a month ago and I definitely have noticed the difference. But I’ve also been eating differently (not vaccine related) so who knows!

I get them when stressed or if I have vertigo.

Please let us all know if you solve the problem! I'm like this and have been as long as I remember. It's ridiculous, but I get really fed up when I'm exhausted after the busiest dream nights. Weirdly, I have practically no visual memory or imagination when I'm awake. My dreams are so vivid and inventive I think I must use everything up overnight!

I read a science paper a few months ago hypothesising that the lack of stimulation and variety in our day to day lives since covid has had a knock on effect on our dreams. It does make sense in a way that the sheer boredom and monotony of life in lockdown has somehow left us having to make up something exciting, if only in our dreams! Certainly mine have been very weird and vivid in the last year. I suppose in normal day to day life pre covid, lots of us would have got a good amount of different images and stimuli.

If you are maybe on statins?....gp mentioned things crossing the blood/brain barrier....hence my exotic travels to far flung destinations, in full colour, every single night and right through covid lockdown!

Also cheese for sure.

This week I’m currently undergoing relentless formal recorded interviews as a suspect with Ted Hastings and Steve Arnott in Line of Duty though...😂

There's a thread about a magnesium cream that's giving people great sleep but vivid dreams. Maybe it's magnesium??

Hi there AbsentmindedWoman

did you ever get to the bottom
of this? Thanks!

I've had this pretty much my whole life. I do find it exhausting and traumatic. My DS is 6 and seems to have followed in my footsteps unfortunately as he usually has vivid and scary dreams.

DH doesn't remember his dreams and I'm so jealous!