Anyone wake feeling exhausted after seemingly dreaming all night

Thank you Teresa.

I will look at this website too.

As for other thoughts or concerns: nothing more specific than that in an effort to troubleshoot over the past few years, I have requested and taken the basic cognitive test that my PCP swears by. But with COVID in the picture, and increasing age (we're ALL getting older, of course!), and so quickly forgetting things and the exact word/s I want to use in average, everyday, at-home interactions, I'm wanting to stay on top of whether having dreams in which I can't find things or about getting lost is any kind of indicator of any future faltering capacity.

Related to the fact of the pandemic over the past few years: I had read that COVID fog can be an issue; fortunately I have not (yet!) had COVID. But for those who haven't had COVID, the media also addressed stories of people having much more vivid or alarming dreams since COVID became a part of daily life.

So I don't know if that plays into any of this more intense dreaming. I know though from our discussion here that others have been challenged by dream issues long before COVID.

I'll leave it at that for now.

Thank you.

Feel free to join this or any other discussion, @brandysparks, at any time.

YES! @mazeppabob I have experienced this exact thing my entire life as well. I am 37 now and this has been lifelong for me. I have never met anyone else with this experience. It does seem to be quite rare especially because no doctor I've ever talked to has even really believed me and thinks I am exaggerrating or just plain wrong about my own experience. I would also guess there is a level of it being hereditary because my father struggled with the same thing. He tried sleep doctors and they couldn't figure anything out and brushed him off. It's pretty exhausting for sure. I also don't believe it is induced by stress or anxiety because, like you said, it's lifelong every night which seems odd to say we have been stressed every day since birth. Same with it being a side effect of medication. I don't take any medications. I have actually tried sleep medications but nothing makes it stop. I don't have much valuable insight to answer your questions otherwise but really wanted to connect because you are NOT alone with this. I'd love some answers as well but this does seem rare and underresearched.

@conesi919 Thanks for the shout-out. I have given up on finding a solution for this epic dream. Very few sleep specialists have even heard of it. There is a long list of sleep disorders but no mention of excessive epic dreaming. Every time I see a different doctor I have to repeat the whole story and educate the specialist.
The doctor who told me I have epic is a forensic sleep specialist who testifies at trials regarding crimes committed supposedly during sleep. He was filling in at my local sleep clinic.
Take care and good luck.

I am 68 years old and have had sleep issues and headaches for many years. My family doctor also happens to be a specialist in sleep disorders, so together we've figured out how to help me.

One often-overlooked reason for intense/often disturbing dreaming is going to bed on a full stomach, or having eaten too much during the day. I have found, over the years, that staying away from all food after 7 PM, affords me restful sleep. If I have eaten too much or too late the night before, I have both vivid dreams and often wake up with a headache.

And one more issue: neck pain/sensitivity often causes headaches upon awakening. Gentle stretches upon awakening, together with a cup of coffee, often helps. Good luck.

Hi, do you lucid dream? If not, it might be an avenue to participate in the epic and allow you some leverage in pausing the dream story, or perhaps use the dream to inform you of it's purpose. Good luck to you. Sounds crazy, but we dream for all sorts of reasons.

I was a Sleep Study Technician and we always asked people how they felt after we woke them up. If we woke them during a REM period they always said they felt tired. Sometimes there was a lot of REM close together, so it was difficult to catch them in another stage of sleep to wake them at the end of the sleep study.

I am 27 year old lady. And u just describe what my whole life had been like. The worse part of it is that i woke up every single day feeling like i had been crushed by a truck. Waking up from sleep never been a joy for me. Its always been that constant sigh everytime. I never try any medication or consult with any doctor since i dont know how to begin with. I cant imagine telling my sleeping problem to doctor, and it seems ridiculous to talk . Its not like i cant sleep, i can. But its more tiring when i start sleeping. Its like my brain never stop working 24hours. I'm already tired working my ass off during daylight, and at night i cant even sleep peacefully.

@azzhznz
It appears that we have the same ailment. I think lots of people suffer with it. it goes unreported, misdiagnosed, undiagnosed and unresearched. My experience with sleep medicine has been a big disappointment. If a CPAP machine doesn't help,, you are SOL.
I am 78 now and will not take one more antidepresent.
Best of luck.

Same here. I dream constantly. Both at night and during a nap. As soon as I drift into sleep, the dreams start.

It might be very rare but you're not alone. I have the same condition.

I definitely think it gets worse when I'm experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety. However, the dreams are constant regardless of my emotional state.

I think it could be related to ADHD and/or a very active brain.