When Dreams Trigger Insomnia

It's rare that I sleep deep enough and long enough to really dream, and it is even more rare for me to sleep long enough to have a dream that lasts more than a couple of minutes.

When I do, it can be confusing. Have you ever woken up from a dream and struggled to determine what is reality for a moment?

Sleeping long enough to dream

As I said, it is rare for me to dream and especially rare for my dreams to be long.

I had an epic dream last night. If it were a television show, it would be longer than the typical sitcom. It seemed closer to an hour-long drama with as many plot twists and turns as a really good novel.

The storyline of my dream was complex and it was a lot to take in. That's another reason why it was so confusing. It was just a lot with a lot of information. Waking up from this rare type of dream is confusing for me. It takes a moment in a sleepy state to recognize it was all a dream.

Can't turn off my mind to sleep

Because I overthink everything I spend way too much time trying to find some hidden meaning or important information buried within the dream. I stress over every detail, fearful I have forgotten something important. It's insanity.

If I wake from this type of dream in the middle of the night, which I did, it is impossible to go back to sleep right away. My mind starts reeling. As my brain hits overdrive, so does my insomnia.

Have you ever tried to shut off your brain so you could go to sleep? I'm sure most of you have been stuck trying to do that at some point. Has anyone managed to actually do it? That is a life skill I need. If you have a life hack for that - I'm all ears.

Insomnia is caused by many things

I was finally able to get back to sleep more than an hour later, but it made me realize something. There are so many different things that affect and cause insomnia that it just is not possible for me to keep it under control.

With so many different factors affecting my sleep, trying to find balance and treat all of them is impossible. Odds are, something is going to keep me awake most nights. There are just too many things affecting my sleep patterns.

Learning to live with insomnia

I know there are plenty of you who have the same issues. If you have multiple conditions that affect sleep, you know odds are that the minute you get one issue under control another starts to cause problems.

What do you do when there are so many things causing and agitating insomnia? If you're like me, you end up learning to roll with the punches. You dream of getting a good night's rest every night, but you know it just may not be in the cards...