Adhd and dreams

[mustachekitteh]

I don’t have an issue falling asleep at night.I always wake up early too.Yet during the night I keep waking up constantly.It’s normally during the middle of any dreams I have.Which they are all really vivid.I’m wondering if thanks to having adhd and the extremely vivid dreams.End up causing my brain to be distracted from trying to sleep.Then during a dream it gets me so excited that it causes me to wake up.Not sure how crazy this sounds.I just don’t have any other ideas.Which I’ll talk about this with my psychiatrist next time I see them.Hopefully I wont forget to tell them.Still this constantly waking up is killing my brain.Like I start to freak out more often and confused.It makes me dread going to sleep knowing that I’m just going to keep waking up.

Anyone else have this problem?

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[shutterbug55]

mustachekitteh,

Are you reading my journals? 🙂

My suggestion to you, is to write down your dreams in as much detail as you can on a journal kept by your bed. You are going to be awake anyway, why not record some of your thoughts?

If you have any aspirations of being an author, these dreams might make for a story people want to read.

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[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

MustacheKitten, a lot of adults with ADHD have problems sleeping. It’s huge.  People actually asked us to make a video about sleep issues, and we did.

Being awoken by your dreams is so disruptive. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture. And it works! So this is a big problem.

Folks with ADHD do have much higher rates of poor sleep. In our video ADDeep Sleep, Doctor Roberto Olivardia says that everyone he knows with ADHD has sleep issues. Including himself.  The video also gets into it in detail, including something called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. And there’s a ton of suggestions for getting more restful sleep.

I, like you, have vivid dreams, yet another member of my family believes they never dream. I’ve suggested maybe they just don’t remember them but they say no.

I love Shutterbug55’s suggestion to journal your dreams. Whether or not you use them as fodder for stories, you may see a pattern and recognize fears and concerns that are driving your dreams… and be able to deal with those.

There is also something called Guided or Directed Dreaming, where you actually set yourself up as you’re falling asleep, telling yourself what you want to dream about, and even how it will end.

 

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[dithl]

@mustachkitteh – yep, sometimes I feel like I have hardly slept because of vivid dreams. When I first went on Adderall, I had no dreams and woke up feeling so refreshed. They came back though.

Are you taking any stimulants? I found Wellbutrin sometimes interfered with my sleep – so it was more like torture – half-asleep, half-dreaming, waking up a lot.

I guess on the plus side, they are outpourings of creativity??

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[wiredonjava]

My trouble with sleep is staying asleep. 3:30 am is when I usually wake up and cannot fall back asleep. I still sometimes take Melatonin 5 mg but the only way I can have a full night’s sleep is by taking Unisom (formula) 2 with active ingredient  Doxylamine Succinate 25 mg. Too bad they don’t sell it here in Canada. Even with our low dollar I might have to cross that border and stock up. While I am there I might have to stock up on Dunkin Donuts coffee grind (turbo blend please. Sorry Tim Hortons). Funny how my life seems revolve around trying to get a good night’s sleep and then trying to be fully awake with a lot of caffeine to start my day. I think I’m beginning to understand how Johnny Cash & Elvis ended up the way they did.

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[shutterbug55]

Sleep for me is like unicorns. It would be nice to see some, but I doubt I ever will.

If I can sleep through the 2:30 hour, I am fine. If I wake up at 2:30, I read, watch a little TV or write. Then I go back for some more.

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[frustr8ed]

Has anyone on Vyvanse experienced night terrors? My son is almost 13 and on 40mg of Vyvanse and at least twice a week awakes the rest of the house with his screaming, yelling and movement (punching, kicking, jumping) in his bedroom.

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[greentree]

 

Hi Frustr8ted,

I first experienced night terrors with my daughter not knowing what they were. I understand scarry,a hopelessness in frustration not being able to help during the event. I would try talk and console my daughter then 3,4,5, and have her screeming running from me while calling out mummy. My understanding of it is that it is a form of sleep walking. I remember having many !! Bad dreams as a child and being terrified to go to sleep. My Brother who has adhd undiagnosed would sleep walk and go to the toilet in wired places when a younge teenager. I know of a 5/6 yr old boy who is undiagnosed who has them. The sibling of one of my clients. I Suggest you research in reputable sites seek proffesional help,Is it a by product of Meds? Heart breaking for a parent. Sunshine days .

 

 

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[That Guy with ADHD]

My sleep is interupted by noises, a full bladder, aches, and dreams.  I find that in most of my dreams I have the ability to manipulate them simply by thinking “that’s dumb, I should have done this instead”  and it happens.  It’s almost as it I’m daydreaming and not fully asleep.

I also toss and turn so much I can’t sleep with my wife anymore.  At the age of 53 I find it that the aches and pains of arthritis has made it even more difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position.

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[dizzytuber]

You could also have sleep apnea, which I know I have.  It’s scared former girlfriends, who said I would be sawing logs (snoring loud), then suddenly it was quiet, and I wasn’t breathing.

As for vivid dreams, boy do I have those.  About once every couple of years, I’ll have what I call an epic dream.  It’s a dream that is more like a movie made by your brain, to entertain you.   I keep a dream journal and I’ve been able to figure them all out.   Sometimes, the meaning of the dream can be like a cold splash of water on your face, ie, you have a sudden realization of your true feelings that your conscious conveniently buried to protect you.  It can leave you happy or rather lugubrious.   Sometimes though, a dream was just your brain shuffling the images of discussions, your environment, what you saw on tv, etc.

 

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[That Guy with ADHD]

I was tested for sleep apnea but didn’t have it.  I was diagnoced with Hypersomnolence though.  Apparently I sleep well according to brainwave patterns but always experience daytime sleepiness.  Throw in some Beta blockers for SVT (tachycardia) and I can sleep anywhere, anytime.

I might have to try journaling.  It has been recommended to me by a few people now not only for dreams but to track your thoughts and feelings.

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[harry1]

I’m in this late, but… my dr gave me symbicort for a lung problem, and it seemed to set off a sleep problem such as you describe.
After three weeks of waking up at all hours, I heard a trick that seems to help. I make a good-side cup of coffee in the evening, and leave it in the microwave.
If I wake up, I immediately heat it up and drink it.
I have to believe (I’m not a dr or chemist) that the caffeine is burning out whatever is in my blood that’s keeping me awake.
I can drink that, and in about ten or fifteen minutes, I drowsy and can go back to bed and sleep.
True reason? Unknown. But, it seems to work.
Good luck. Or would that be Good night?
Harry1

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[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

Well, Harry1, in our video on Sleep & ADHD one of the doctors explains why a stimulant can actually help with sleep, because it diminishes the level of ‘hopping, skipping, and jumping from one thing to another.

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[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

Well, Harry1, in our video on Sleep & ADHD one of the doctors explains why a stimulant can actually help with sleep, because it diminishes the level of ‘hopping, skipping, and jumping from one thing to another.

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[harry1]

Thank you. It does seem to get my mind down to only one or two “voices” instead of the usual twelve. Good sleep is one of the great treasures.

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