For the past twenty years or so (I'm 36 now) I have had trouble sleeping. Not really with falling asleep or staying asleep (even though I have had episodes where that was a problem too) but the big problem is I NEVER feel rested when I wake up in the morning. 'Non-restorative sleep' is the term I found after a bit of Googling. Through the years I have tried to tackle this problem in all sorts of ways but haven't gotten very far. About ten years ago I spent a night at a sleep lab but they couldn't find anything wrong with me. Sadly I have gotten so used to the situation that it is not on my mind a lot but lately I've been thinking about what else I could try. [more inside]
posted on Jul 20, 2008 - 22 answers

How can I be sure that my childhood actually happened? [more inside]
posted on Oct 23, 2007 - 42 answers

So, when I fall asleep on my back I almost always have really intense, cold-sweat, dreams that are almost always very stressful and nightmarish. This never happens when I sleep on my side. Why is this?
posted on Apr 11, 2007 - 11 answers

I've been on a (scary and depressing) kick of the Adam Curtis documentaries (Century of the Self, The Power of Nightmares). What non-fiction books does MeFi recommend in a similar vein? [more inside]
posted on Mar 16, 2007 - 7 answers

My partner reports consistently having bad dreams. She would like to be able to either (a) have good dreams instead, or (b) just not remember them anymore. What techniques/practices are there that can help her achieve this? I'm at a loss to help her, because I've never had the problem. [more inside]
posted on Jan 24, 2007 - 24 answers

So I have been reading this biography of Che Guevera, and I find it gives me nightmares... Why? [more inside]
posted on Oct 5, 2006 - 13 answers

Weird things happen when I sleep. I thought this happened to other people too. Then, tonight, when I mentioned it to my mother she said, "No, that's never happened to me." What is it? Is there an explanation? [more inside]
posted on Dec 26, 2005 - 46 answers

Can nightmares be caused by having to use the bathroom? [more inside]
posted on Dec 14, 2005 - 20 answers

In my entire life, I have never had a good dream (that I can remember). What can I do about this? Every morning I awake feeling like I've just endured an extremely intense work out. These nightmares terrify me and are incredibly vivid. It feels like I am dreaming all night long, without ascending and descending through all of the stages of sleep. Is it possible to get too much REM sleep? If so, what causes this? Any sort of suggestion, outside of recommending therapy (done that), would be helpful. [more inside]
posted on Mar 29, 2005 - 21 answers

For the past few weeks I've had nightmares that involve demons (not the little guys that have red pitchforks and make you do the wrong thing...but very eerie spooky ones). This is freaking me the hell out because I can't sleep and when I do sleep I have nightmares!

So before I go to a counselor to tell me that I'm a looney toon, is there any natural things I can do to have "pleasant dreams?"
posted on Jan 27, 2005 - 47 answers