Hi Guys ...

My girlfriend has a lot of trouble with sleep, and I just wondered if anybody might be able to recommend anything.

Although she gets quite hyperactive, or at least gets a 2nd wind before we go to bed (normally around 11:30pm) she never has any problems nodding off, and will usually sleep fine for the first few hours. But she seems to have incredibly vivid dreams that relate to things that have happened during the day, or that she has seen on TV that evening. These almost always wake her up. She then goes off to sleep again, but feels like she is woken 9 or 10 times in the night by vivid dreams. She never feels she has a good nights sleep. And regularly wakes around 5am and can't get back to sleep. She will then feel very drained all day long.

Is there anything people can recommend to stop these vivid dreams?

Thanks in Advance!

Hi there,
That would be very draining for her to sleep like that.

First thing that came to my mind was if she had any illness or condition and whether she takes any particular medications or vitamins. Alcohol can affect sleep cycle too. Some people report vivid or lucid dreams more when they're taking certain things.

She sounds as if she's spending too much time in the stage of sleep where we all dream rather than other phases which allow her to rest.

Has she talked to her doctor about any of this?
There are many reasons why she might be having problems with her sleep cycle. Maybe get her to keep a bit of a sleep diary and then talk to her doctor about what's going on. A sleep study would be helpful if it continues. That would help the docs figure out why she's spending so much time in a particular phase of sleep.

http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm
Getting the Sleep You Need:

http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleepi...es_sleep_cycle
What are the stages of sleep in the sleep cycle?

http://www.medicinenet.com/sleep/focus.htm
Sleep Health Center - What do you know about Sleep?

Let us know how she's doing.
take care,
Lara