Waking at night panting?

Do you have anything bothering you recently?

I though this was a serious discussion, obviously I was wrong

@shelhook We were serious. Are you?

Is it the waking up out of breath that scares you or something else? It could be many things, some more information about what happens when you wake up, your overall health status, and how long it takes you to catch your breath would be helpful. Also, you said it’s happened twice. Is that two random times in the past year, month, week, or both in one night?

Sleep apnea perhaps? Maybe the dream you remember is just a result of what your body is doing (gasping for air).

I understand that it’s not an uncommon response to nightmares. Were you running from something?

How old are you? How much do you weigh? How tall are you? How well have you been sleeping in general over the last year or so? I think @JustJessica could be on to something.

Anxiety dreams

It sounds to me like you have some serious anxiety about something or many things in your life right now.

Keep a journal by your bed. Before you’re ready to go to sleep, write down anything on your mind that is troubling you, anything unfinished you need to address, your grocery list….really anything filling up the worry center of your brain.

If you can, regularly set up 10 mins per night to do meditation to release some of your stress load. (you can find some great 10 min meditations on the web for free, or download a free mp3 one)

If this continues after you try the above, then I suggest a visit to your physician. He/she can evaluate you to see if you have signs of sleep apnea, or high blood pressure, or don’t know your age menopause, etc.

I have sleep apnea so I know a bit about it. The panting is very likely related to lack of oxygen, which is what apena is. Check with your doctor.

I have an appointment next week for a sleep study because I started noticing the same thing. My Dr. explained to me that sleep apnea can/is the root to MANY issues I deal with like weight gain, severe fatigue, anxiety, depression and much more. It can’t hurt to go get checked out.