{"id":36206,"date":"2025-07-30T17:57:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T17:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/damwebserver.com\/dreamdoctor\/articles\/identity-crisis\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T17:57:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T17:57:55","slug":"identity-crisis","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/damwebserver.com\/dreamdoctor\/articles\/identity-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"identity crisis!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi Janeta\u2014 \u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>You\u2019re not having an identity crisis! The reason why you can\u2019t remember who you are when you wake up is because your brain isn\u2019t fully awake yet! This is why everything is \u201cgroggy\u201d for a few minutes, but then gradually clears up. \u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>Did you know that all people sleep in ninety minute cycles? It\u2019s true! Each night when we fall asleep, we have periods of deep sleep followed by periods of light sleep. At the end of each one of these \u201csleep cycles\u201d\u2014which last ninety minutes\u2014we have a period of REM, or dreaming sleep.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Normally at the end of a sleep cycle we wake up briefly, turn over, adjust our pillows, and get ready for our next hour and a half of sleep. Sometimes, though, we only partially wake up\u2014while our brains actually stay asleep. If you\u2019ve ever been sleep walking\u2014or had someone tell you that you talk in your sleep\u2014this is when you do it. \u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>Scientists who study sleep disorders use an EEG machine to measure brain waves during sleep. What they discovered is that, despite their awake-like appearances, sleep walkers and sleep talkers actually are deeply asleep during these events. Part of the brain wakes up, which allows us to walk and talk and wonder who we are, but the rest of our brain is sound asleep. This is why sleep talkers almost always talk non-sense (their brains aren\u2019t working fully) and it\u2019s why sleep walkers are so hard to awaken. (They\u2019re sound asleep!) This also explains why, when you wake up sometimes, you have a difficult time remembering who you are. You\u2019re still asleep! \u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>Fortunately, most doctors say these \u201cconfusional arousals\u201d are nothing to worry about. If they start to bug you, though, why don\u2019t you try sleeping with a soft light on in your room? This will help you recognize your room when you wake up during the night, so you won\u2019t feel so confused. \u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>You\u2019re not having an identity crisis, Janeta, you\u2019re just waking up half asleep! It\u2019s totally normal, even if you do forget your name for a while!!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Back to the original dream<\/a>
Back to teen dream library<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[3208,3207],"class_list":["post-36206","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","category-answers","category-teen-dreams"],"acf":{"article_id":"1206"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/damwebserver.com\/dreamdoctor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/36206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/damwebserver.com\/dreamdoctor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/damwebserver.com\/dreamdoctor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/damwebserver.com\/dreamdoctor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damwebserver.com\/dreamdoctor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}