Waking Up and Temporarily Losing Memory

From my expérience of 3 1/2 years of sleeping problem... And my problem has evoluated through différent sleeping problems. I suggest you learn as soon as possible a meditation technique called Vipassana . That will help you alto for the future in many ways. 

There are meditation center vipassana in many contries. The course is free. But you have to engage ten days of your life in learning the technique. For me, it has saved my life.

 

Hey Lauren,

How do you feel now, I was looking for answers and i found what you posted and it exactly matched what i went through last night, so did you find any answers?

Lauren I have the exact same thing. I wake up everyday almost infact I time it. The way I do is screen shoot my phone. When I wake up before it happens 2-5 minutes maximum before it happens I will wake up. I will stand up I will think maybe it won’t happen this time ( everyday I do this) I will walk to the bathroom by the time I get theyre it starts to set in. Within 5 minutes long term is perfect short term is distorted I will not remember but a few events it will also have some weird effects such as a extremely powerful time distortion the only thing I can even use to snatch my self out of it faster is play extremely loud music through ear buds splashing water on my face does nothing but throw me into sheer terror and fear it’s simmular to me as if a hallucinogenic drug like lsd but no hallucinations ( only time space and key exact areas of thought and memory are messed up) for instants I will remember the song lyrics but I won’t rememer the bathroom or if I even used the scale ( I do weight loss a lot ) so I also will talk to people but then forget the entire conversation besides a few parts it is like literally having a weird form of amnesia that attacks only key parts of memory total time is 10-15 I’ve had it roll to 32 minutes maximum once also it always seems much much much longer than it’s been it feels like hours vs minutes. I’ve had mri s I’ve had sleep study I have sleep apnea but I caught my doctor lying we won’t get into that. Cpap doesn’t help me I never get tired nor stop breathing nor even have the ability to nap. But they’re has never been anyone able to give me answers. I  do suffer panic attacks but this is much much much more powerful what ever this is. I have seen neurologist nothing they’re psychiatrist they are literally confused the only thing that seems repetitive is when it happens they’re is no memory of dreams I perceive it maybe like sleep paralysis but able to move I have had sleep paralysis but strangely enough later sleep study said no I didn’t however no I have confirmed cases of it. To help anyone maybe they’re is a cluster as follows 1. Religion Muslim 2. Has GAD 3. Has extremely bad panic attacks 4. Has had a near death experience when I was 16 also was in a comma for 3 days. Current age 30 years old. It all started after taking a pill called rivotril aka tamazapam not colonopin I still take colonazapam ( tamazapam is a different benzo) after I stoped it this never went away. A common triggering thought that makes this happen faster is trying to remember what I dreamed < never do that it sends me straight into it 0 time delay. What I believe it may be personally a ultra deep sleep and awaking but then another area of the brain isn’t waking up as fast then fails and goes back to as if it was still a sleep. The way Lauren described it is very good it’s exact. I wish I had answers but I don’t I’ve only been looking for them for 2 years rolling on 3 also key note my memory after it wears off is and allways has been ultra powerful long term short term I have common forgetfulness like where did I put my wallet keys etc or where did I put so and so. Other than that nothing else. 

stress is the cause. Your nervous system is perturbed.

if someone is in the same situation , try doing 1-2 minutes of exercises after the naps. Something easy for the body-mind to wake up

if this still persist go to a doc or start enjoying life more

Hi Lauren,

Just a reminder to take all advice here and elsewhere with a pinch of salt.  Not that some good advice is not given.  But you know your body best.

The first obvious thing I would do is visit your GP and get a blood test and a sleep study to rule any issues / sleep apnea.

No need to answer, but have you used heavy drugs / alcohol / late nights lately? 

With regards to the powernap you had, do you normally feel rested after having this nap?  How about a full nights sleep?

Perhaps your sleep conditions need to be improved.  Have you moved house lately / changed the bedroom conditions in any way?  Do you regularly wash your sheets and vacuum and clean your bedroom?  (I have read that a week is a good start, and you need wash your sheets in HOT water to kill any potential bed bugs / critters). 

Do you get mucous easily / sneeze easily once inside / outside the room oir house?  Make sure the house is environmentally friendly.  Don't get too into it, but just clean out any old musty furniture / water stains which may cause mold and mildew.  Vacuum under and around furniture in the house at least once a month.  

Alternatively, before you let your mind worry about the house (which it usually isn't), try staying at a hotel with a nice bed and see if you get those same not-nice symptoms you mentioned.  Either struggling to breathe or short-term memory loss.

Best wishes in finding the cause.

I’m having the exact same problem. Whenever someone wake me up out of my sleep I wake up very confused. If I have a conversation after being awaken I won’t remember it later.  I also feel dizzy at the same time.  Mine didn’t start til after my concussion

Hello, I experienced this memory loss twice 2 years ago. The first one was the time im developing a system software project for the school it was stressful for me working it at night and going to school at day. Then one night i decided not to work on it, if im not mistaken i dreamed of something and the thing i only remember was big letters of "Q W L E B D" i woke up from my dream and thats the only thing i remember all the things i did the past days was gone in my head. The thing is i starting to forgot my name and even to what to do next i feel like really dumb like i cant do anything and remember anything, what i did was write my name on my phone again and again while saying it loud. My mom woke up and told whats happening to me he get the bible and sit beside me and we pray together im shaking and feeling cold and suddenly i fell asleep.

The second one was not too serious but it was the same dream about the big letters in my head " Q W L E B D" same things happened at the first case but the difference was what i did to try to overcome it i just think that i will remember it tomorrow and forcely go back to sleep by jumping jack and push up to trigger sleep by tiring my body a little and it work.

I tried to analyze the way i think that moment. Its like this for example i have three task todo and decided to do one task first but my brain wants to do all three at the same time and cant process all the things.

Normal brain works

1st task

Start ------------ End

2nd task

Start ------------ End

3rd task

Start ------------ End

My brain while the memory loss

1st = f

2nd = s

3rd = t

Start -- ffttss-sstffttf -- cant end

The thing is i cant focus on one task and jumbling all the things in my head at the same time. On the second case i work on my body before mind soo i think it work but i don think that was the right thing to do.

I just wanted to say thanks for posting about this. I had it happen about 4 years ago myself. Took a nap and woke up completely unaware of where I was, my identity even eluded me and I couldn't remember my life at all.... for about 30 seconds when my memory came flooding back rather violently. Now I have several sleep disorders including sleep paralysis, confusional arousal, sleep walking... but I'd never experienced anything like that in my life. Unlike with confusional arousal, my brain was wide awake. I sat straight up in bed and didn't recognize my own room. Instantly I realized everything was blank and it was terrifying. I started to panic and cry softly bc I wasn't sure I hadn't been kidnapped. Seriously. After a moment, my memories came pouring back in. And at the time my life was rather nightmarish so that wasn't pleasant. It felt as though I was experiencing those memories for the first time all over again. So I was a sobbed and sobbed for most of the day. It's never happened again. I will say, I was overtired, extremely stressed out, had experienced a recent emotional trauma, and was taking anti anxiety meds. I'm sure one or all of them contributed to it. I was just sitting here with insomnia and thinking about it. Guess I just wanted to know if there was a name for this and how common it was. Honestly can't find much of anything about it online. So again, thanks. It's always bothered me since it happened. I certainly don't want to have it happen again.

And I realize it's not exactly the same as what you're experiencing, but it's the closest I could find. Any luck or progress on diagnosis or treatment? My heart goes out to you. Memory loss is truly terrifying.