Time after Time

Over the past few weeks I’ve been waking up at specific times during the night. There’s nothing odd in that, as many people wake around the same time during the night, but my times have been rather precise. Pretty much each night I wake up at the following times: 23:23, 1:11, 3:33, 5:55 and 6:09 (this one reads the same upside down). Luckily for me it’s not possible to have a 6:66, as I really would start to worry then. It’s got to the point where I’ll wake from a dream, open my eyes, look over at the digital clock on the bedside table and think ‘Oh look, it’s 3:33 again’.

I’ve always had incredibly vivid, lucid dreams and more times than not I can remember them when I wake. Even with these timed interruptions I’m still having dreams and still remembering them. I would expect people to assume that these regular awakenings are stress-related, but I can’t think of anything in particular that is stressing me out. Obviously living through a global pandemic isn’t exactly normal, but it’s not causing me any higher levels of stress. If anybody could shed any light on what I’m experiencing then I’d really appreciate it.

Stu Smith

Wolverhampton, West Midlands

Editor’s note: compare Stephen Badham’s letter on “doubling up”, FT405:75