I used to have panic attacks when I was 16-17. The kind where I could breathe in but not out, but like I said that was a long time ago.

Now I find myself waking up moments (I know it's not long because I play music to help me sleep and it's often the same song playing) after falling asleep gasping for breath and my heart pounding. Sometimes it will happen several times in the same night.

I was tested for sleep apnea but that came back fine so I was thinking could falling asleep maybe be causing anxiety attacks?

[Little Lulu]

Anxiety certainly can occur at night. If a metabolic cause has been ruled (sleep apnea, heart arrhythmia, hot flushes associated with menopause or other hormonal issues, etc) then anxiety would be the most likely cause.

The next step would be to see where you are in life right now - issues in your life that need to be talked about and worked through.

Whatever I don't deal with in the daylight hours nearly always haunts me at night.

Possibly, I also used to have awful nightmares but since they've slowed down I thought maybe I was doing okay.

I hope you work everything out that's going on in you're life. Just an suggestion but you could always meditate right before you go to bed.

Hello BeteNoire. I'm pretty sure what you have is the same thing I had when I was younger. I was going through A LOT of stress then, so are you as well? The most vivid thing I remember when that sleeping problem happened was my heart would pound very deeply, like I heard it in my skull. I would gasp for breath too. I also had a bit of anemia then as well, so for me, that may have caused it. The strange thing was that I didn't fall asleep then. I had a strange fear of falling asleep, and the problem happened right when my mind was starting to drift off. I was having a lot of bad nightmares around that time, which I think indicates anxiety. The music you listen to may help. Especially if it's relaxing. Please take care. Meditation sounds good.