Weird sleep issue

So I run my own business and as such make my own hours, so I don't have a good sleep schedule, but I do get a lot of sleep - Most days I get 8-10 hours, and I never get less than 6. I wake up anywhere from 9am to 1pm, nap for 2 hours a day or so, and go to bed anywhere between midnight and 4am. Definitely an unusual schedule. Despite this, once I fall asleep, I sleep quite soundly and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day. I do not suffer fatigue during the day.

However, I have a strange issue when I sleep - it matches what sleep apnea is kinda but I know its not because I've already been to a sleep doctor who's confirmed I don't have it and that my breathing is normal when I sleep. When I first lay down to start falling asleep, I occasionally get that feeling of suddenly being scared and have to gasp for air. It's as if my body "forgets" that I don't have enough oxygen and needs to gasp for it, even though I am pretty sure I'm breathing the whole time. Think of it this way - if you are afraid of heights imagine standing on top of a tall building 1,500 feet high. You're in the middle on the roof but there are no barriers to prevent you from falling to the side. Suddenly, a gust of air comes and pushes you just slightly toward the edge. You're still well away from the side, but that jolt of "scared" feeling is how it feels like. If I consciously try to think about it and wait for it to happen it never does. Once I actually fall asleep though, it never happens - I've never been awoken because of it - and if I do get up to do business, I can crawl back into bed and fall asleep no issue at all. This is only when I just start to fall asleep.

Any ideas? My doctor seems to think that because of my sleep schedule, my brain is actually very active when I am lying down, and its all the "thoughts" of the day that go on in my head, some might just cause this response, even if its nothing actually scary. It's just my brain trying to keep me awake and thinking.

Weird, I've never felt more stress free in my entire life, and I can fall asleep easily (as long as I get through the few air gasps). But I suppose that could be it. I'm overweight, though not obese. That's just so weird why I'd have that kinda thing, though now that you mention it I didn't feel this way until my second kiddo was born like 2 months ago. So that very well may be it. It's just strange, its a nightly thing.

haha agreed on the nightcap, I'll give that a shot. =)

It's only at home. Went to bed at like 3:30am exhausted last night though. Woke up at 10:30am, and here I am ready to tackle the day and move mountains heh. I only had one episode last night though.

I have some melatonin 5mg, but my concern there is that I really don't have a problem falling, nor staying asleep. It's simply the episodes of these attacks as I'm falling asleep. It's not something that keeps me up all night or anything. I usually have anywhere from 3-5 of them a night and then I'm out until I awake in the morning. More and more I'm believing that its just some anxiety attacks and I just need to figure out wtf they are from and make them stop. I don't think off the top of my head why I'd have them over anything other than the fact I have two kids 3.5 years and 2 months old, but even so my wife and her mom take care of all the "shit" stuff with the kids, leaving me to always do the fun shit. I have no reason to be stressed about my kids, at all.