I’m having frequent false awakening and nested dreams

Background: F29, heavy smoker, used to drink but quit in March, relatively stressful job but I manage well.

My daily routine 5 days week include waking up at 6 and sending my sister to work. I’d go to my own workplace after but because I start shift at 12 I’d usually sleep on the couch in the locker room for a couple of hours. My problem is I’ve been experiencing false awakening and nested dreams whenever I do that. I am fully aware that I am dreaming and I try to wake myself up. Whenever I wake up in my dream, I’d look for clues that it is not yet reality. I wake up a few times in my dream and it gets very distressing. I became scared that I will never wake up and cried and pleaded to the people in my dreams to shake me awake. Whenever I thought I have woken up, I couldn’t move a muscle and then I’d realise that I’m still stuck. And the cycle of dreams start again. It’s very distressing. When I finally wake up, I’d wake up with a start.

It doesn’t happen at home at night or in the staff bedroom (where I nap n the evening). It only happens in the morning. It’s been going on for around 2 weeks, 3-4 times a week. The nested dreams have gotten longer.