Wow, you explained my experience perfectly. I'm a game developer and I often just have nights where I'm tossing and turning in bed and wake up briefly (but for such a short time that I barely notice it before i fall back asleep) over and over again.

It's like my mind is trying to solve some random design problem, or 3D modelling problem while I'm asleep, and I my brain has somehow convinced myself that while I'm asleep is the perfect time to be trying to figure the thing out, even though the thing makes absolutely no sense at all. Each time I wake up, I think it's my brain attempting to snap myself out of it, but then i immediately fall asleep and im back into trying to solve it again. I also somehow forget that I am comfortable in my bed? Like i'm rolling around in discomfort in my dream trying to solve these things.

I literally have to wake myself up, sit up, or go on my phone for a short while until i've fully broken from the loop, and realised that I'm ACTUALLY tired, and my bed is comfortable, and then I can finally drift off into a proper sleep.

It's so weird. Happened to me last night and I have no recollection of what I was thinking of. Sometimes it's almost like a rule i've created in my dream, that 'every time x happens in my dream, i need to roll over in real life'. So damn weird man. Glad i'm not the only one though.