"Only When I Sleep" is a song by Irish folk rock band The Corrs, released in September 1997 as the lead single from their second album, Talk on Corners (1997).

The track was also included on the second issuing of the album, Talk on Corners: Special Edition (1998), and was also recorded live with an orchestra for MTV's Unplugged (1999).

Alan Jones from Music Week described the song as "a classy and sonically pleasing ballad performed in a style midway between Roxette and Heart.

"Only When I Sleep" is a slower-paced (95 BPM), steady but 'dreamy' rock song in the key of B Dorian (minor)/A major, in common time (4/4), and runs for four minutes and twenty-one seconds.

The song features prominent rhythmic and solo electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and drums; the bridge of the song is a simple, Irish-inspired melody composed by the band, featuring Andrea Corr on tin whistle (a Walton's 'Little Black D' whistle) and Sharon Corr on violin.