Changing sleep habits on CPAP...

[rubberchimp]

After a month or so on CPAP, I stilll wasn't feeling any better during the days.. still sleepy during the day with no energy, aches & pains, yawning & watery eyes etc. My numbers on the machine had been pretty damn good, with HI < 5 and AI <= 0.2 most nights.

Just last week, it occured to me that I hadn't modified my sleeping hours since I started CPAP. During the many years I spend undiagnosed, I'd become accustomed to going to bed late and sleeping irregular hours and having horrid sleep hygiene due to seeing no benefit from good sleep habits. Generally, I'd been sleeping for 5-7 hours a night. Longer seemed to increase my chances of waking with a throbbing hangover-like headache. I got into the habit of just going to bed when I was pretty much ready to drop. I suppose the apnea was preventing me from getting any proper benefit from the extra hours, but now that problem is being treated...

This week I've been spending at least 8 1/2 hours in bed, and I'm finally starting to feel some tangible benefit. The results have been a bit uneven, but I've had several days of feeling pretty damn good, and have had consistent energy throughout the day. I'll be in for sinus surgery next week, but after that, I plan to keep going with the longer hours, extending them to a regular 9 for at least a few weeks to see what effect it has.

The main difference with what I've been doing this week is consistently sleeping longer, instead of allowing my hours to vary from night to night according to how sleepy I felt. Also, consistently going to bed before 11pm. Seems to be beneficial thus far. Maybe it seems obvious, but after years of identifying myself as a "night owl" and feeling that "morning people" must be some strange alien race, it took a while to dawn on me

Anyone had a similar experience? Comments or thoughts to share?

[bdp522]

Many people don't allow themselves enough sleep time. I think alot of beginning cpap users need to be told to allow themselves extra sleep time. Some have said how they crave sleep once on cpap. If you can't increase the hours you sleep at night, try a nap(with cpap, of course). You need the extra time to pay back your sleep debt.

Brenda

[gasp]

After a month or so on CPAP, I stilll wasn't feeling any better during the days.. still sleepy during the day with no energy, aches & pains, yawning & watery eyes etc. My numbers on the machine had been pretty damn good, with HI < 5 and AI <= 0.2 most nights.

Just last week, it occured to me that I hadn't modified my sleeping hours since I started CPAP. During the many years I spend undiagnosed, I'd become accustomed to going to bed late and sleeping irregular hours and having horrid sleep hygiene due to seeing no benefit from good sleep habits. Generally, I'd been sleeping for 5-7 hours a night. Longer seemed to increase my chances of waking with a throbbing hangover-like headache. I got into the habit of just going to bed when I was pretty much ready to drop. I suppose the apnea was preventing me from getting any proper benefit from the extra hours, but now that problem is being treated...

This week I've been spending at least 8 1/2 hours in bed, and I'm finally starting to feel some tangible benefit. The results have been a bit uneven, but I've had several days of feeling pretty damn good, and have had consistent energy throughout the day. I'll be in for sinus surgery next week, but after that, I plan to keep going with the longer hours, extending them to a regular 9 for at least a few weeks to see what effect it has.

The main difference with what I've been doing this week is consistently sleeping longer, instead of allowing my hours to vary from night to night according to how sleepy I felt. Also, consistently going to bed before 11pm. Seems to be beneficial thus far. Maybe it seems obvious, but after years of identifying myself as a "night owl" and feeling that "morning people" must be some strange alien race, it took a while to dawn on me

Anyone had a similar experience? Comments or thoughts to share?

I too used to stay up later. Now I go to bed earlier and get up earlier - refreshed most of the time. Before therapy, I would wake so often that by the next evening I would go to bed way early. Then sleep too much, then get up late, then stay up late - repeat cycle. Now for the most part I keep regular sleep hours.

[JayC]

My best night ---8 hours and lowest numbers -- came with going to bed between 10 and 10:30.

I've been thinking that I used to stay up midnight or later in part because I was groggy, and useless in the a.m. and into the afternoon from a cognitive/productivity sense. Guess I wanted to have something to show for the grogginess.

We'll see how this proves out over the next weeks....

J, who is off to bed any moment

[alnhwrd]

Before CPAP I always thought of myself as a natural night owl. I would stay up late, like others have said, but my reason was because I knew I would sleep badly and would do anything to delay the inevitable. Once I got on CPAP I became, for the first time in my life, a "lark" a morning person, primarily because I knew I would be sleeping and getting rest so I actually looked forward to bed and got up early because I went to bed early. Its amazing what a difference CPAP can make.

[Bert_Mathews]

I have SWITCHED and getting 9+ hours sleep has changed my life ---- --- I think for the GOOD now if I could eliminate the effects of old age??
ANYBODY have a solution for that?

BERT

[marshaeb]

After a month or so on CPAP, I stilll wasn't feeling any better during the days.. still sleepy during the day with no energy, aches & pains, yawning & watery eyes etc. My numbers on the machine had been pretty damn good, with HI < 5 and AI <= 0.2 most nights.

Just last week, it occured to me that I hadn't modified my sleeping hours since I started CPAP. During the many years I spend undiagnosed, I'd become accustomed to going to bed late and sleeping irregular hours and having horrid sleep hygiene due to seeing no benefit from good sleep habits. Generally, I'd been sleeping for 5-7 hours a night. Longer seemed to increase my chances of waking with a throbbing hangover-like headache. I got into the habit of just going to bed when I was pretty much ready to drop. I suppose the apnea was preventing me from getting any proper benefit from the extra hours, but now that problem is being treated...
. . . .
Anyone had a similar experience? Comments or thoughts to share?

Rubberchimp, the nightowl habits you've described are my life exactly, except I'm still there. I just love those moments in life when the simplest solution finally gets through to me, and that happened as I read your post.

"You could try going to bed earlier."

Oh.

Yeah.



There are few things as entertaining to me as me. (Well, there's The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, but we already have a thread on that.)

I've only been on the hose for a week, and I do know (thanks to so many in this forum) to not expect too much too soon. For now, though, I feel like I'm in an arranged marriage. It's something that makes good sense, it's something I've agreed to, but I'm still waitin' for the love.

Thanks for sharing...
Marsha

[jnk]

Found this interesting . . .

http://www.resmed.com/en-en/clinicians/ ... clinicians

Sleep Hygiene
To maximize the restorative powers of sleep and to make getting to sleep easier, good sleep hygiene helps immensely. The following suggestions can help people with sleep disorders and their families.

Wake at the same time every day, regardless of when you went to sleep
Maintain a consistent bed time
Exercise regularly, but not within two to four hours of bedtime
Perform relaxing activities before bed
Keep your bedroom quiet and cool (extreme temperatures compromise sleep)
Don't have anything with caffeine for at least six hours prior to bedtime
Don't have nicotine for at least six hours prior to bedtime
Don't drink alcohol for at least four hours prior to bedtime
Don't watch television for at least an hour before bedtime
If you nap, only nap early in the day, not in the late afternoon or evening