Does "Sleep Debt" really exist?

[Daisy004]

or is it just a myth you think? I commented to a friend about me being tireder than ever since starting the cpap and she said "oh yea..just your body catching up on Sleep Debt!!!!" was she serious? Does Sleep Debt exist you think?

[chunkyfrog]

Or maybe we were suffering from withdrawal of our own stress hormones?
It does tend to get better; for whatever reason.
I like to think that we were getting used to this new paradigm of sleeping with equipment
--which does take some effort. Just keep plugging along.

[greatunclebill]

i personally don't buy into this sleep debt theory. but, if someone else does and it helps float their boat, good for them.

[ozze_dollar]

Who knows...its a good story but.

[jjmahern]

Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_debt. It seems there are scientists and doctors in each camp. I do think there is some validity to the theory but I think your increase in tiredness since starting the CPAP prolly has more to do with the time it takes for your body to adjust to CPAP and until it does you might be getting less and/or less restorative sleep since starting on it.

Just my two cents.

[Sir NoddinOff]

I don't put a lot of stock in the theory, especially for 'long term' sleep debt. Maybe a few days at most. I think you can get back on an even keel pretty quick. On the other hand, very long periods of sleep quality deprivation can damage ones overall health... I'm not so sure you can come back from that totally... re: heart attacks, strokes, diabetes etc.

[BlackSpinner]

It really depends on what is meant by "Sleep debt".

For the first month or two I slept like the dead for 10-12 hours each night. Was it catching up on sleep? probably not. As I slept my whole attitude changed, I slowly recovered a lot of cognitive abilities I used to have, my skin changed. All sort of aches and pains disappeared and I got energy. By about 6 months in I was sleeping 6.5 -7 hours only.

Do "Sleep debt" or intense active healing at night?

[chunkyfrog]

Need it or not, the ability to finally get a satisfying amount of sleep is a big boost, emotionally.
I still indulge myself on occasion. (9 or 10 hours; not even a headache--s'wonderful)

[DiverCTHunter]

I'm going to have to agree with Sir Noddin, but with one extra anecdote.

Several years ago I was beyond exhausted. My schedule was either 3p-12a Monday-Friday or 11a-7p, Tuesday-Sunday. On a good night I got 4-5 hours of "sleep" and usually, it took two hours of NASA TV and C-SPAN for me to get that. By the time Saturday night rolled around, I was more-or-less brain-dead. Saturday (or Sunday) was pretty much 8-10 hours of torpor, followed by 2-3 hours of grogginess and another 4-6 hours of "sleep". The day after that I was back on my feet and able to face the world again.

Thankfully I only had to put up with those shifts for a couple years, but it took even longer for me to cave in and spend the money to get diagnosed.

So, to answer your question: Yes, sleep debt exists, but everyone's body bounces back from it differently. When you put the stress of a strange device telling you when to breathe on top of that, then follow it up with weeks or even months of leaky masks while you try to find the one that fits.... Well, you can guess what happens.

The good news is, it really does get better... Eventually.

Find your mask, find your machine, and find your pressure. If you're lucky everything will click right away. If not, even the cheapest brick in the world can be adjusted through trial and error.

[ems]

Sleep Debt exists if that's what you believe. I don't. "Maybe" the first few nites if you are sleeping well... hopefully after that you're just breathing and sleeping peacefully.

[Sleepyinpdxp]

I've been on cpap for several weeks and right from the start I've been dreaming almost at a frantic pace and can remember my dreams quite clearly when I wake up. I find it almost an exhausting feeling dreaming so much but I am sleeping 8-9 hrs. per night. My sleep doc said the increased dreaming is quite common. I don't know if this is "sleep debt" but something is definitely very different.

One thing I've noticed is that I don't wake up when our security light goes on (usually 2-3 times a night due to roaming critters - I hope!) I used to wear a sleep mask because of this but now can't do so due to the mask getting in the way. This probably means I'm sleeping deeper. I also have less bathroom visits.

[Sleepyinpdx]

I've been on cpap for several weeks and right from the start I've been dreaming almost at a frantic pace and can remember my dreams quite clearly when I wake up. I find it almost an exhausting feeling dreaming so much but I am sleeping 8-9 hrs. per night. My sleep doc said the increased dreaming is quite common. I don't know if this is "sleep debt" but something is definitely very different.

One thing I've noticed is that I don't wake up when our security light goes on (usually 2-3 times a night due to roaming critters - I hope!) I used to wear a sleep mask because of this but now can't do so due to the mask getting in the way. This probably means I'm sleeping deeper. I also have less bathroom visits.

[Guest]

or is it just a myth you think? I commented to a friend about me being tireder than ever since starting the cpap and she said "oh yea..just your body catching up on Sleep Debt!!!!" was she serious? Does Sleep Debt exist you think?

ABSOLUTELY!!!
If it didn't exist (or wasn't a reality), there wouldn't be so many "scholarly" articles and papers about it from reputable sources.
Have you bothered to do a Google search on it? Please do so and make up your own mind.

.

[JohnBFisher]

I guess it depends on how exhausted you are. Before diagnosis some 20+ years ago, I reached a point that I would dream when I blinked!! Talk about bloody dangerous. Just remember I still was driving at that time!! I fortunately had enough vacation to take about one week off from work. And I slept and slept and slept. By the fourth day or so, I *finally* started to awaken in the morning and would be awake for several hours before going back to sleep. It was the best sleep that I had in years!!

For me, sleep debt was very, very real. And I was glad to be able to play catch up. After that week, I felt as if I were years younger. Yup! Quite real.

[ems]

I like to think that we were getting used to this new paradigm of sleeping with equipment

Essentially that's what I think too... the newness of it and getting used to sleeping with a strange thing on your face; waking up, going back to sleep, etc., etc. Problem is I believe everything JBF says... so now I'm not sure what I think.