sleep debt! myth or truth?

[JunaidM]

Is there relly such as thing as being in sleep debt? Could this be the reason why even after getting the right therapy one doesnt feel better immediately?

[DreamDiver]

Is there relly such as thing as being in sleep debt? Could this be the reason why even after getting the right therapy one doesnt feel better immediately?

Yes. There's more than just sleep debt involved, though. Adjustment takes time.

[BlackSpinner]

After being deprived of oxygen for years it takes time for your organs to recover. The sleep part is recovered in a week or two, the healing not so much.

[Junaid]

luckliy ive only been suffering with SA for about a year

[LinkC]

But you probably had apneas LONG before you "suffered" (i.e. felt the results).

Yes, sleep debt is real. I'm curious, where did you hear it was a myth?

[Junaid]

my sleep tech said that it was, i then googled it and some of the other sources also said that there was no such thing as sleep debt!

[DoriC]

From only the perspective of a caregiver, I can tell you that after months of little sleep while adjusting my disabled husband to his therapy, it eventually took me many weeks of uninterrupted sleep to fully recover from my zombie state. And observing my husband's daily progress, I can tell you that it took months before the real benefits of cpap therapy really kicked in. It happened in small stages but he's a different man today even after undergoing a major surgery recently from which he made a speedy recovery this time with no real setbacks in his improved sleep habits. If the "experts" here say there is sleep debt to repay, I believe them!

[Junaid]

@everyone: after how long was your sleep debt repaid?

[DreamDiver]

...I can tell you that after months of little sleep while adjusting my disabled husband to his therapy, it eventually took me many weeks of uninterrupted sleep to fully recover from my zombie state. ...

This is what I fear for my wife. She does not have sleep apnea, and I'm not disabled. But she does a lot of stuff for me while we're figuring this out. I feel like a very heavy load...

[DoriC]

DreamDiver, please put those thoughts out of your mind, I'm sure you know that if it were reversed you'd be doing the same for her. I was only able to do all this because my husband is a terrific guy and a wonderful husband! That doesn't mean I'm such a great wife all the time! Remember marriage is a partnership and just because business is bad for awhile you wait for the better days to come. Sort of like the economy! That's my lecture for the day!

[DreamDiver]

@everyone: after how long was your sleep debt repaid?

Still paying... Most of us figure it out faster, with help from a board like this.

DreamDiver, please put those thoughts out of your mind, I'm sure you know that if it were reversed you'd be doing the same for her. I was only able to do all this because my husband is a terrific guy and a wonderful husband! That doesn't mean I'm such a great wife all the time! Remember marriage is a partnership and just because business is bad for awhile you wait for the better days to come. Sort of like the economy! That's my lecture for the day!

Thanks, DoriC.

[kteague]

After being deprived of oxygen for years it takes time for your organs to recover. The sleep part is recovered in a week or two, the healing not so much.

Agree with the distinction, BlackSpinner.

Maybe the terminology of "sleep debt" is the sticking point for some. It's not like we can, or even need to, make a 1 to 1 repayment of the hours of sleep lost or of too poor quality to be of value. But how many people, due to schedule demands, sleep short all week then "sleep in" on the weekends and say they are catching up?

My personal experience regarding sleep debt after starting cpap would not be a valid comparison to most, as my limb movements have continued to cause short and/or severely fractured sleep. It seemed there would NEVER be a time when I would wake up on my own after a reasonable amount of sleep, feeling ready to get up and stay up. But I can say that there did come a time when on occasion I have experienced waking up after 7 - 8 hours and not wanting to go back to sleep, and having my daytime unexpected naps reduced to some days just a couple (with the help of meds). That's major for me, as I used to sleep in snatches around the clock, and NEVER felt awake. Successful cpap treatment gave me a better state of being, from which to better tolerate my other sleep deficiencies. I believe that was as much a result of the healing process as repaying sleep debt, as that's an ongoing tug-o-war for me.

I'm always perplexed that people would expect to feel good when still getting short sleep. Better, yes, with cpap. But cpap can't make up for too few hours. Even a generally adequate amount of sleep for maintenance of efficient daily function seems to me would not provide the body with the extra boost that could be applied to the recovery process. As far as sleep debt, I think the body tells us when the remainder of the debt is forgiven.

[BlackSpinner]

Yes it all depends on the definition. If you just look at sleep then it is quickly repaid - ask any shift worker(1). However if we are talking about the damage done to organs due to sleep apnea that is a whole other story.


(1) however long term shift work or constant jet lag can cause early ageing and other disruptions, especially the the female reproductive system.

[roster]

After being deprived of oxygen for years it takes time for your organs to recover. The sleep part is recovered in a week or two, the healing not so much.

I agree but with a different time frame. Observation of healthy people (no SDB) who are sleep-deprived indicates one or two nights of about eight hours sleep each is enough to recover the "sleep debt".

And yes, damage to the organs (including the brain) can take a long time to repair depending on the severity of the damage.

Also, I believe new CPAP patients quite often think it is taking a long time to repay the sleep debt, when what is actually happening is their CPAP therapy is not yet optimized and they are still not sleeping well.

JunaidM, do you have equipment at home to monitor the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of your CPAP therapy? It's a must IMO.

[pdean44]

All i know is i slept more than i have in years the 1st two weeks or so and felt like i could barely get out of bed. That has passed. So you can clal it what you want. I did go thru a period of it.