Oct 23, 2005 subject: What do docs care most about: You or their income?
Janelle mentioned this as a side note that caught my eye:
Janelle, I can't remember what you've said about your sleep studies - was REM noted in your PSG studies, or did you not ever go into REM during the studies? A person really has to be hooked up to EEG during a PSG for it to be known if they are having REM or not during a sleep session.But when I go in next time, I'll have to confess that I don't think I'm dreaming (another problem, no REM sleep)
Your situation might be very different, Janelle, but I'd caution others on cpap that just because they are not aware of having had any dreams when they wake up in the morning, it doesn't mean they did not have a perfectly healthy amount of REM during the night. Not being aware of dreaming or not remembering any dreams is not the same thing as not dreaming at all.
In fact, I think it's a healthier sign that a person on cpap is being well treated if he/she doesn't remember any dreams upon awakening in the morning. To me, not remembering having dreamed is a good indication the treatment is going well and that the person is sleeping undisturbed through their REM periods when untreated OSA would be at its worst. To be aware of a dream at all, even wispily, one has to wake up fully enough and long enough during REM for the brain to commit the dream (or vague awareness of having had a dream) to memory.
Recently I had 3 nights in a row of full overnight PSG studies. If anyone had asked me the next morning, "Did you have any dreams?" I'd have said "No." Actually, I'd have said, "Probably, but I was totally unaware of them and don't even vaguely recall having dreamed at all." I saw the graphs from each of those nights and the tech pointed out each REM period I'd had...three REM cycles during each of those three nights.
The first REM happened about 90 minutes into sleep, just as its supposed to do; and subsequent REM periods lasted longer as the night progressed. I was having normal REM, presumably dreaming as people normally do during REM, but was not being jolted out of REM long enough to be aware of having dreams. I didn't have even the slightest feeling of having dreamed any of those nights, but the EEG showed clearly that I was having normal repeated REM cycles all three nights.
So...to people on cpap treatment, I'd say don't worry if you don't have even the vaguest recollection of having dreamed during the night. Unless something really unusual is going on in your sleep, or you're on meds that suppress REM, you did have a normal amount of REM and you did dream... even if you have no memory of a dream. You simply slept through it the way you're supposed to.
