DSP possibility, need advice
Question:
Hi, I posted a while back regarding my inability to wake up in the morning. Some people suggested Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome as why I cannot get myself out of bed. I have a few comments on my sleep, and would appreciate help for me to ID if this is what I really have. -First of all, I have no problem falling asleep at whatever bedtime I choose. I could go to bed at 9pm or midnight, it doesnt matter. I fall right asleep, and sleep through the night. No problem falling asleep at any time I choose. Its not that my body cant fall asleep until its tired or feels liek going to sleep, I could just go to sleep whenever I decide or the situation warrants. -I usually sleep 6-8 hours, and regardless of how much I get, I cant get out of bed at my alarm. -I find that sometimes Ill randomly wake up and feel totally refreshed. I have found that these occasions correlate to when I have had either ~7.5hrs of sleep, or it is around 530am (dont know why that is). -I just hit snooze over and over again, until I realize how many times Ive done this and then get right up. -I can often wake up a short time before my alarm and feel great. I just tell my body to go back to sleep as it isnt the right time to get up, and shortly I fall asleep and then cannot get up for the alarm. -Cafeine and ephedra do nothing for my body (although I am 6′4 and 220), I could nap at any time of the day if I laid down, and occasionally get sleepy spells (usually food related though) when bored after eating, where I cannot focus or stay awake. Today was a good example. I went to bed last night at midnight. Usually trying to go by the 7:30 rule of hours of sleep, I set my alarm to get that much sleep, and dozed right off. This morning, I hit snooze from 7:30 until about 8:45 then got sick of that and turned it off. Dozed off waking twice, and finally woke up with 110% energy at 11:35 am. Sleep the night before was about 6 hours, and thatday I went to bed at 11, got up at 515, and had full energy. I think maybe part of the problem is odd waking times, as sometimes I have to get up at 5, other days its whenever I choose. I do know that I went on vacation for 10 days. As an experiment I went to bed at 9-10pm every night, and planed to get up at 7-8 am every day. I had the same problem when I had an overabundance of sleep for a somewhat extended period of time. I couldnt get up unless I was physically shaken and bothered for some time to wake me up, and even then I felt quite groggy. So thats my story… Any suggestions? Thanks so much, JMH
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> -First of all, I have no problem falling asleep at whatever bedtime I > choose. I could go to bed at 9pm or midnight, it doesnt matter. I fall > right asleep, and sleep through the night. No problem falling asleep at any > time I choose. Its not that my body cant fall asleep until its tired or > feels liek going to sleep, I could just go to sleep whenever I decide or > the situation warrants. > -I usually sleep 6-8 hours, and regardless of how much I get, I cant get > out of bed at my alarm. > -I find that sometimes Ill randomly wake up and feel totally refreshed. I > have found that these occasions correlate to when I have had either ~7.5hrs > of sleep, or it is around 530am (dont know why that is). > -I just hit snooze over and over again, until I realize how many times Ive > done this and then get right up. > -I can often wake up a short time before my alarm and feel great. I just > tell my body to go back to sleep as it isnt the right time to get up, and > shortly I fall asleep and then cannot get up for the alarm. > -Cafeine and ephedra do nothing for my body (although I am 6′4 and 220), I > could nap at any time of the day if I laid down, and occasionally get > sleepy spells (usually food related though) when bored after eating, where > I cannot focus or stay awake.
based on this additional information there may be more going on. I get the impression MOST of the time, you’re tired throughout the day….right? You mentinoed being able to nap pretty much any time of the day (you can’t nap if you’re not tired) . This may be an indication that when you DO sleep, regardless of the time, you’re not getting QUALITY sleep, there could be a number of reasons for this, the only way to find out is through a sleep study. I would recommend, that you try REALLY hard for a month or two to practice good "sleep hygene". Importantly, as well as the other things listed here http://www.talhost.net/sleep/insomnia.htm , TRY and go to sleep and get up at regular times for this trial and see what kind of difference that makes to the way you feel throughout the day. Most people find that they need some kind of routine in terms of sleep times to feel properly rested. It might also pay to keep a sleep diary during this time to better understand your sleeping habits etc. There’s a link to one on the LINKS page of the same website. Please make sure you keep us updated as to how you’re progressing. — Beth in Australia (I am not a medical professional and anything stated in my posts is my opinion only unless specified otherwise) =================== FAQ for alt.support.sleep-disorder can be found here http://talhost.net/sleep Newsgroup Archives http://talhost.net/sleep/archives.htm this site is a work in progress – feel free to submit info/articles Remove my name to reply
Response:
"JMH" <jm…@pleasetakethisoutitisagainstspam.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9407F32E4jmh58@192.168.1.100… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi, > I posted a while back regarding my inability to wake up in the morning. > Some people suggested Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome as why I cannot get > myself out of bed. I have a few comments on my sleep, and would appreciate > help for me to ID if this is what I really have. > -First of all, I have no problem falling asleep at whatever bedtime I > choose. I could go to bed at 9pm or midnight, it doesnt matter. I fall > right asleep, and sleep through the night. No problem falling asleep at any > time I choose. Its not that my body cant fall asleep until its tired or > feels liek going to sleep, I could just go to sleep whenever I decide or > the situation warrants. > -I usually sleep 6-8 hours, and regardless of how much I get, I cant get > out of bed at my alarm. > -I find that sometimes Ill randomly wake up and feel totally refreshed. I > have found that these occasions correlate to when I have had either ~7.5hrs > of sleep, or it is around 530am (dont know why that is). > -I just hit snooze over and over again, until I realize how many times Ive > done this and then get right up. > -I can often wake up a short time before my alarm and feel great. I just > tell my body to go back to sleep as it isnt the right time to get up, and > shortly I fall asleep and then cannot get up for the alarm. > -Cafeine and ephedra do nothing for my body (although I am 6′4 and 220), I > could nap at any time of the day if I laid down, and occasionally get > sleepy spells (usually food related though) when bored after eating, where > I cannot focus or stay awake. > Today was a good example. I went to bed last night at midnight. Usually > trying to go by the 7:30 rule of hours of sleep, I set my alarm to get that > much sleep, and dozed right off. This morning, I hit snooze from 7:30 until > about 8:45 then got sick of that and turned it off. Dozed off waking twice, > and finally woke up with 110% energy at 11:35 am. Sleep the night before > was about 6 hours, and thatday I went to bed at 11, got up at 515, and had > full energy. > I think maybe part of the problem is odd waking times, as sometimes I have > to get up at 5, other days its whenever I choose. > I do know that I went on vacation for 10 days. As an experiment I went to > bed at 9-10pm every night, and planed to get up at 7-8 am every day. I had > the same problem when I had an overabundance of sleep for a somewhat > extended period of time. I couldnt get up unless I was physically shaken > and bothered for some time to wake me up, and even then I felt quite > groggy. > So thats my story… Any suggestions? > Thanks so much, > JMH
Well, JMH some of your symptoms are consistent with DSPS and some of them aren’t. I have had DSPS since day one and I know from personal experience that I can always sleep better during the day than at night. Generally speaking I can sleep any time during the day regardless of how much sleep I have had the night before, but once it starts getting around 4 pm or so, I get a lot of energy. Usually, I will get sleepy right after dinner, which for me is usually around 8 pm, but if I don’t go to sleep then I will be up all night for sure. Research has proven that all of us have a circadian rhythm (sure hope I spelled that right), when our body naturally wants to be awake and when it wants to sleep. Unfortunately for us DSPS people, our rhythm doesn’t coincide with the rest of civilization. And because of that our lives are pretty messed up. Let me ask you a couple of questions. First of all, do you have incredibly vivid dreams? Do you find that if you wake up in the middle of a dream that is the hardest time to wake up? Has your sleep pattern significantly impacted your life in any way? I find that if I wake up and I am not in the middle of a dream that it is much easier for me to get up than it is if I am mid-dream. I too find that if I wake up on my own (rather than being awakened), that it is at the end of a dream and it is not so hard for me to get up. Of course, knowing this doesn’t really help much when you have to get out of bed. I have tried many times to get some answers to this problem and usually I get the same ones over and over. First somebody tells me that I should go to a sleep clinic because it might not be DSPS but some other insidious disorder that is robbing me of my sleep (in this ng it is sleep apnea. They should just rename this ng alt.disorders.sleep-apnea). Then they will tell you about light therapy and time adjustment therapy that will "reset" your circadian rhythm to normal. This stuff works for some people. But it sure doesn’t work for me. I find that the only thing that works for me are drugs. When I have something really important to do I take a phentermine the day before. It makes my sleep much more shallow and I don’t dream very much thus allowing me to get up eaiser the next day. It also gives me a lot of energy and I can really get my house cleaned! Also, if I have to do a lot of driving I take and Adrafinil (available over the internet only), which really helps me from being sleepy if I have to get up early. It is also beneficial if it is necessary to think before noon. Which, if you are like me (and I think you are), is almost impossible if you have gotten up early. I wish I could do more to help. Recognizing the problem is a big help because that way you will at least be able to understand what is going on. But it is a very difficult disorder to deal with. I know, it’s been more than 40 years for me. Find as much information as you can. Try everything. Hopefully something will work. Good luck. SD
Response:
(snip snip) > Well, JMH some of your symptoms are consistent with DSPS and some > of them aren’t.
(snip snip) anyone know of any good, valid web sites for DSPS? I didnt seem to find much when I looked for it. Thanks Wendy —
