# Can you really sleep well?



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

4 or 5 years ago, I started to wake up every single night. I go often to the fridge and finally I eat an apple, because it is healthy and low calories...After that, usually I can sleep again. But I wake up at least 2 times every night.

What about you? Any suggestions to solve the problem? No sleeping pills, please. I have already tried them...But I'm afraid to become addictive.










Martin


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## HerlockSholmes (Sep 4, 2011)

Talk to a doctor or some other person that has the required expertise regarding this topic, maybe?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Martin, there is a relatively long list of what is called sleep hygiene measures, which don't involve sleeping pills and can help with resetting the sleep circadian cycle. Try this page, Martin:

http://www.umm.edu/sleep/sleep_hyg.htm


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Martin, there is a relatively long list of what is called sleep hygiene measures, which don't involve sleeping pills and can help with resetting the sleep/awake circadian cycle. Try this page, Martin:
> 
> http://www.umm.edu/sleep/sleep_hyg.htm


Interesting article...I eat a lot of fruit...sugar doesn't help. This could be a cause. Thank you.

Martin


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## Amfibius (Jul 19, 2006)

Martin, before you see a sleep specialist, you should start keeping a diary of your sleep pattern. Here is an example: http://monashdivision.com.au/resources/mental_health/tools_sleep_diary.pdf

It will help your doctor identify the problem.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

I can't understand the bath instruction. I am always full of energy after whatever warm bath. If I am sleepy and I have a bath it works better than 2 cups of coffee. I also noticed the same thing to my son when he was a few month old, and never slept after his bath for a few hours...
A short shower is not as powerful though.
Waking up may be related to different problems: eating habits, temperature, comfort, worries.
I had no problems of waking up, but it have happened frequently since I fractured my wrist. Hope it will go away when the arm heals.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

I was anti-pills, too. These work for me. Non-prescription, short half life.


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## presto (Jun 17, 2011)

I don’t sleep well, I do night work and is really messes up my body clock.
Even with time off it’s not much better, but strangely I don’t seem to suffer health wise, still fit and active, but I do get tired early in the evenings when I’m not working.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I have been using a C-PAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine since 2005, after having been diagnosed as having Sleep Apnea. I was not getting to the "REM" level of sleep before and thus feeling tired all day long. It draws room air, boosts its pressure and passes the volume of air over a water reservoir (I use distilled water exclusively for this) and on through the hose and to the nasal pillows.

I went through an all night 'sleep study' where technicians watch your sleep patterns and take all sorts of measurements via attached sensors. My medical insurance paid for the study and the machine - I pay for the disposable supplies like reusable filters, new tubing, attachments, etc.


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## Taneyev (Jan 19, 2009)

Try to get on the web a speech by my illustrious president, Queen Cristina. You'll sleep in minutes.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Krummhorn said:


> I have been using a C-PAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine since 2005, after having been diagnosed as having Sleep Apnea. I was not getting to the "REM" level of sleep before and thus feeling tired all day long. It draws room air, boosts its pressure and passes the volume of air over a water reservoir (I use distilled water exclusively for this) and on through the hose and to the nasal pillows.
> 
> I went through an all night 'sleep study' where technicians watch your sleep patterns and take all sorts of measurements via attached sensors. My medical insurance paid for the study and the machine - I pay for the disposable supplies like reusable filters, new tubing, attachments, etc.


Was this useful...at least? Are you sleeping better? I have no insurance at all. Is this very costly?

Thanking you in advance for your answers.

Martin, awaken


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Odnoposoff said:


> Try to get on the web a speech by my illustrious president, Queen Cristina. You'll sleep in minutes.


LOL. Bach often causes me the same effect.

Martin


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I always sleep OK if I've had plenty of exercise & not so good if I haven't. But not everyone can always get physically tired before they try to sleep.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

It helps to have a really busy day so you go to bed exhausted. But if you go to sleep after drinking caffeine, that won't help. Being in college now, I fall asleep super fast because each day is so busy.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Was this useful...at least? Are you sleeping better? I have no insurance at all. Is this very costly?
> 
> Thanking you in advance for your answers.
> 
> Martin, awaken


Martin, a C-PAP machine is only indicated for people with obstructive sleep apnea, it's not for everyone.

A brand new machine without insurance costs about $1,200 to $1,600. These machines can be typically had for a copay of some $200 for people with insurance. But like I said, if you don't have sleep apnea, it won't help you. If you do, yes, it is highly efficacious, and people get much more restorative sleep.

The way to diagnose sleep apnea and other sleep disorders is a polysomnogram (a sleep study, you go to a sleep lab, spend the night there hooked to several monitors, and your sleep pattern, oxygenation, EKG, EEG, etc, are all measured and recorded).

The test itself is expensive for those who don't have insurance (probably around $1,000).

The overwhelmingly most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is obesity. Given your pictures that I've seen, it is unlikely that this is what is troubling your sleep, although there are rare cases of people with normal body weight who do have sleep apnea.


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## Amfibius (Jul 19, 2006)

Actually Almaviva, approximately 50% of people with obstructive sleep apnoea are not obese. Current thinking is that sleep apnoea is massively underdiagnosed in the people who are not of the classical "Pickwickian morphology". OSA is also fairly common in people who have had strokes, people with other neurological conditions, alcoholics, the elderly, people with underslung jaws, and so on. The way to diagnose it is to ask people the screening questions and then decide whether or not to refer them for a polysomnogram.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Amfibius said:


> Actually Almaviva, approximately 50% of people with obstructive sleep apnoea are not obese. Current thinking is that sleep apnoea is massively underdiagnosed in the people who are not of the classical "Pickwickian morphology". OSA is also fairly common in people who have had strokes, people with other neurological conditions, alcoholics, the elderly, people with underslung jaws, and so on. The way to diagnose it is to ask people the screening questions and then decide whether or not to refer them for a polysomnogram.


Maybe my numbers are off and my notions are dated, as more unusual cases are diagnosed (I had the notion that they were rare; I stand corrected, thanks). Still, if obesity accounts for half of the cases - that is, as many as all the other causes together - what I said is not entirely off: it's still the overwhelmingly most common cause. And sure, a screening questionnaire is how it starts - any good doctor should ask these questions when patients snore, fall asleep on the wheel, need frequent daytime naps, have headaches and confusion in the morning, wake up several times per night with a choking sensation, of course. But this is not what one would call a diagnosis, it's a screening with false negatives and false positives. Firm diagnosis comes form a polysomnogram.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Maybe my numbers are off and my notions are dated, as more unusual cases are diagnosed (I had the notion that they were rare; I stand corrected, thanks). Still, if obesity accounts for half of the cases - that is, as many as all the other causes together - what I said is not entirely off: it's still the overwhelmingly most common cause. And sure, a screening questionnaire is how it starts - any good doctor should ask these questions when patients snore, fall asleep on the wheel, need frequent daytime naps, have headaches and confusion in the morning, wake up several times per night with a choking sensation, of course. But this is not what one would call a diagnosis, it's a screening with false negatives and false positives. Firm diagnosis comes form a polysomnogram.


I'm rather skinny, I don't get any nap, I don't snore, I'm not confused at all (except when I am here...LOL) no choking...don't fall asleep while driving...LOL. I think the "doctors" here are not very good. LOL Still, I have insomnia.

Martin


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