starting to have a problem staying asleep

[FrankNichols]

Chill, have you tried Melatonin? I don't know your age, but if you are older, like me, as we get older our brains produce less Melatonin and studies have shown that results in less sleep and/or lower quality sleep. Melatonin is produced by your brain as you fall asleep, and has been shown to help stay asleep. Some people claim it also puts them to sleep, but I do not have that affect. However, since starting to take it I find I stay asleep much better.

I suggest you google it and see what you think. It appears completely safe and is inexpensive.

[againstthegrain]

Just about 40 days into the process and I find that I sleep less than before therapy. I guess when living in a continuous state of near exhaustion it's easier to stay asleep. Waking up at 2, 3 or 4am is now common. I have found equipment that doesn't cause undue aggravation, the machine is set properly based on reviewing the first month of data on SH, my events are low, and most nights and get near 7 or 8 hours on the machine, prob more like 6 or 7 hrs actually sleeping.

I am trying to overcome this by going to bed earlier instead of falling asleep in front of the TV, working out earlier in the day, and using the extra time in the afternoon to be active rather than letting myself fall asleep. I am hoping that the better quality of sleep is the cause of waking up and that I might not need 8 or more hours like I previously thought before being diagnosed w SA.

[chill]

Thanks Frank. I have used Melatonin for years and Temazepam when I really need to sleep. But both leave me feeling groggy in the morning and I have a hard time waking up or at least getting out of bed. I think what I really need is to force myself to do sleep compression (restriction) therapy again, see http://www.sleepdex.org/restriction.htm I think my problem is that I HATE getting up in the morning, so I sleep more than I should.

[Sleepster]

I also had the problem of waking up every couple of hours or so before CPAP therapy. In fact, the problem had gotten so bad that I went to see a doctor about it, and that led to a sleep study and the diagnosis of moderate obstructive sleep apnea.

After starting CPAP therapy the problem persisted. It gradually got better, but I still wake up during the night. Sometimes it's only once, sometimes it's several times.

My theory is it's a behavior that developed during decades of untreated sleep apnea. Now it's taking years to readjust. But the adjustment is happening, just not as fast as I'd like.

What I really hated was not being able to get back to sleep after only 5 or 6 hours in bed. That ruins my whole day. Thankfully that problem has gone from being common to being rare. It just takes time.

Another thing to keep in mind is that we all wake up several times during the night. It's just that many of us have no memory of it happening.

[RedCoPete]

Sleepster: we all wake up several times during the night

THIS!

Before I was diagnosed, I'd wake up, and think it was due to a full bladder. I'd hit the bathroom and go back to sleep. As I recall, it took a little while to get out of the habit of getting up. Now, I'll wake up a little, adjust my hose, and go back to sleep. Unless my bladder is really full...

[Phill]

No problem sleeping a full night prior to CPAP & no real problem with tiredness during the day, since CPAP wake most nights 2 or 3 AM, remove mask and then return to sleep for a further 2 hours, so though waking, my body must still require a couple of more hours sleep.
Generally a bathroom break is not the cause of waking, if there is any daytime tiredness it would be of the same level as prior to CPAP, even though I now wake in the early hours ending up with an interrupted night.

The drones at the hospital seem unable to compute that there is a problem here, with one suggestion being to go to bed later.

FYI, this has been going on for 9 months.

So you are far from being alone waking in the early hours.

[Beans]

I've been on CPAP for about a year. Before CPAP I would sleep from 11 to 7. With CPAP I sleep from 11 to 5. It's the noises and leaks from the mask that keep me from going back to sleep after 5. Sometimes I take off the mask and see if I can sleep from 5 to 7 but usually I can't. For a couple of months recently I could only sleep from 11 to 4 and then couldn't fall back to sleep - that really sucked.

In general I feel better with the CPAP but it hasn't been the huge improvement that some people seem to get.

Perfect hot weather for a nice afternoon nap this weekend.

[chill]

Try washing your face with soap and wiping off the mask seal when you wake up. Accumulated facial oils over the night can make the silicon slip and leak. If it is good when you go to bed and bad at 4AM this is probably the reason.

[kwhenrykerr]

I usually go to sleep OK but I rarely stay asleep longer than two hours and usually less than that. That was a pattern before CPAP too, so I can't blame the therapy. One thing for me is excessive alcohol consumption. I got a couple of sessions over 3 hours last night with no sleep aids and little alcohol. My goal now is to get my sleeping normalized so that i feel more rested than five 1.5 hour sleeps gives.

My awakenings are sometimes tied to a series of events, I can see that snoring or an apnea happened a couple of minutes before I got up. At other times, there were not any events that preceded them. I seem to wake up a bit over an hour after going to bed very consistently.

Maybe I need to start drinking. The 2-3 hours max are not good for my ability to stay alert.

[chill]

I think you read that wrong. What helped me sleep for longer periods was not drinking. If I have a few drinks, my sleep is more broken up and less restful. I like my whiskey, but I like a good sleep more.