Tired of being tired
PlunderingSteelGorilla
Posts: 207 Member
I have almost never awoke to face the day feeling awake and refreshed. I awake feeling tired and exhausted. Like I just ran an under water marathon while power lifting a dump truck. Yeah, that kind of tired.
In my teens, 20's and 30's all the same. It does not matter if I am 200 pounds or 300 pounds. It does not matter if I sleep for 12 hours or 3 hours. I could asleep in my bed, on my couch, a hotel bed or the ground in my tent under the stars. It does not matter if I do hard physical labour and go to bed exhausted or spent the day sitting on my *kitten*.
If i drink herbal tea, water, beer or tequila before bed, nothing changes. If I eat healthy or eat crappy, I still wake the same. Walking dead am I. Takes up to an hour before my head and body have realized I am no longer horizontal. This ain't new, this is my life.
Recently I have come to realize this is probably not right and something I should look into. I posted this here as a good nights sleep can aid in weight loss. There are sleep clinics here, just need to get my doc to approve it. But even then there is 6 month wait list.
I downloaded a "sleep tracker" and used it last night. Don't yet understand the data but I will use it for a couple weeks and see what it can tell me about the after hours party I seem to have every night.
I may even try a sleeping pill for an assisted sleep and see if my results vary.
Oh yeah, good morning.
In my teens, 20's and 30's all the same. It does not matter if I am 200 pounds or 300 pounds. It does not matter if I sleep for 12 hours or 3 hours. I could asleep in my bed, on my couch, a hotel bed or the ground in my tent under the stars. It does not matter if I do hard physical labour and go to bed exhausted or spent the day sitting on my *kitten*.
If i drink herbal tea, water, beer or tequila before bed, nothing changes. If I eat healthy or eat crappy, I still wake the same. Walking dead am I. Takes up to an hour before my head and body have realized I am no longer horizontal. This ain't new, this is my life.
Recently I have come to realize this is probably not right and something I should look into. I posted this here as a good nights sleep can aid in weight loss. There are sleep clinics here, just need to get my doc to approve it. But even then there is 6 month wait list.
I downloaded a "sleep tracker" and used it last night. Don't yet understand the data but I will use it for a couple weeks and see what it can tell me about the after hours party I seem to have every night.
I may even try a sleeping pill for an assisted sleep and see if my results vary.
Oh yeah, good morning.
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Replies
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First, please don’t go to meds. While you’re unconscious, you’re not really asleep.
You are right that sleep is a critical component to good health (repair, maintenance, hormone balance, etc.). So this is well worth figuring out.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and hypothesize on your issue. Sleep Apnea. If you snore, you can develop sleep apnea. With this issue, you effectively stop breathing while you sleep and as a result never actually get to deep sleep.
The sleep study will tell you if you have this issue. The usual treatment is a breathing machine and to lose weight (doctors seem to think this is easy). That said, if the breathing machine allows you to get better sleep, the weight loss will be much easier.
Also, being chronically sleep deprived, you might also want to have your testosterone and cortisol tested.0 -
I feel ya on the drugs. Drugs are generally a last resort for me. And even then rare. Wont even take prescribed pain meds if i can tolerate it. Was thinking of the herbal kind to see if after one night on it I wake up different. But if sleep apnea is the issue, medication would make sense to be avoided. Had not considered that.
Sleep analysis is many, many moons away. 6 month minimum.
I'm not one to seek medical advice often, so this is a new thing. Had allergies all my life but did not get tested until 25. Asthmas all my life, not tested until 33. Never knew I had either until someone mention it and I sat and thought back. Realized it was not normal and I should look into it.0 -
Consult your doctor and get on that wait list asap. I have a few friend with sleep apnea and their symptom were very similar to your. Good luck.0
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There are apps for the iPhone and probably for android that you could look into. They measure movement and sound while you sleep and can give you some information in the meantime.
And as Lou said, you might want to accelerate the sleep study if you can.
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I have an app for my phone, used it the last couple of nights and will continue to do so for the next week or two. I don't quite understand the data, yet.
And I do not think it is entirely accurate either. I start the app when I go to bed, but I do not often fall asleep right when I hit the sheets. Somedays it takes 30 minutes to fall asleep, sometimes 3-4 hours. Curse of a mind set to wander. So I may be laying, silently still, for some time while it "tracks" it and thinks I am asleep.
Doctors appointment late next week, then I can see about getting booked into the sleep clinic.
Thanks for the insights guys.0 -
I think sleep apnea is a good guess. I recently came across something I'm just starting to play with, 4-7-8 breathing - google it. Jury still out but I think I'm sleeping better doing it before bed. Lastly, I wanted to suggest maybe video taping yourself sleeping like they do at the clinics. Maybe you'll see yourself snoring or tossing and turning or something. Good luck!0
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A few tips for falling asleep faster:
1) black out your room (no lights, including clocks)
2) set the temperature at 68 degrees (I actually prefer 65 - 67, but the study pegged 68)
3) avoid looking at screens 1 - 2 hours before bed (no phone, iPad, computer or tv) - blue light signals the body it is day time, red light signals night time. There are apps for computers that change their hue as the evening arrives
4) establish a ritual of before bed activities (reading a paper book, writing in a journal, meditation, etc.) that will eventually tell your body to wind down
5) track your food and see which meals help you sleep best (some studies have shown that including more carbs in the evening meal helps sleep quality)
6) try a lavender spray for your pillow and passion flower oil sublingually if you wake in the middle of the night
7) and the standard, avoid caffeine and alcohol.0 -
4-7-8 Breathing is interesting. Can't hurt to try it.
The bedroom is usually 63-65 on average in winter. Any warmer and I feel uncomfortable.
I regularly watch TV or use a computer or phone for an hour or so before bed. Good idea to change that.
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PlunderingSteelGorilla wrote: »...Had allergies all my life...
Asthma all my life....
Allergies and asthma are definitely contributing factors to sleep apnea. Being overweight is also a contributing factor if that applies in your case.0 -
I also don't reccomend sleeping pills, I am currently addicted, and I would not suggest. I am going to try to wean myself off after my weight loss. I also use a Melatonin product that I like, it works sometimes. You need to see a Doctor and have the Sleep Apnea eliminated as a problem. If its just general breating. Have you tried Breathe Rite strips? I didnt notice I had trouble breathing when I slept until I tried a Breath Rite, it was like a drug for me.0
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Morning
Thanks for all the feedback.
I had tried Breathe Rite strips late last year for a couple of weeks. Aside from feeling "unusual", no difference.
When I sleep, I sleep. As far as I know I do not wake during the night without reason (kids & criminals). Sleep at least 6 hours a night, sometimes I luck out and get 8.
My biggest allergy is to cats & horses. I try not to sleep with horses
and when we had a cat it was never allowed in our bedroom.
My asthma is a type of exercised-induced asthma. I need 2 very specific factors in play to have any asthma issues. Cold temperature and hard physical exercise. Shovelling snow could kill me, literally. Sleeping comfortably in a warm bed, probably not so much.
Tried a sleep monitor app on my phone for just shy of 2 weeks. It tells me:- 6-8 hours on average
- 40-50% is deep sleep
- 10-15% of the time is snoring/noise (could also be wife)
My two biggest sleep issues, are falling asleep and waking up.- I frequently struggle to fall asleep. Physically I can be drained. Mentally, my mind is racing hard and fast.
- When I awake I feel like I never slept. For an hour or so. After that hour, I am golden. Within that hour, I am exhausted and foggy.
Doctors appointment was yesterday. He will look at booking me in the sleep clinic, but I must drop at least 30-40 pounds as he suggests that is the biggest issue. Sleep clinic takes months to get into.
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Again I take sleeping pills but, I have tried sleeping without them, on occasion it has worked. One thing that I used to think was way out there, actually helps me take naps without any pills. Calm.com has mediations 2, 5, 10... 30 with soft music and nice images (although you are suppose do have your eyes closed. My mind races also, sometimes to the point of overriding my OTC sleeping pill. But mediation taught me how to move those thoughts out of my mind. Calm.com is free online but I think $5 phone app. The online is fine, I use with ear-phones. It tells you how to clear your mind. I do the exercises in bed even when I am not listening to the recording, it works for me.0
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I've found that night workouts and a consistent bed time have improved my sleep IMMENSELY. I'm doing high intensity cardio ~30-45 min about 1 hour before bed, then going to bed at the same time every night, and 7 hours later, feeling really good.
Wife talked me into doing a sleep study, saying I stop breathing and snore like a freight train... So if you have any questions about how that works, feel free to ask. I found out that everyone has sleep apnea - it's just a matter of the degree that we have it - if it's bad enough to prevent us from getting enough rest. For me, I learned that it's below the threshold of what the Dr's feel is a need to treat (Less than 5 apnea / hour = no treatment necessary).
Definitely get in to the sleep center for a consult. Most of them offer home study now that doesn't have a long wait list, and insurance is more likely to agree to it without complaining because it is much cheaper than a full sleep study.
I have an uncle that recently was diagnosed - and with almost no lifestyle change other than getting on a CPAP, has dropped 30 lb in the last 3 months.
What's really amazing to me, is that now a few months into my nightly workouts, wife says my snoring and apnea have pretty much stopped. No more freight train, and she's not staying up half the night afraid that I'll die in my sleep... and I feel 100% better in the mornings than I used to. Not sure if it would work for you, but it might be worth a shot.
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I know this might sound crazy but how old is your mattress. I find an old mattress affects how I sleep.0
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Which sleeping app are you using?0
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The app is deceptively named "Sleep". . For Android robot icon with a nightcap on.
Mattress is about 5 years old now. Sleep has been a life time issue though. Regardless bed, or couch.0 -
Sorry to hear about that dude. Have you ever been to a sleep specialist? Perhaps they can help.0
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Working on getting in to a sleep study clinic. Won't be for a while though.0
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Are you exposed to much sunlight during the day and is your room very dark at night? I'm guessing this isn't the problem, but not getting enough sunlight or having lights at night can throw off your circadian rhythm (which is driven by receptors in eyes that are sensitive to blue wavelength light).
You might want to try melatonin pills, which is produced naturally by the body and will not disrupt the quality of your sleep. I haven't had much success with them, but some people do.0 -
Not a lot of sunlight no. Work in an office with a tiny window and it is winter. So dark when I get to work and dark when I leave. Loads of sun in summer though.0
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A year later, here I am. Typically, I sleep like *kitten*. Wake up more tired than when I went to bed, and during stressful times I get 2-3 hours of broken sleep.
That said, this whole year (all 2 months of it) I have slept better than I have in many years.
1) Less stress.
Still have stress, I am just managing it better and listen to lots more music, which soothes a savage soul.
2) More down time.
I watch less TV and make sure I stop working on the computer 2-3 hours before bed. Still on my phone, but only to read books. Read 6 books so far this year, almost completed book 7 last night but it was getting pretty late.
3) More exercise.
All year I have walked to/from work every Saturday/Sunday. About 9 km a day. As of 2 weeks ago I started to walk to/from work every day, not just weekends.
Over the last 2 weeks in particular, I find when I wake up in the morning it is not a struggle. I wake up, feel fine and get moving. Not groggy or exhausted.
I have made changes in my life to allow me to make time for exercise, stress relief and downtime. So far, these changes seem to be beneficial to my sleeping too, though that was never a consideration. Just a happy bonus.0 -
Good to hear.
Me, I woke with maybe 5 hours of sleep under my belt. Tried to sleep at 9 PM last night but just stared at the back of my eyelids for 30 minutes. Got up and read a book (real paper) until midnight. Woke at 5 AM. Manage with only one trip to the can overnight (normal is about three). Doc said he could give me something for that. I said no thanks. I'll stay off all meds as long as physically possible.0
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