Sleep problems
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Ryokara
Posts: 8 Member
Hey there! Maybe, this topic isn't directly connected to weight loss, but it bothers me nonetheless.
Still, healthy sleep is pretty important for my health as well - and that's why I decided to ask you guys for "help" here.
The thing is, to make the story short:
Rarely I sleep 8 hours, which is decent. Most of the time, I sleep 12 hours straight if I don't set an alarm to wake up earlier (and thus, feeling tired if I do).
Twelve. Hours. Sometimes even up to 16 hours!
And this keeps happening for years now. I keep wondering... where does this even come from? There is, like, not really anything I can do against it, except for setting an alarm every day and never getting "enough sleep" according to my body, appearently. It doesn't just happen when I slept too little during the week, it happens all the time!
I asked my family doctor about it a while ago and he just answered "Some need more sleep, some need less."
Does someone know what on earth I can do about that? Or what the reason for this behavior could be? I really don't want to deal with this the rest of my life, honestly... I'd be so grateful if someone knows what I should do.
Still, healthy sleep is pretty important for my health as well - and that's why I decided to ask you guys for "help" here.
The thing is, to make the story short:
Rarely I sleep 8 hours, which is decent. Most of the time, I sleep 12 hours straight if I don't set an alarm to wake up earlier (and thus, feeling tired if I do).
Twelve. Hours. Sometimes even up to 16 hours!
And this keeps happening for years now. I keep wondering... where does this even come from? There is, like, not really anything I can do against it, except for setting an alarm every day and never getting "enough sleep" according to my body, appearently. It doesn't just happen when I slept too little during the week, it happens all the time!
I asked my family doctor about it a while ago and he just answered "Some need more sleep, some need less."
Does someone know what on earth I can do about that? Or what the reason for this behavior could be? I really don't want to deal with this the rest of my life, honestly... I'd be so grateful if someone knows what I should do.
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Replies
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Go to your doctor.0
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It could be sleep apnea. That causes you to not get enough rem sleep and partly wake up throughout the night. It is very common in over weight people. You can talk to your doctor about getting tested for it.0
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I sleep a lot too. 9-10 hours usually, and I sleep like the dead. Like seriously, my whole street was blocked off one morning due to a hostage situation. There were cops all over, swat team and news reporters...and I didnt know anything about it until I woke up and saw it on the news. I set a personal record last night, I slept for 16... But I had very little the night before, so that was why.
Maybe reiterate to your doc that this is disrupting your life? I do believe that some people do need more, but 12 every night seems like a lot. A sleep study might help you find out if anything abnormal is going on.
ETA: If I have to set an alarm and only get the normal 7-8 hours I am stupid tired too. If I have to do something early, chances are I don't sleep at all because that's actually easier for me...it's dumb.0 -
Excessive tiredness is a symptom of a whole host of things. I echo previous advice--go see a doctor. At a minimum you'd want a full blood workup and possibly a visit to a sleep clinic.0
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Thank you everyone for your advices!
I'm going to visit another doctor next week, since I don't think my family doctor's answer will change too much.
Hopefully they will transfer me to a sleep clinic if they don't find out what is the cause right away.
@ragenhay1: I'm going to write sleep apnea down and ask my doctor about it, since I'm in fact overweight and yeah, it may be possible!
@knelson095: Same here - if I sleep, I sleep. I rarely notice anything outside, but if something's going on in my room, I'll wake up. Recently, I didn't sleep one night at all. The night after that I slept just 8 hours. I were all like "Huh, but why?" The night after that, I slept 16 hours. I just don't know, it doesn't have any pattern at all! But really, I do the exact same thing. Have an appointment for 8 am? Better sleep afterwards. Yeah...
@sarahthes: I actually did a blood workup a few months ago - and it was pretty ok-ish. Too little iron and at that time I drank too little water everday, but apart from that, everything seemed fine. Probably I'll do another full blood workup and go to the sleep clinic anyways. Better safe than sorry. I ignored and accepted this for way too long.0 -
Hey there! Maybe, this topic isn't directly connected to weight loss, but it bothers me nonetheless.
Still, healthy sleep is pretty important for my health as well - and that's why I decided to ask you guys for "help" here.
The thing is, to make the story short:
Rarely I sleep 8 hours, which is decent. Most of the time, I sleep 12 hours straight if I don't set an alarm to wake up earlier (and thus, feeling tired if I do).
Twelve. Hours. Sometimes even up to 16 hours!
And this keeps happening for years now. I keep wondering... where does this even come from? There is, like, not really anything I can do against it, except for setting an alarm every day and never getting "enough sleep" according to my body, appearently. It doesn't just happen when I slept too little during the week, it happens all the time!
I asked my family doctor about it a while ago and he just answered "Some need more sleep, some need less."
Does someone know what on earth I can do about that? Or what the reason for this behavior could be? I really don't want to deal with this the rest of my life, honestly... I'd be so grateful if someone knows what I should do.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, there're 2 ways that I know of; of it's onset. It either happens after an illness, such as the flu (which is how I obtained it) or because of depression. Otherwise you might have Lyme Disease because that is also a common illness, that causes extreme fatigue. I sometimes sleep as much, as 20 hours a day. Too much sleep concerning me, causes headaches & sleepiness. Sometimes I am not sleepy but I'm weak & sometimes I function normally. I have no idea which 1 of these 3, I'll experience until I do; so unfortunately I can't even work because of being unreliable, due to the inconsistency; of my condition. While it's true that some people need more sleep, than others; it's not that significant. We're designed to only spend approximately 1/3rd of our day sleeping (give or take an hour or 2), anything beyond that; is abnormal & problematic (a disability). If you have CFS because of an illnesses, there's no effective treatment; that I am aware of. If it's a symptom of depression or Lyme Disease, then medication & therapy (for depression), are the only treatments; that I know of. If it's depression I'd vouch for trying therapy over medication 1st, since medication has side effects; which can worsen an existing condition and/or cause other complications.0 -
There are plenty of variables that could be at work here.
First, some people just need more sleep than others, it's just part of their body functions.
Failing that, there could be something physiologically wrong. To assess this, you will mostly likely need to visit your doctor.
Also, there is a possibility of undernourishment due to chronic undereating, or some kind of vitamin or mineral deficiency.
A final potential cause is depression. Sometimes it manifests itself in ways that aren't readily obvious, but chronic fatigue is a significant symptom of depression.
Ultimately, I agree with others that you should consult your Dr.0 -
@sarahthes: I actually did a blood workup a few months ago - and it was pretty ok-ish. Too little iron and at that time I drank too little water everday, but apart from that, everything seemed fine. Probably I'll do another full blood workup and go to the sleep clinic anyways. Better safe than sorry. I ignored and accepted this for way too long.
Actually, an iron deficiency could be significant here. Depending on how severe it is, it could cause significant fatigue.0 -
@MondayJune22nd2015: To be honest, I don't think I have depressions. I thought I had some for a really long time of my life. But seems its just extremely low self-esteem, socially awkwardsness and whatsoever. Nothing toooo serious, according to the psychologists I spoke with. But I'm not really sure how "advanced" depressions have to be to make me suffer physically. But I also wrote it down as a possibility, to mention it when speaking to a doctor can not hurt, I guess.
Also, I don't remember when this behavior to sleep 12 hours+ actually started. It has been years, but I don't remember if it occoured after I had an illness or something. But I can confirm the fact for myself that I sometimes feel really weak and / or tired even if I slept alot. But damn, now I'm kinda alerted. Gotta to my doctor on Monday morning... Hopefully there's something they can do about my sleeping problems. Also, I hope they'll be able to find a solution for your CFS someday. That sounds hella though... Best of luck!
@jennifer_417: I'm definitely NOT chronicially undereating, while some mineral or vitamin deficiency could be possible. But once again, not sure how "advanced" my "depressions" are that they could affect my health. Going to mention it as a possibility, tho! But (as far as I can remember) my iron deficiency wasn't that significant. My doctor just told me I had to drink enough water back then. But as I'm sure I'll do another blood workup as soon as I wish to get checked, I'll find out if that iron deficiency is still there!
Once again, thank you very much for your help and advices! You can't imagine how grateful I am!
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knelson095 wrote: »I sleep a lot too. 9-10 hours usually, and I sleep like the dead. Like seriously, my whole street was blocked off one morning due to a hostage situation. There were cops all over, swat team and news reporters...and I didnt know anything about it until I woke up and saw it on the news. I set a personal record last night, I slept for 16... But I had very little the night before, so that was why.
Maybe reiterate to your doc that this is disrupting your life? I do believe that some people do need more, but 12 every night seems like a lot. A sleep study might help you find out if anything abnormal is going on.
ETA: If I have to set an alarm and only get the normal 7-8 hours I am stupid tired too. If I have to do something early, chances are I don't sleep at all because that's actually easier for me...it's dumb.
Although it is a very serious topic, I actually laughed out loud thinking of sirens, swat, etc and still sleeping. I too can sleep through anything, and need an a lot of sleep and would probably sleep through that kind of excitement as well. Just out of curiosity, do you ever nap? I find if I take a nap, I sleep so heavy and long, alarms won't wake me up and I feel horrible.
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jennifer_417 wrote: »@sarahthes: I actually did a blood workup a few months ago - and it was pretty ok-ish. Too little iron and at that time I drank too little water everday, but apart from that, everything seemed fine. Probably I'll do another full blood workup and go to the sleep clinic anyways. Better safe than sorry. I ignored and accepted this for way too long.
Actually, an iron deficiency could be significant here. Depending on how severe it is, it could cause significant fatigue.
+1 also vitamin D deficiency.0 -
For sure get a sleep study done to rule out sleep apnea. I too slept through sirens, everything when my neighbours truck was set on fire overnight. I've slept through earth shaking thunderstorms too.0
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GF4EVER2014 wrote: »knelson095 wrote: »I sleep a lot too. 9-10 hours usually, and I sleep like the dead. Like seriously, my whole street was blocked off one morning due to a hostage situation. There were cops all over, swat team and news reporters...and I didnt know anything about it until I woke up and saw it on the news. I set a personal record last night, I slept for 16... But I had very little the night before, so that was why.
Maybe reiterate to your doc that this is disrupting your life? I do believe that some people do need more, but 12 every night seems like a lot. A sleep study might help you find out if anything abnormal is going on.
ETA: If I have to set an alarm and only get the normal 7-8 hours I am stupid tired too. If I have to do something early, chances are I don't sleep at all because that's actually easier for me...it's dumb.
Although it is a very serious topic, I actually laughed out loud thinking of sirens, swat, etc and still sleeping. I too can sleep through anything, and need an a lot of sleep and would probably sleep through that kind of excitement as well. Just out of curiosity, do you ever nap? I find if I take a nap, I sleep so heavy and long, alarms won't wake me up and I feel horrible.
It's OK, my husband laughed at me too. I can't take naps, like at all. If I fall asleep it's for at least 3-4 hours and I wake up super b*itchy. Naps do not refresh me at all.0 -
catscats222 wrote: »sleep apnea could be the cause: make sure by reading this
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-apnea/basics/definition/con-20020286
Another sleep study vote here. I used to "need" a lot of sleep because my apnea was preventing a good night's sleep. After years of this (around 20 years, I now suspect), you're just totally sleep deprived. Tired all the time, never sleeping well, never feeling like you got a long enough sleep.
I made my husband make an appointment because his snoring became so bad we slept in separate rooms (and he's not overweight). He was diagnosed (and treated with a CPAP) and when I read the lit from the doctor about what sleep apnea is and how damaging it is for your heart (among a myriad of other things), I went and had a study done. Turns out, I had it worse than he did... and I'm not overweight either.
Just my two cents. The CPAP took getting used to. Some nights, I still don't want to deal with it, but within a month, I was a new person. For me, even though it's been a little over a year of using it, I still have to tell myself at night that it's part of my healthy living plan--same as smaller portions, getting some exercise, etc.0 -
You might not be cycling through the sleep stages properly and your body might be trying to compensate by sleeping longer. If you're not reaching the deepest stages of sleep and staying there enough, you can sleep for hours and hours, but not get enough deep sleep.
Have you tried minimizing distractions? Dark room with no ambient light? Minimize tv/screen time for a couple hours before hand? White noise machine to help block ambient noise? I downloaded some deep sleep sequence playlists from iTunes and like them. Whether they're psycosematic or not, I never make it past the first couple of songs. The end of the playlist could be Metallica, for all I know.
Maybe your doc can refer you to a sleep clinic.0
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