Hello everybody once again.
Last night was by far my best night (5th on therapy and I have been getting quite comfortable with my swift ... it's my "go to" mask vs. Activa)
I slept un-interrupted for 4 hours last night (by far the most) ... was then awake for 45 minutes or so and then slept another 3-4 hours waking up probably 3 x's (just for a minute or so).
I feel really good so far today. Not ready to run a marathon, but by far the best I have felt in weeks. Hopefully this is just the beginning … still feel foggy and tired … but, WAY BETTER … I can't wait to see if tomorrow get's better. But, I am realistic and expect periodic setbacks. I have noticed I am dreaming a lot more and remembering multiple dreams. Over the last 3 months before CPAP it was rare that I remembered any dreams.
Did everyone have a similar experience when they felt their CPAP therapy starting to work? OR, I am stretching to find a random correlation.
Thanks,
Steve
Does more dreaming mean CPAP therapy is working
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Sleepless on LI
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Steve,
Yes, I experienced just what you are experiencing. First, the good news is, I feel great today, just shy three months into therapy, so it does work. I started to dream again, and what dreams they were. And since dreams supposedly take place during REM sleep, that means you are not depriving yourself of it anymore, which is a good thing. But then I was told, though, that if you remember your dreams, that means you are being awakened out of them, which is not good.
In any event, I followed the same path you are following now. I, day by day, got back more and more energy until I got to where I am now, with a never-ending (literally) suply of it; so much so that by the end of the day, I sometimes now have trouble falling asleep. Used to take me three seconds from when my head hit the pillow to when I started snoring (according to my husband) prior to therapy.
So sounds like you are off and running and on your way to feeling great. I am very happy for you.
Yes, I experienced just what you are experiencing. First, the good news is, I feel great today, just shy three months into therapy, so it does work. I started to dream again, and what dreams they were. And since dreams supposedly take place during REM sleep, that means you are not depriving yourself of it anymore, which is a good thing. But then I was told, though, that if you remember your dreams, that means you are being awakened out of them, which is not good.
In any event, I followed the same path you are following now. I, day by day, got back more and more energy until I got to where I am now, with a never-ending (literally) suply of it; so much so that by the end of the day, I sometimes now have trouble falling asleep. Used to take me three seconds from when my head hit the pillow to when I started snoring (according to my husband) prior to therapy.
So sounds like you are off and running and on your way to feeling great. I am very happy for you.
L o R i
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rested gal
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- Location: Tennessee
I think not remembering dreams when a person is on cpap treatment is an indication of treatment going well.
However, given all the sleep disturbances that just getting used to the equipment and new way of trying to sleep can cause in the form of "wake ups" throughout the night...it's probably pretty common for new cpap users to be more aware of dreams for awhile.
The equipment sleep disturbances plus possibly being in "REM rebound" (greater amount of REM for a few nights - playing "catch up", so to speak) could very well lead to noticing more dreaming early on in treatment. Waking up often enough and long enough to remember multiple dreams.
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is where most dreaming occurs. REM sleep is also where we are most apt to have events like apneas and hypopneas, so people who are awakened enough to remember lots of dreams throughout the night are likely being thrown up out of REM by an apnea.
The first REM sleep usually occurs about an hour and a half after we go to sleep. Throughout the night we get into REM several more times, with each REM time getting longer and longer. The longest REM period is usually just before we wake up in the morning. If something sudden (like an alarm clock) wakes us up in the morning, we're very likely to be awakened out of that last REM and might remember that last dream, or at least be vaguely aware that we were dreaming.
Otherwise, not remembering our dreams seems to me to be a better sign of good treatment and peaceful sleep. Not remembering dreams doesn't mean a person isn't actually dreaming a lot. Not remembering "dreams" while using cpap probably means a person is sleeping undisturbed straight through REM, just like they should. Their treatment pressure is working well for them and neither apneas nor the equipment is disturbing their sleep. Just my opinion. I'm sure not a doctor or know about "dreams".
Here are links to interesting topics about remembering dreams while on cpap.
LINKS to dreaming - dreams - REM rebound
However, given all the sleep disturbances that just getting used to the equipment and new way of trying to sleep can cause in the form of "wake ups" throughout the night...it's probably pretty common for new cpap users to be more aware of dreams for awhile.
The equipment sleep disturbances plus possibly being in "REM rebound" (greater amount of REM for a few nights - playing "catch up", so to speak) could very well lead to noticing more dreaming early on in treatment. Waking up often enough and long enough to remember multiple dreams.
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is where most dreaming occurs. REM sleep is also where we are most apt to have events like apneas and hypopneas, so people who are awakened enough to remember lots of dreams throughout the night are likely being thrown up out of REM by an apnea.
The first REM sleep usually occurs about an hour and a half after we go to sleep. Throughout the night we get into REM several more times, with each REM time getting longer and longer. The longest REM period is usually just before we wake up in the morning. If something sudden (like an alarm clock) wakes us up in the morning, we're very likely to be awakened out of that last REM and might remember that last dream, or at least be vaguely aware that we were dreaming.
Otherwise, not remembering our dreams seems to me to be a better sign of good treatment and peaceful sleep. Not remembering dreams doesn't mean a person isn't actually dreaming a lot. Not remembering "dreams" while using cpap probably means a person is sleeping undisturbed straight through REM, just like they should. Their treatment pressure is working well for them and neither apneas nor the equipment is disturbing their sleep. Just my opinion. I'm sure not a doctor or know about "dreams".
Here are links to interesting topics about remembering dreams while on cpap.
LINKS to dreaming - dreams - REM rebound
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Sleepless on LI
- Posts: 3997
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
Talk about a great answer to a commonly asked question, this is one, as you do, RG, that should be copied and pasted into a reference section.
A long time ago, and I mean long, someone once told me that what we dream, or remember dreaming, lasts for a fraction of a second, even though the dream seems like it took minutes or longer to take place. I have no idea if that's true or not. Have you ever heard anything like that or was that just misinformation being given? Strange concept if it holds any weight at all.
A long time ago, and I mean long, someone once told me that what we dream, or remember dreaming, lasts for a fraction of a second, even though the dream seems like it took minutes or longer to take place. I have no idea if that's true or not. Have you ever heard anything like that or was that just misinformation being given? Strange concept if it holds any weight at all.
L o R i
The first week or so of treatment I had vivid recall of dreams indicating I was waking up during or just at the end of REM. RG is correct; to remember a dream vividly you have to wake up from the dream.
Now I'm getting more used to wearing the mask and have the straps, hose etc. adjusted to where they're hardly bothering me. These days I wake up with a vague recollection of having dreamt but I'm not remembering details.
Prior to beginning xPAP therapy I had gone for years with almost no sense of having dreamt.
Now I'm getting more used to wearing the mask and have the straps, hose etc. adjusted to where they're hardly bothering me. These days I wake up with a vague recollection of having dreamt but I'm not remembering details.
Prior to beginning xPAP therapy I had gone for years with almost no sense of having dreamt.
The CPAPer formerly known as WAFlowers
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Sleepless on LI
- Posts: 3997
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
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Sleepless on LI
- Posts: 3997
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
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rested gal
- Posts: 12881
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2004 10:14 pm
- Location: Tennessee
Reminds me of snork1 getting teased on page 2 of this old topic:
Apr 29 2004 subject: "Acceptable" Leak Rate/ComfortLite
I can't imagine who'd be so insensitive as to pick on a nice guy like snorky...a fellow who, like Bill, was only trying to help others.
Memory like an elephant... we women have that talent, don't we, Lori?
Hmmm, but why can't I remember a phone number two seconds after I've looked at it in the phone book and start to dial it?
Apr 29 2004 subject: "Acceptable" Leak Rate/ComfortLite
I can't imagine who'd be so insensitive as to pick on a nice guy like snorky...a fellow who, like Bill, was only trying to help others.
Memory like an elephant... we women have that talent, don't we, Lori?
Hmmm, but why can't I remember a phone number two seconds after I've looked at it in the phone book and start to dial it?
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Sleepless on LI
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- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
Yes, we do, RG. Especially when we're dealing with the important issues, like this one. And don't feel so bad about the phone numbers. The worst is being in a group of people, in he middle of giving your opinion on something and forgetting your train of thought in the right in the middle of your sentence... x 100!!!Memory like an elephant... we women have that talent, don't we, Lori?
Hmmm, but why can't I remember a phone number two seconds after I've looked at it in the phone book and start to dial it?
L o R i
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skinnysleepapnea
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time it takes to dream, as opposed to how long they appear
my information is out of date, but I believe is still valid.
In the 1960's they used to believe that dreams took place very rapidly, but you remembered them in something like what appeared to be realistic time even if what happened was of course, dream reality. However, in studying dreaming patients I believe they came to the conclusion that dreams actually took about as much time to occur as the dreamer preceived them on memory the next morning... of if they were awakened during the sleep lab.
I am very surprised by the idea that remembering dreams may be a function of disturbed sleep... i.e. a hypoapnea thrusts the dream material closer to consciousness. May be true or true for some, but consider this:
some people train themselves to be very good at recalling and even acting consciously in dreams (see steven Labarge... and the topic lucid dreaming. Also Patricia Garfield: Creative Dreaming). Also some primitive societies have treated dream time as as important as wake time, or even more so. Australian aborigines (traditionally) are an example. These people learned to be prodigious dreamers, though a lot of what they call dreams may be more close to revery (dreams that occur in a resting state but still conscious... you can develop the ability to actually dream in this state... or in hypnogogic state... I have... of course the reason was I couldn't sleep normally). Still, they most likely remember deep sleep night dreams very well, and carry the memory a long time. Certainly their sleeping conditions were probably optimal... out in nature, more natural diet... if they were hunter gatherers, no excess body fat, no high blood pressure, etc.
In the 1960's they used to believe that dreams took place very rapidly, but you remembered them in something like what appeared to be realistic time even if what happened was of course, dream reality. However, in studying dreaming patients I believe they came to the conclusion that dreams actually took about as much time to occur as the dreamer preceived them on memory the next morning... of if they were awakened during the sleep lab.
I am very surprised by the idea that remembering dreams may be a function of disturbed sleep... i.e. a hypoapnea thrusts the dream material closer to consciousness. May be true or true for some, but consider this:
some people train themselves to be very good at recalling and even acting consciously in dreams (see steven Labarge... and the topic lucid dreaming. Also Patricia Garfield: Creative Dreaming). Also some primitive societies have treated dream time as as important as wake time, or even more so. Australian aborigines (traditionally) are an example. These people learned to be prodigious dreamers, though a lot of what they call dreams may be more close to revery (dreams that occur in a resting state but still conscious... you can develop the ability to actually dream in this state... or in hypnogogic state... I have... of course the reason was I couldn't sleep normally). Still, they most likely remember deep sleep night dreams very well, and carry the memory a long time. Certainly their sleeping conditions were probably optimal... out in nature, more natural diet... if they were hunter gatherers, no excess body fat, no high blood pressure, etc.
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Sleepless on LI
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- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
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You mentioned what I had heard years ago, that dreams only lasted a fraction of a second, but the mind perceived them to last minutes. So I guess that was proven to be false.
Very interesting post. I have to wonder, though, a per Autstralian aborigines, if being in a primative, natural environment truly would cause one to be less likely to have apnea or other sleep-related breathing disorders. Maybe weight-induced, but their anatomy I would think would still be subjected to the same abnormalities as ours would, and certainly age-related factors that could be a cause, also. Food for thought.
Very interesting post. I have to wonder, though, a per Autstralian aborigines, if being in a primative, natural environment truly would cause one to be less likely to have apnea or other sleep-related breathing disorders. Maybe weight-induced, but their anatomy I would think would still be subjected to the same abnormalities as ours would, and certainly age-related factors that could be a cause, also. Food for thought.
L o R i
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