CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
1. What is Sleep Inertia?
The majority of people who use a regular alarm clock often experience trouble waking up in the morning. Sleep Inertia often appears as the feeling of incomplete awakening and grogginess that reduces your ability to perform even simple tasks. Part of your body is actually still in a sleep state.
2. Sleep inertia costs you
Sleep inertia typically lasts 15-30 minutes, but can last as long as 4 hours. During this period, you are at a reduced level of capacity and may have trouble doing the simplest of everyday actions. In order to get rid of this state, most people rely on caffeine from their morning coffee or adrenaline from using loud alarm clocks.
3. The root cause of sleep inertia is clear
Sleep inertia is the result of sudden awakening during REM sleep. When you wake up during REM, you still have high levels of melatonin, causing sleepiness. The longer you sleep, the higher level of melatonin is observed during REM stage. When you wake up during non-REM sleep, your blood pressure, heart rate and brain activity are slowed down, helping you feel awake and alert much quicker.
4. The more you sleep… So what? Sleep inertia is still here.
Sleep inertia is dependent on several things, such as:
how long you have been asleep
the efficiency of your sleep
the stage of sleep at awakening
The longer we sleep, the more our body restores, and logically, sleep inertia should be reduced. However, when we get closer to awakening, the nature of our sleep changes creating new risks for sleep efficiency.
If any of your sleep stages is interrupted by sudden awakening, your sleep efficiency will be reduced. And on the contrary, there’s nothing better than awakening at the end of a sleep stage.
5. The human body doesn’t like to leave a job half-done
Think about sleep as of maintenance or recovery for your cells. Your body will be happier to leave you with 3 or 4 sleep stages completed rather than with 3 and a half.
6. Sleep inertia and regular alarm clocks are friends!
If you use regular alarm clock, your chances of sleep inertia can be as high as 89%.
Fixed-time alarm clocks wake you up the time you set it to, so it has no way of knowing what stage of sleep your body is in. It simply does what it can, and concerning the right moment for awakening, it just plays roulette. It’s hard to predict in which sleep stage you will be at 7AM the next morning.
Statistically speaking, there is a 45% chance that a fixed-time alarm clock will wake you up from REM sleep, and a 49% chance from non-REM sleep. These are your approximate chances to have sleep inertia. And there is only a 9% chance to be awakened around the optimal moment of sleep stage transition. You can play this roulette all your life and suffer from morning grogginess in the majority of cases.
7. Sleep inertia is dangerous
If you are awoken suddenly, the effects of sleep inertia can last from 30 minutes to 4 hours. During this period, you are most likely to make mistakes doing even well known routine actions. Sleep inertia has a wide range of unpleasant and definitely dangerous effects, affecting you and others:
Large amounts of caffeine affecting your heart
High adrenaline levels caused by loud alarm clock
Wake-up stress
Reduction in memory ability
Drowsy driving
Being late for work
Lower productivity in the first part of the day
Low performance and response time on tasks, loss of concentration
Impairment of the capability to make decisions
Some of these effects may be especially dangerous for bus drivers, pilots and other shift workers.
8. Sleep inertia and drowsy driving
Drowsy driving is estimated to cause about 20 percent of accidents. That is an estimated 1.2 million accidents a year, more than drugs and alcohol combined.
Many drowsy driving accidents occur early in the morning, not when the driver has been up too long, but when he or she has recently awoken and is still suffering from sleep inertia. Sleep inertia in a driver behind the wheel can be very risky as the impairment of motor and cognitive functions can affect a person’s ability to drive safely.
It is extremely important not to drive or operate machinery during any episode of sleep inertia. Your reaction time and level of concentration diminishes greatly during this time.
9. Even a short nap may result in severe sleep inertia
Sleep inertia can occur regardless of the duration of sleep. Disorientation can be experienced after a few seconds of sleep, a nap, or a long episode of sleep. Naps can leave people with sleep inertia, especially when they last more than 10-20 minutes. While sleep inertia usually only lasts for a few minutes to a half-hour, it can be detrimental to those who must perform immediately after waking from a napping period. Post-nap impairment and disorientation is more severe, and can last longer, in people who are sleep deprived or nap for longer periods.
10. Sleep inertia affects decision-making
Within the first 3 minutes of waking, decision-making performance can be as low as 51 percent of the person’s best decision-making ability before sleep. Decision-making performance may still be 20 percent below optimum performance as long as 30 minutes after waking. Sleep inertia may affect cognitive performance for up to two hours.
11. Traditional “old school” approach to fight sleep inertia
The most well-known “remedies” for sleep inertia are caffeine and adrenaline. However, these only help to overcome the consequences of sleep inertia, not the cause of the problem.
Caffeine and adrenaline stimulate the central nervous system, increasing wakefulness, and improving concentration and focus by boosting your heart rate and blood pressure.
12. Next Generation Approach: Prevent Sleep Inertia.
A regular alarm clock will go off at the preset time regardless of the sleep stage you are in, so if a regular alarm clock with a fixed time of awakening is the main reason for sleep inertia, the best option is to get rid of it. However in this case, there’s a risk of oversleeping. Sleeping without any alarm may be also an extreme route, especially if you need to get to work in the morning.
There are several sleep stage alarm clocks that significantly simplify the life for their owners. These alarm clocks are aware of your sleep patterns and by waking you during optimal stages of sleep, can greatly fend off sleep inertia and improve how you feel first thing in the morning.
From Valley Sleep Center, Easy Wake, et al
The majority of people who use a regular alarm clock often experience trouble waking up in the morning. Sleep Inertia often appears as the feeling of incomplete awakening and grogginess that reduces your ability to perform even simple tasks. Part of your body is actually still in a sleep state.
2. Sleep inertia costs you
Sleep inertia typically lasts 15-30 minutes, but can last as long as 4 hours. During this period, you are at a reduced level of capacity and may have trouble doing the simplest of everyday actions. In order to get rid of this state, most people rely on caffeine from their morning coffee or adrenaline from using loud alarm clocks.
3. The root cause of sleep inertia is clear
Sleep inertia is the result of sudden awakening during REM sleep. When you wake up during REM, you still have high levels of melatonin, causing sleepiness. The longer you sleep, the higher level of melatonin is observed during REM stage. When you wake up during non-REM sleep, your blood pressure, heart rate and brain activity are slowed down, helping you feel awake and alert much quicker.
4. The more you sleep… So what? Sleep inertia is still here.
Sleep inertia is dependent on several things, such as:
how long you have been asleep
the efficiency of your sleep
the stage of sleep at awakening
The longer we sleep, the more our body restores, and logically, sleep inertia should be reduced. However, when we get closer to awakening, the nature of our sleep changes creating new risks for sleep efficiency.
If any of your sleep stages is interrupted by sudden awakening, your sleep efficiency will be reduced. And on the contrary, there’s nothing better than awakening at the end of a sleep stage.
5. The human body doesn’t like to leave a job half-done
Think about sleep as of maintenance or recovery for your cells. Your body will be happier to leave you with 3 or 4 sleep stages completed rather than with 3 and a half.
6. Sleep inertia and regular alarm clocks are friends!
If you use regular alarm clock, your chances of sleep inertia can be as high as 89%.
Fixed-time alarm clocks wake you up the time you set it to, so it has no way of knowing what stage of sleep your body is in. It simply does what it can, and concerning the right moment for awakening, it just plays roulette. It’s hard to predict in which sleep stage you will be at 7AM the next morning.
Statistically speaking, there is a 45% chance that a fixed-time alarm clock will wake you up from REM sleep, and a 49% chance from non-REM sleep. These are your approximate chances to have sleep inertia. And there is only a 9% chance to be awakened around the optimal moment of sleep stage transition. You can play this roulette all your life and suffer from morning grogginess in the majority of cases.
7. Sleep inertia is dangerous
If you are awoken suddenly, the effects of sleep inertia can last from 30 minutes to 4 hours. During this period, you are most likely to make mistakes doing even well known routine actions. Sleep inertia has a wide range of unpleasant and definitely dangerous effects, affecting you and others:
Large amounts of caffeine affecting your heart
High adrenaline levels caused by loud alarm clock
Wake-up stress
Reduction in memory ability
Drowsy driving
Being late for work
Lower productivity in the first part of the day
Low performance and response time on tasks, loss of concentration
Impairment of the capability to make decisions
Some of these effects may be especially dangerous for bus drivers, pilots and other shift workers.
8. Sleep inertia and drowsy driving
Drowsy driving is estimated to cause about 20 percent of accidents. That is an estimated 1.2 million accidents a year, more than drugs and alcohol combined.
Many drowsy driving accidents occur early in the morning, not when the driver has been up too long, but when he or she has recently awoken and is still suffering from sleep inertia. Sleep inertia in a driver behind the wheel can be very risky as the impairment of motor and cognitive functions can affect a person’s ability to drive safely.
It is extremely important not to drive or operate machinery during any episode of sleep inertia. Your reaction time and level of concentration diminishes greatly during this time.
9. Even a short nap may result in severe sleep inertia
Sleep inertia can occur regardless of the duration of sleep. Disorientation can be experienced after a few seconds of sleep, a nap, or a long episode of sleep. Naps can leave people with sleep inertia, especially when they last more than 10-20 minutes. While sleep inertia usually only lasts for a few minutes to a half-hour, it can be detrimental to those who must perform immediately after waking from a napping period. Post-nap impairment and disorientation is more severe, and can last longer, in people who are sleep deprived or nap for longer periods.
10. Sleep inertia affects decision-making
Within the first 3 minutes of waking, decision-making performance can be as low as 51 percent of the person’s best decision-making ability before sleep. Decision-making performance may still be 20 percent below optimum performance as long as 30 minutes after waking. Sleep inertia may affect cognitive performance for up to two hours.
11. Traditional “old school” approach to fight sleep inertia
The most well-known “remedies” for sleep inertia are caffeine and adrenaline. However, these only help to overcome the consequences of sleep inertia, not the cause of the problem.
Caffeine and adrenaline stimulate the central nervous system, increasing wakefulness, and improving concentration and focus by boosting your heart rate and blood pressure.
12. Next Generation Approach: Prevent Sleep Inertia.
A regular alarm clock will go off at the preset time regardless of the sleep stage you are in, so if a regular alarm clock with a fixed time of awakening is the main reason for sleep inertia, the best option is to get rid of it. However in this case, there’s a risk of oversleeping. Sleeping without any alarm may be also an extreme route, especially if you need to get to work in the morning.
There are several sleep stage alarm clocks that significantly simplify the life for their owners. These alarm clocks are aware of your sleep patterns and by waking you during optimal stages of sleep, can greatly fend off sleep inertia and improve how you feel first thing in the morning.
From Valley Sleep Center, Easy Wake, et al
Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
The only sleep stage alarm clock I've ever been aware of was the Zeo. And Zeo went belly up this spring.mollete wrote: There are several sleep stage alarm clocks that significantly simplify the life for their owners. These alarm clocks are aware of your sleep patterns and by waking you during optimal stages of sleep, can greatly fend off sleep inertia and improve how you feel first thing in the morning.
So mollete have you any knowledge of where someone could find an alternative to the Zeo??
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- chunkyfrog
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
I have seen some "easy-wake" alarm clocks that incorporate a light that comes on gradually,
which may influence sleep stages by mimicing a "sunrise" effect, allowing an more natural transition to wakefulness.
which may influence sleep stages by mimicing a "sunrise" effect, allowing an more natural transition to wakefulness.
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
i have a sunrise alarm clock that i paid $$$ for in 2011. i bought it thinking it might help me awake easier. it also has a sunset effect you can use when going to sleep. i havent noticed it helping with either.
the best thing i have found for great sleep is cpap and going to bed earlier
the best thing i have found for great sleep is cpap and going to bed earlier
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
A long time ago in what feels like a galaxy far, far away, deep in my pre-CPAP memories I did find that in the middle of winter having my bedside lamp come on before the alarm went off made it much easier to wake up when it was time to get up. Of course, the bedroom at the time was on the northwest corner of the house and it's one window faced the neighbor's house, which is about 15-20 feet away from our house. And wake up time was 45-60 minutes before sunrise in December in Buffalo. And I hate having to get out of bed in the dark ....chunkyfrog wrote:I have seen some "easy-wake" alarm clocks that incorporate a light that comes on gradually,
which may influence sleep stages by mimicing a "sunrise" effect, allowing an more natural transition to wakefulness.
But sunrise clocks for all that they may make it easier to wake up by providing some ambient light (that may or may not effect the sleep cycles) are not what mollete is talking about. She specifically mentioned clocks that "are aware of your sleep patterns" and referred to them as "sleep stage alarm clocks". And I'd like to know what the heck she's talking about since the Zeo is no longer made.
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- DreamDiver
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
A couple examples...robysue wrote:... I'd like to know what the heck she's talking about since the Zeo is no longer made.
Not sure if one is better than another.
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- Sir NoddinOff
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
DreamDiver: Interesting reading... thanks for sharing that info.
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
Sleep cycle works quite well for me
Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
DreamDiver,
Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to peruse them.
Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to peruse them.
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
It would seem that for this particular use, actigraphy (measuring body motion) does as good a job as EEG.
If so, an app that costs 2 bucks pretty much doomed Zeo:
http://www.healthyobsessions.net/2010/1 ... p-cycle-1/
http://lifehacker.com/5993271/most-popu ... =hive-five
http://www.dvice.com/archives/2012/10/9 ... ch_dev.php
http://dreamstudies.org/2013/07/16/best ... s-devices/
For those looking to DIY Zeo headbands (previously noted by XB):
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Rep ... nd-Sensor/
If so, an app that costs 2 bucks pretty much doomed Zeo:
http://www.healthyobsessions.net/2010/1 ... p-cycle-1/
http://lifehacker.com/5993271/most-popu ... =hive-five
http://www.dvice.com/archives/2012/10/9 ... ch_dev.php
http://dreamstudies.org/2013/07/16/best ... s-devices/
For those looking to DIY Zeo headbands (previously noted by XB):
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Rep ... nd-Sensor/
Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
My sleeptracker died this weekend and I am looking if there is something better or I want to buy a new one even through this didn't last 11 months. I don't want something that is only a phone app. Is there anything else other than a jawbone up?
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
How about an old fashioned notebook and pencil?
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
The tracking is not as material as a sleep cycle alarm - which a notebook and pencil won't do.Julie wrote:How about an old fashioned notebook and pencil?
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Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
Aurora (Dream Enhancer. Whatever.) and NeuroOn are The Next Best Thing(s) (according to them, anyway).
You Kids Have Fun!!
Re: CPAP Basics - 23 - Sleep Inertia
Thanks, but I'm looking for something available now.
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