Napping Info and a Question

[BleepingBeauty]

Quick video explanation about napping and the significance of duration. The video's under two minutes long.

https://youtu.be/NJ_f9onTTQE

Personally, I try never to nap; but if I have to, I try to nap early in the day. This video makes me think that a brief daily siesta is a great idea.

Does anyone here nap regularly (daily or close to it) because they want to (and not because their apnea isn't yet effectively treated with xpap and they *have* to nap often)? If you do, what recommendations would you make to others about napping?

[SewTired]

I lay down for 30 min - 45 minutes nearly every day shortly before dinner. Even if I don't actually sleep, I feel refreshed and it gives my bad leg a break. In addition, my cat, who lays down with me, is far less whiney - she seems to think that I'm laying down for her. Now, I can do this easily because I'm on disability, but I did that also when I was in college and working. They started calling them power naps towards the end of the 80s, but really made a difference between actually being able to think in the afternoon or falling asleep all afternoon (I did not have apnea then!). What took me a long time to learn is that an hour was too long - you are groggy after that. So, I either went walking at lunch or took a nap after eating in an empty office. I had the flexibility to be able to do that, thank goodness.

[Kiralynx]

Interesting video. Some things I already knew.

(Good to hear from you, BB!)

[Sheffey]

I frequently work from home (self-employed). Many afternoons, I turn off the phones, tell my wife I am out, gather pillows beside me on a sofa, and take a nap sitting as straight up as possible. Not using my CPAP, I set my phone alarm for 15 to 20 minutes. It seems sitting erect and sleeping only in stage one or two, I have very few apneas and no long ones.

After most of these naps, I feel energized and can work until eleven or midnight.

BTW, this idea about setting the phone alarm for a short nap came from someone's post on this forum. Thanks to whomever that was.

[Krelvin]

I take naps on long days to refresh my brain so I can go back and work on complex issues, always with my mask, no real timer limit but typically a cycle which is 1.5 hours. Very useful. I wake up on my own, don't use alarms.

[sleepylynn]

I'm also self-employed and work from home, and usually take a 1.5 hour nap every afternoon. Thankfully, since starting CPAP, I don't seem to need the nap every day anymore - it's only been a couple times in the last week.

[ChicagoGranny]

What took me a long time to learn is that an hour was too long - you are groggy after that.

The grogginess is most likely due to awakening from slow-wave sleep instead of the length of the nap.

These people most likely cycle back to a light stage before awakening -->>

I take naps on long days to refresh my brain so I can go back and work on complex issues, always with my mask, no real timer limit but typically a cycle which is 1.5 hours. Very useful. I wake up on my own, don't use alarms.

I'm also self-employed and work from home, and usually take a 1.5 hour nap every afternoon.

[YappyVpapper]

I am a huge fan of the afternoon nap. I too work from home and most of my days are seriously...talking all day and remoting into people's computers, talking/fixing/talking/fixing! I need a break most days. I have learned thought that a 30 min/quick with phone alarm is best for me. When I know I have 30 min, I get it done. When I go free napping without alarm, I oversleep and while loving it, have a bad grog after getting up. I used to think the afternoon nap was from a depression but have accepted and learned that I just need a mental break. I love the naps and that video made so much sense. Glad I knew it! lol

[BleepingBeauty]

I lay down for 30 min - 45 minutes nearly every day shortly before dinner. Even if I don't actually sleep, I feel refreshed and it gives my bad leg a break.

I guess you don't find that this timeframe interferes with your usual bedtime? I would think resting wouldn't be a problem, but what if you actually DO sleep at that time of day?

(Good to hear from you, BB!)

Thanks! Nice to see you too, Kira; it's been awhile. Hope all is well w/you and Harry and the dogs.

Many afternoons ... take a nap sitting as straight up as possible. Not using my CPAP, I set my phone alarm for 15 to 20 minutes. It seems sitting erect and sleeping only in stage one or two, I have very few apneas and no long ones.

After most of these naps, I feel energized and can work until eleven or midnight.

What's your "usual" bedtime if you don't nap?

I take naps on long days to refresh my brain so I can go back and work on complex issues, always with my mask, no real timer limit but typically a cycle which is 1.5 hours. Very useful. I wake up on my own, don't use alarms.

Makes sense, but 1.5 hours would seem too long. You don't ever wake from a nap feeling groggy or disoriented?

I'm also self-employed and work from home, and usually take a 1.5 hour nap every afternoon. Thankfully, since starting CPAP, I don't seem to need the nap every day anymore - it's only been a couple times in the last week.

Another 90-minute timeframe. But it seems you've been napping out of necessity (which is very common early on). It sounds like you don't intend to continue the nap habit once you feel rested enough from nighttime sleep with your xpap. Is that the case?

I am a huge fan of the afternoon nap. ... I have learned thought that a 30 min/quick with phone alarm is best for me. When I know I have 30 min, I get it done.

I don't understand how that works. If my brain is cruising along, I can't imagine being able to shut it down for 30 minutes "on command" (so to speak). I'd like to be able to do that.

I would think that knowing I only had 30 minutes would increase anxiety about taking the nap and make it difficult to wind down (much like watching the clock when you have insomnia and calculating how much less sleep you'll now be able to get because you're laying there awake).

[Madalot]

Anybody that knows me knows I went through a terrible period of time where I SLEPT every afternoon because I couldn't stay awake. And as you suggested, BB, that interfered with my ability to sleep at night and it became a vicious circle. With a lot of effort, I have broken that habit and now go to sleep at a decent time at night and get anywhere from 8-10 hours of sleep a night. With my illness, sleep is like a paycheck of energy and without it, I can't do much of anything. I can feel the difference if I get only 7-8 hours of sleep/rest over 9-10 hours. I have a much better day on 9-10 hours.

But I still have bad days. I have found that if I keep myself occupied and DO NOT sit down in my recliner, I can usually stay awake. Sometimes it's difficult and ALL I want to do is get in that chair or on the sofa and SLEEP, but I force myself to do something else that keeps me going.

However, I occasionally take a power nap. As suggested, it's no more than 15-20 minutes and I set my phone alarm to make sure I don't sleep long. Sometimes, my "power nap" consists of me just laying down on the bed for that time but NOT sleeping. Just resting a while. And it does help.

[Hawthorne]

I nap almost every afternoon but it is because of the fatigue caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis. I also don't stay in bed more than about 6 and half hours at night. The longer I stay in bed at night, the stiffer I am in the morning. I always lie down and use my cpap for napping.

[BleepingBeauty]

Anybody that knows me knows I went through a terrible period of time where I SLEPT every afternoon because I couldn't stay awake. And as you suggested, BB, that interfered with my ability to sleep at night and it became a vicious circle.

Yep, that's my concern with napping. I try to make sure that, if I do take one, it's done by the early afternoon. When I've had bad nights and then nodded off in the late afternoon in my recliner (usually sitting up, not reclined), that *does* mess with my bedtime.

I occasionally take a power nap. As suggested, it's no more than 15-20 minutes and I set my phone alarm to make sure I don't sleep long. Sometimes, my "power nap" consists of me just laying down on the bed for that time but NOT sleeping. Just resting a while. And it does help.

I'm sure it does. Your illness takes a mean toll on your body, so I'm sure it can appreciate all the rest it can get.

I nap almost every afternoon but it is because of the fatigue caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis. I also don't stay in bed more than about 6 and half hours at night. The longer I stay in bed at night, the stiffer I am in the morning. I always lie down and use my cpap for napping.

Hi, Hawthorne! So good to see you. Sorry you're so achy in the morning (especially) and wish you were more comfortable sleeping. Pain is so disruptive to decent sleep.

[sleepylynn]

I'm also self-employed and work from home, and usually take a 1.5 hour nap every afternoon. Thankfully, since starting CPAP, I don't seem to need the nap every day anymore - it's only been a couple times in the last week.

Another 90-minute timeframe. But it seems you've been napping out of necessity (which is very common early on). It sounds like you don't intend to continue the nap habit once you feel rested enough from nighttime sleep with your xpap. Is that the case?

Yep, that's the case - I've been napping for a few years because I've HAD to -- could not stay awake all day. That need is slowly diminishing with CPAP, and as long as I feel awake and aware, I don't plan to keep up the naps.

As for the 90-minute length: It's about one full sleep cycle. If I get up after that 90 minutes, I'm fine (unless it took me too long to get to sleep, in which case I'd usually get up anyway). If I go over that 90 minutes -- say, because I forgot to set an alarm -- then yes, I get groggy and sometimes have a nasty headache the rest of the day. So I'm pretty careful about limiting it to 90 minutes.

[Sonnyboy]

Interesting video. Thank you.

Fatigue is a problem for me.
I find 20-30 minute naps are helpful but with longer naps I wake up more tired and tend to stay that way.

I had been napping 3-4 times a day and having very fragmented sleep. I have PLMD which likely interferes with my sleep and have an appointment with a specialist but not til April. I'm working on leak issues.

My sleep doctor recently ordered Provigil hoping to decrease the napping and stop the fragmented sleep. It seems to be helping in this way, last night I slept 9 hours straight, but it is almost noon and after taking 400mg Provigil I still feel groggy. The Nuvigil sample I received was more effective than Provigil but I am not able to find a Medicare Part D plan that has good coverage for Nuvigil.

It's like peeling an onion solving the fatigue issue. One thing for sure, Cpap has helped.

[Krelvin]

I take naps on long days to refresh my brain so I can go back and work on complex issues, always with my mask, no real timer limit but typically a cycle which is 1.5 hours. Very useful. I wake up on my own, don't use alarms.

Makes sense, but 1.5 hours would seem too long. You don't ever wake from a nap feeling groggy or disoriented?

A normal sleep cycle is about 90 mins long.. You start out lightly sleeping and the progress to a deeper sleep and then near the end of the cycle you come out of it again lightly sleeping.

Waking up, especially by a phone call, or alarm while you are in the middle of a sleep cycle is how you wake up groggy. You are breaking out of a deep sleep instead of just waking up at the light end of the cycle. Hence, I don't use alarms, and keep the phone down or off during the nap.

I sleep at night that as well... typically 2 - 3 cycles (3hr to 4.5 hours), wake, go to the bathroom, and after a while go back to sleep for another typically 2 or more cycles. Never really feel groggy the whole time. Wake up not groggy on my own, ready to go.