waking up alert in the middle of the night

[rSrS]

About a year ago I started waking up at 3 or 4 am several nights a week and not being able to fall back asleep. After being diagnosed with sleep apnea I started using an auto adjusting cpap machine. I also had surgery to correct a deviated septum to help me breathe better at night. It tool me a long time to get used to the cpap but I finally did and for about 3 weeks I slept better than I ever have before.

Then a couple weeks ago I started waking up at 4am and not being able to go back to sleep. I have adjusted my diet and bedtime habits (not looking at screens, etc) but it keeps happening.

Any ideas how to fix this?

[TheChuckster]

Check your data, any events? You might need to bump up your pressure. It could also be a bunch of other things, like stress, environment (noise, temperature), nightmares, etc.

[LSAT]

I suggest you fill in your equipment so we can better help you. Also download Sleepyhead software and post some data for the members to look at.

[rSrS]

I suggest you fill in your equipment so we can better help you. Also download Sleepyhead software and post some data for the members to look at.

Where can I get the sleepyhead software? I am new to this

[rSrS]

How can I get the sleepyhead software. I use a devilbiss intelipap auto adjust

[LSAT]

How can I get the sleepyhead software. I use a devilbiss intelipap auto adjust

Not sure if Sleepyhead works for your machine...

https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead

[robysue]

How can I get the sleepyhead software. I use a devilbiss intelipap auto adjust

SleepyHead should work with your machine if it is a relatively new machine.

About a year ago I started waking up at 3 or 4 am several nights a week and not being able to fall back asleep. After being diagnosed with sleep apnea I started using an auto adjusting cpap machine. I also had surgery to correct a deviated septum to help me breathe better at night. It tool me a long time to get used to the cpap but I finally did and for about 3 weeks I slept better than I ever have before.

Then a couple weeks ago I started waking up at 4am and not being able to go back to sleep. I have adjusted my diet and bedtime habits (not looking at screens, etc) but it keeps happening.

Any ideas how to fix this?

Sometimes a problem with "wake too early" insomnia is not tied to there being something "wrong" with your CPAP therapy. Sometimes, the "wake too early" insomnia is tied to other things.

When do you go to bed and how easily do you fall asleep at the beginning of the night? Do you tend to go to bed around the same time every night? Or does your bedtime vary a lot from night to night?

When is your normal wake up time? Do you usually need an alarm clock to wake you up in the morning? Do you wake up at the same time all seven days of the week? Or does your wake up time vary a lot from day to day?

When you first find yourself awake at 3 or 4am, what is the very first thing that crosses your mind? Is it something like Oh d*mn I woke up yet again and I bet I can't get back to sleep?

When you first find yourself awake at 3 or 4am do you immediately look at the clock to find out what time it is? And then do you start worrying about why you are awake, how much sleep you've managed to get so far, how little time there is before you have to wake up, and whether you'll be able to get back to sleep?

Is there anything going on in your life that is causing a lot of stress?

In the past have you often had trouble sleeping during the fall as the days grow shorter?

What meds do you take on a regular basis? What meds do you take close to bedtime?

[rSrS]

I usually go to bed around 10 but throughout a given week I may go to bed any time between 10 and midnight. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night I feel sleepy and just go back to sleep. Other times I feel alert and start worrying about how much sleep I got and whether or not I'll be able to go back to sleep. Under good circumstances I'll wake up around 6:30 or so but in the past 2 weeks over half the nights I'll wake up around 4. I used to have a hard time falling asleep but about a year ago I started falling asleep well but waking up really early (between 2 and 4)

Yes, I do tend to have more trouble sleeping in the fall when the days get shorter. There are things that are stressful but the main thing I'm stressed out about is sleep.

[robysue]

Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night I feel sleepy and just go back to sleep. Other times I feel alert and start worrying about how much sleep I got and whether or not I'll be able to go back to sleep. (emphasis added)

and

the main thing I'm stressed out about is sleep.

I think the fact that you are stressing out about your sleep is why you are finding yourself unable to get back to sleep quickly on some nights.

I know you don't want to hear it, but my guess is that he only thing that's wrong is that you are worrying too much about your sleep and the fact that you are awake.

You said you get to bed sometime between 10pm and midnight most nights. That means that a wake that happnes sometime between 3 and 4 could easily be a perfectly normal post-REM wake. But instead of quickly determining there's no reason to be awake and turning over to go back to sleep, you start worrying about the fact that you are awake, and that wakes you fully up and makes you so alert that you find it more difficult to get back to sleep.

You might want to pick up a copy of a book called Sound Sleep, Sound Mind by Dr. Barry Krakow. It's one of the better self-help insomnia books on the market. Some ideas from that book that applies to your situation are:

• Don't look at the clock if you can't get back to sleep.
• If you can't get back to sleep relatively quickly, just get up out of bed and do something you enjoy doing even if it is the middle of the night. Don't watch the clock while you are out of bed. And go back to bed when you start feeling sleepy again.
• Try to maintain a regular wake up time regardless of how much (or how little) sleep you got during the night.
• Work on closure of your day and don't allow yourself to worry over things you can't do anything about when you are in bed trying to get to sleep.

[Pugsy]

I didn't see a response about medications.
Do you take any medications..even OTC? and if you do what are they?

[chunkyfrog]

Middle of the night insomnia is possible, but it is not fully understood (refer to Wikipedia article)
I suffered from this frequently BEFORE going on cpap, and wonder if your treatment is optimal.
My anxiety seemed to be linked to a nightmare (difficulty breathing?);
and I was only able to sleep after about an hour of quiet reading--preferably something light or dull.

[LAGrandpa]

The Sleepyhead software should work for your machine but you will need a optional module. The module you need is available from our host here: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/devilb ... odule.html