How much sleep is too much sleep?

[sleepyjan]

I've been on my breather for about a month now and this week I can honestly say has been successful! Taped up the holey hose(dog chewed in half) Cut out a memory foam pillow to make room for side sleeping (thanks for the instructions) Cut my hours at work down to 40 a week. But here's the deal breaker.Got off work Weds, did errands, bought a travel trailer (told hubby it was meant to be, theres a outlet by the headboard....and was off yesterday....woke up feeling rested, no headache, no sores but it was 4 am Figured OK is part of new routine..Took a nap from 9 to 11.went to a meeting at noon had lunch there, stayed awake through the speaker (LOLA) Came home planning to do chores, sat down to read mail and woke up in recliner 4 hours later! Was in bed at 9pm slept 7 more hours . So the long and the short of it , in 24 hours I slept 14 hrs with cpap and 4 hrs off of it unintentionally for a total of 18 hours! Hubby says I'm catchin up, but I don't know! Is it normal for me to still need so much sleep? I really need to know! I'm avouiding eating because as soon as I'm done I want to fall asleep, but I've gained 10 lbs in the last 6 weeks! My hubby listens for the Dearth Vader noise and wakes me if I snore so I can adjust the mask........Headaches are reduced during the day.....but why am I still so sleepy?

[pdean44]

You are paying off your sleep debt as they call it here. Your body is craving the rest it gets now when you are on your machine. That will ease as you become more well rested. I am in the same mode as you . I am pretty new to the whole thing and have been sleeping a lot more now. At least until things normalize.

[dave21]

Hi Jan, your hubby is right, there is such a thing as sleep debt, so you will be catching up on this depending on how long you have been suffering from Sleep Apnea. For some people it takes a week or two, for others it can take much longer.

Sleep is also a very strange thing, even being on CPAP for 5 years, I still have the feeling to start to fall asleep in the recliner in the day on some days. More so like today (Saturday) where I'm just sitting watching TV and wanting to relax and switch off to work. If you nap, you're more susceptible to keep napping through the day. Likewise if you nap without the CPAP then it's not good for you because it puts back any sleep debt you already have and adds to this. Think of it like jetlag to a degree, the more you nap in the day, the more your body gets used to it.

Our bodies and minds are strange things, they also see that when we're in recliners that we're laying back and it tricks our mind into thinking you're in bed, and it starts to wind itself down. If I find I feel tired on a day off from my hectic 60+ hour week, then I keep getting up regularly even if it's just for a drink just to make sure I stay awake and not nap in the day.

Also bear in mind that you might still have a lot of sleep in the day as you might still be tired, e.g. if you are up early in the morning and go to bed late, then you're burning the candle at both ends. Likewise if you've had a hectic week running around or stressful, all this can make you tired even if you are on CPAP treatment. Likewise eating food will make you more lethargic and ultimately want to take a nap afterwards.

It's good that your headaches are reducing because that's a good sign of getting good treatment. Keep an eye on your AHI if you can, if your machine shows it and providing it's <5 then you're getting some good treatment.

Thanks
Dave

[lorri214]

Wow, the fact that you are sleeping is great. I am still waiting for that to happen to me. I have been on CPAP almost 3 weeks and I still don't see results. Unfortunately I got a cold this last week and I think that must be affecting everything. The past two nights I did not sleep! Is it possible that this machine won't work for me??? I have high hopes, but I am getting nervous as each day goes by and no improvement. If I finally get a good night's sleep, I will probably sleep for days...

[kteague]

It may help your expectations to think about the time you got your treatment working well for you as the time your recovery really begins in earnest. As with any recovery from trauma, extra rest is a good thing. Adequate rest for maintenance may not be enough for the body to do the extra work of healing. I agree with others who have said you are likely catching up, and this will naturally resolve.

As time passes, if one continues to need extra sleep, it's a good idea to watch the data to be sure the treatment is effective. If the numbers look good and there is no mouth breathing, evaluate if there could be other contributors, like medications and/or other medical conditions. Diabetes and narcolepsy come to mind. If CPAP is doing its job, that is a great thing, no matter what else is going on. It's easy for CPAP to get the blame for symptoms that it was not designed to fix. While it's never too soon to watch the data, I probably wouldn't pursue other possibilities just yet, as sleeping more early in treatment is so commonly reported.

Lorri214 - Getting a cold while starting treatment is unfortunate - and discouraging, so try to keep your expectations in line with your circumstances. Hopefully as the cold resolves things will begin to improve for you. While sleeping extra is commonly reported, so is having trouble sleeping. Such a wide range of "normal". As you go forward, some things to consider if the problem persists... Is your treatment therapeutic (data)? Any meds that have the side effect of insomnia? Any other sleep disorders, like RLS or limb movements? Is good sleep hygiene practiced? If any symptoms of hyperthyroid are present, get it checked. Sometimes the brain just needs time to adjust to the new sounds and sensations, and accept it is safe to sleep.

[srwesely]

I would so love to get to the point where I'm wondering if I'm getting too much sleep!

[thewetlizard]

Geez! I haven't slept for that amount of time yet. I wish I could though!

[patdart]

I've not yet been on CPAP two weeks, but I too am sleeping a lot. I am able to wear my mask all night, but some nghts are 10 hours long! I'm retired and don't have to get up for most things, so it's okay. I don't nap in the daytime, so I guess I'm just catching up on lost time. In most things, I'd say listen to your body and allow it to normalize.

I do have a question tho', what do you do if you have a cold/sinus infection and you can't breathe thru your nose? I'm using nasal pillows and am scared of getting a cold.

Happy dreams,

Patdart

[BlackSpinner]

I do have a question tho', what do you do if you have a cold/sinus infection and you can't breathe thru your nose? I'm using nasal pillows and am scared of getting a cold.

Happy dreams,

Patdart

Get a full face mask for those times. You will find that they will be much much easier to get through on cpap then they were before. The pressure clears your nose for you when you have a cold but because you do you may be mouth breathing so you need a full face mask.

[Komodo]

....woke up feeling rested, no headache, no sores but it was 4 am Figured OK is part of new routine..Took a nap from 9 to 11.... sat down to read mail and woke up in recliner 4 hours later! ...... and 4 hrs off of it unintentionally ..........I'm avouiding eating because as soon as I'm done I want to fall asleep,....but why am I still so sleepy?

So far everyone here has been saying you're doing good, I disagree. The above quotes from your post are pretty much what I was going through BEFORE I started therapy!!! Once I started, all those symptoms went away (until recently, but that's another story) in a single day.
In the begining I did sleep longer everyday, to make up for lost sleep, BUT, I had no need for a nap, nor did I fall asleep unintentionally any more. I was also able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, without getting tired afterwards.

I'm not a doctor, or the most knowlegable person on this Board, but in my opinion, your therapy isn't as effective as it should be. You need to do something about that, so you can finally get some restful full night sleep, where you don't need naps anymore. Talk to your doctor about what you're going through and see what he/she says.

[roster]

Headaches are reduced during the day.....but why am I still so sleepy?

I take exception to the answers that have been posted so far.

The first question that should be answered is, "What does your data show?"

It is very common for people to start out with the wrong pressure, the wrong mask and other problems. In which case you may be still having apneas and very poor sleep.

I would not want to wait six weeks or six months to see if my "sleep debt" is paid off and then find out the therapy wasn't working well and I had not progressed.

So what does your data say about your therapy? AHI? Leak?