Waking up before sunrise

[hackwire]

Hi all,

after using my first cpap by Resmed 8 the latest one for my sleep apnea problem, i have been waking up at odd hours in the morning. sometimes it around 2am - 5am . i couldn't get back to continue my sleep.

what is the cause of this?

[jweeks]

Hi,

I really struggled with waking up after 2 or 3 hours for the first 6 months of using CPAP. My theory is that I was so used to getting little or no useful sleep before CPAP, that after starting on the machine, the 2 or 3 hours of good sleep was all that my brain thought it needed to get. It was happier with 2 hours of good sleep than 10 hours of useless sleep that I got before starting CPAP.

My rule is that if I am not sleeping, I get up and do something. No use struggling to try to sleep when I can't. My favorite thing was to sit down in front of the TV and watch a concert video. I'd typically be ready to go back to sleep after 45 to 90 minutes.

It would be good to make sure that nothing external is waking you up. For example, I live across the highway from a very major trauma center. The MedFlight choppers are amazingly loud when they come over just above treetop level. Funny thing, now that I am able to sleep, I don't hear them anymore.

The other thing to check out is to make sure that your treatment is working correctly. It might be that you are hitting a deeper state of sleep, which typically requires higher pressure levels. If your machine isn't set right, it might be that you are not getting enough pressure when you go into REM, and OSA events are waking you up. If you miss enough REM sleep over time, all bets are off for getting proper sleep. You can download your data and look at your graphs if you have a data capable machine. If not, they you really don't know if your treatment is working or not. If that is the case, then get your machine replaced with a unit that is fully data capable.

-john-

[SleepfulInSanJose]

My sleeping patterns changed radically. Before PAP, I would always need an alarm to wake up, otherwise I would sleep 9 hours and still wake up groggy. Now, I will go to sleep at 11 or 12, and wake up between about 4:30 and 6 AM, feeling very much awake. There have been times when I've woken up around 2AM, but I am normally able to go back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. I chalk this up to a rebound from a sleep cycle.

Although this is well before sunup, I don't worry about it - I just read, work, or do something else quiet before the rest of the family wakes up. I seem to do ok on 5-6 hours of sleep each night. I am even ok with 4-1/2 some days.

[ardneham]

[quote="jweeks"]Hi,

I really struggled with waking up after 2 or 3 hours for the first 6 months of using CPAP. My theory is that I was so used to getting little or no useful sleep before CPAP, that after starting on the machine, the 2 or 3 hours of good sleep was all that my brain thought it needed to get. It was happier with 2 hours of good sleep than 10 hours of useless sleep that I got before starting CPAP

I came across this site in my reading on another subject - Inventions and wish to pass it on for the benefit of those
who are concerned with "Sleep,..... matters" Pl. follow up the readers comments thereof:

http://www.ted.com/talks/jessa_gamble_h ... aign=embed

[Stetson]

Just be careful you are not getting a leak. When I get a leak I will wake up in a panic. A central apnea will do the same thing. If you are waking up feeling like you are ready for the day. I would go with what everyone else is saying. I typically sleep 4 hours a day before CPAP. I felt rested after 2 hours on CPAP.