Nap habits?

[UncleLeo]

For the most part, my cpap sleeping has been going well. Most nights are good, only a couple bad ones. This morning I woke up feeling the best I have felt (when waking up) since I don't know when. I was so excited and refreshed.

I would usually take 2-4 naps a day because I was always exhausted. My need to take naps has decreased dramatically, but they still pop up from time to time. Today, in spite of how good I felt, I still felt the need to take a nap half way through the day. Is it possible to have a "nap habit"?

I'm wondering if maybe some of this is in my mind, and I'm having unreasonable expectations. I mean, since when is a nap automatically a bad thing. Lots of people without sleeping problems take naps, too.

I feel like I have dealt with bad sleep for so long (many years prior to diagnosis) that I no longer know what's "normal" and what's not.

[bookwrm63]

Hi Leo,

May I ask how old you are? It may just be age creeping up..lol. I still enjoy a nap occasionally when I can...who doesn't? Since you say you don't need 2-4 naps a day any longer, then I say you're doing well. Enjoy the naps but try to nap with your xpap. They will be much better!

Good luck!

Mary

[UncleLeo]

I am 42. And, to be honest, I kind of enjoy an occasional nap, so in a sense I'm not really sure what I'm complaining about. I guess I just want to make sure I'm getting the overall health benefits from cpap.

I have not used my cpap when napping, only at night. I know I should.

[ColoZZZ]

"Naps are wasted on the young"

Not really on topic but one of my favorite quotes....

On weekends I like to get in a good nap with my APAP. I've been getting about 2 hrs sleep with AHI<1, some of my best stats...

[Wulfman]

After almost two years on therapy, I still occasionally take a nap in my recliner (not necessarily deliberately.....it just happens). Usually they're only a half hour to an hour in duration. I also don't use my machine.....but according to my wife, I'm not having apnea events during those naps.

I've also wondered about the "nap habit" thing, too. I think it's probable.

Best wishes,

Den

[pedroski]

Hi Uncle Leo,

Pre cpap I had to nap in the daytime, and when I was on the road driving with 6 or more hours a day I could feel microsleeps coming, so would pull over and have a nap then be ok. Now I find I can push through that naturally sleepy cycle just after lunch if I want to, but on the weekend I'll normally succumb and have a nap. I didn't use to use the machine but because of cpaptalkers recommending it I now do.

Like you say heaps of people nap, in fact "power napping" is a pretty cool deal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_nap

A power nap (sometimes called a catnap) is a short nap, usually 15-30 minutes, coined by Cornell University social psychologist James Maas. It is thought by many to maximize the benefits of sleep versus time. This type of sleep pattern may be associated with polyphasic sleep; however, it is more often used to supplement normal sleep, especially when the sleeper has accumulated a sleep deficit.

Advocates of this sleep pattern recommend various durations for a power nap. Many have a precise time which they say is optimal—usually around 20-35 minutes. People who regularly take power naps usually have a good idea of what duration works best for them. Some people take power naps out of necessity. For example, someone who doesn't get enough sleep at night and is drowsy at work may sleep during his or her lunch break. Others may prefer to regularly take power naps even if their schedule allows a full night's sleep. Importantly, napping skills are trainable and have been shown to become more efficient in more experienced nappers.

The short duration of a power nap prevents nappers from entering Slow-wave sleep. Waking up after a person has entered this deeper state of sleep can result in a phenomenon known as sleep inertia, perhaps causing the person to feel groggy. Research has shown, however, that splashing water on one's face, brief exercise or a shot of caffeine can help decrease the ill effects of sleep inertia.

While a power nap and a catnap can be considered to be synonymous in terms of duration and effect, the vernacular usage often makes a behavioral distinction where a power nap involves a break from activity, while a catnap is of a more leisurely nature. Thus, one may take a power nap in the middle of a busy work day, and a catnap on the couch during a lazy afternoon, but not vice versa.

Scientists have recently begun investigating the benefits of napping for performance across a wide range of cognitive processes. Dr. Sara C. Mednick, a researcher at the Salk Institute and faculty at the University of California, San Diego, and the world’s leading authority on the nap, has reported on the benefits of napping for memory (published in Nature Neuroscience 2002, 2003).[1] Since these seminal studies demonstrated that naps were as good as a night of sleep on some memory tasks, more sleep laboratories have reported similar results. A NASA study has found, however, that while naps improve memory functions, they do not aid basic alertness.[2]

In the Australian state of Victoria, the Transport Accident Commission has invested in advertising campaigns, advising drivers to take a "15 minute powernap" to help reduce the risk of fatigue when operating a motor vehicle. Some commercial enterprises are also catering to customers by offering "power nap solutions":

Peter

[UncleLeo]

I know that I've always been a napper, and have traditionally been able to benefit sometimes from as little as 5-10 minutes sleep. I would quite often nap for 10-15 minutes after work and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go for the rest of the evening. But, the difference was that I didn't "need" the nap. As I got older, gained weight, and started having sleep issues (read: undiagnosed apnea, I'm sure), I started to "need" them more and more.

It seems I don't need to worry about the occasional nap, but am glad that they are no longer as often or as necessary.

[pedroski]

Same here Uncle Leo, it's nice to have the choice isn't it?!!

Peter

[Bones]

I use to nap for 2 or 3 hours (pre-cpap) on weekend afternoons and always woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. I still have the odd 1-1 1/2 hour nap on a Saturday using my cpap and I feel great when I wake. I think the reason for my Saturday naps now is I have a bad habit of staying up way too late on Friday nights.

Brian

[Sleepy-eyes]

I've never been a regular napper. Oh, don't get me wrong, if I eat a meal and sit down in my favorite easy chair and watch TV I'll get sleepy.........and might even doze off for 10 or 15 minutes. But that happens maybe once or twice a week. I know people who take a nap every day for an hour. THAT is a "napper" by my way of thinking. If I do that after dinner, I might as well just not go to bed at night because it'll take me 3 hours to get to sleep.

[major_works]

After about two months on CPAP, I still find myself prone to weekend-afternoon naps, often with the wife. But these are most typically taken without the hose, and I tend to feel worse when I awake and not better.

Prior to CPAP, though, I was also prone to falling asleep while dinner was on the stove. That doesn't happen as much any longer.

[jum001]

For the decades I was indentured to corporate culture, I dreamed of taking naps as the afternoons wore on and on. Now I take two or three per week as one of the perks of aging. About an hour or so and on the couch so there is no room to turn onto my back. Since my events tend to occur while I am on my back, these naps do refresh me.

[pedroski]

I use to nap for 2 or 3 hours (pre-cpap) on weekend afternoons and always woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. I still have the odd 1-1 1/2 hour nap on a Saturday using my cpap and I feel great when I wake.

Hi Brian,

I noticed that too pre cpap, if I took a longer nap (over 1.5 hours for me) I woke up more tired, not less tired. I think part of it may have been that I was entering slow wave sleep, and I'm sure some of it was OSA related. Post cpap I haven't had a long nap in the daytime to check this out.

The short duration of a power nap prevents nappers from entering Slow-wave sleep. Waking up after a person has entered this deeper state of sleep can result in a phenomenon known as sleep inertia, perhaps causing the person to feel groggy.

(See previous post for source)

Peter

[Lee Lee]

I miss my naps! I used to take 2-3 hour naps on weekends. Now, I can't nap even if I want to. I can force myself to doze, but I'm still aware of everything going on around me.
Darn that CPAP therapy! It took away my hobby (napping)!

[lvwildcat]

There is something to this. I used to nap twice a day;now I hardly ever nap but when I do-I nap with PAP!! I'm with Brian most of my naps are on Sat. afternoons because I,too,overdo it and stay up too late on Friday nights!