Help! Why do I sleep soooo much?

[ladyjanern]

I always mask up and turn out the lights at 11:30 - 12AM. Sometimes I fall asleep very fast, sometimes not. I can have restless nights where it can take an hour to get to sleep, but not often. BUT... the problem is that I get up around 4 am to use bathroom and go back to sleep untill 11 AM!!! I feel like this is too much time in bed and half the day is wasted. I can't make any morning plans as it is noon time before I've had breakfast, shower, dressed etc. I don't wake with a "hangover" feeling but not exactly refreshed either. I take an otc sleep aid that is all natural and sometimes a tylenol for back pain. I usually get 7 - 8 hrs of mask time. Suggestions please.

[ChicagoGranny]

What is this, " sleephead software", telling you about your breathing?

I take an otc sleep aid that is all natural

What is it, what are the ingredients, how much do you take, what time do you take it?

[Nozzelnut]

Have you ever had your thyroid checked? When mine started failing I could sleep 12+ hours a day; and even then I was tired. Similar feelings to having OSA too.

[The Latinist]

What OTC sleep aid are you taking? "Natural" doesn't mean it can't have side effects or that you can take it at any dose without consequences; indeed, it mostly means that it's completely unregulated.

Often getting that much sleep can be counter-productive. I personally find that if I sleep that long I will be more tired the next day than if I had slept a normal 7-8 hours. Have you tried an alarm clock?

Finally, I'm not sure how you're sleeping from 11:30 to 11 and getting only 7-8 hours of mask time. It should be 11 even assuming you're up for a half hour at 4 a.m.. If you are taking your mask off in the night then the sleep you're getting without it may be useless and you may not be oversleeping at all…just sleeping ineffectively.

[chunkyfrog]

After around 7½ hours, I'm just not sleepy any more--couldn't sleep unless I'm sick.
Maybe you are ill. See the doctor, and show him your "natural" sleep aid, just to be safe.
If he tells you to chuck it, do it!

[Pugsy]

I usually get 7 - 8 hrs of mask time.

lights at 11:30 - 12AM. Sometimes I fall asleep very fast, sometimes not. I can have restless nights where it can take an hour to get to sleep, but not often. BUT... the problem is that I get up around 4 am to use bathroom and go back to sleep untill 11 AM!!!

Unless you are laying in bed with the mask and machine on for 5 hours or so while awake.....you are sleeping without the mask and machine. The math doesn't add up. Midnight to Noon is 12 hours..how come only 7 to 8 hours of mask time?

Why?

As others have already mentioned.....what is the "natural" sleep aid and what do your SleepyHead reports show?

[kteague]

Just co-signing all the suggestions that have already been made. Each one merits investigation if your answer is not readily found. If the last few hours of your sleep time is when you are not using the machine, that would be a recipe for misery for me. When the apnea events are present there are repeated thwarted attempts to get some "good" sleep, and since it can't happen, the unsatisfying sleep seems never enough. Once you are using your machine ALL your sleep hours, your data reveals effective treatment, and and the other things have been ruled out, consider if there me other sleep disorders going on. Wouldn't hurt to look at your sleep study report to see if there are any clues.

[ladyjanern]

thanks for responses.. the 'natural' sleep aid I use is by Natrol called Sleep n' Restrore. But I am feeling anything but restored I ran it past my sleep doc and he quickly looked at it and said fine. I was on Ambien 2.5 mg - 5 mg for 5 yrs so anything is better than that. Well anyhow the ingrediants are Vit E, Grapeseed, Calcium, L-Glutamine, Valerian and 3 mg Melatonin. It helps me fall right asleep, but is it causing me to sleep too much?

I always put mask on at 11:30 fall asleep and wake at 3 or 4 am for bathroom. I do put mask back on but take it off at 6 or 7 am and sleep without till 10 or 11 am. My AHI are running below 1, leaks are minimal. I would post sleephead report but don't know how.

I will call doc and check out thyroid but it was fine at last check last year. I could use an alarm clock but if it went off at 8a or 9 I know I would be tired still.


I have to tweek something here just not sure what.

So tired of being tired

[library lady]

Ditto what the above posters have said... but I have two comments. One is to suggest doing what I do when I get up at night; instead of taking my mask off, I pull the elbow out and do my thing, then put the elbow back in. I do turn the machine off and then turn it back on again, but if you have trouble remembering to turn it back on and you have an auto-on/off feature, you could just leave it on. I don't know what kind of mask you are using, if you need to take it off, do... but leave the machine running and put mask back on.

Second, I recently started taking 3mg melatonin, and since then I've noticed that I'm getting up a bit later than I did pre-melatonin, but I'm still usually up by 9 or so after going to bed at midnight.

I do use an alarm clock most days, in fact it's a little one that clips to your pillow or covers, and has a vibrator... it's made for deaf people, and while I'm not deaf, I do wear hearing aids and have some trouble hearing things in the night, plus it's small enough to work as a good travel clock. It can be used with both alarm and vibration, or just one or the other - if you are wanting a reminder to get up without using an alarm, you could try something like that as a reminder.

[kaiasgram]

This may not be the whole story, probably isn't, but people respond differently to melatonin and for some people a good working dose is only .2 or .3 mg. If the dose of melatonin in your supplement (3 mg) is too much for your system, it could be contributing to the excess sleepiness/sleeping.

[library lady]

Post by kaiasgram on Sat May 24, 2014 2:17 pm

This may not be the whole story, probably isn't, but people respond differently to melatonin and for some people a good working dose is only .2 or .3 mg. If the dose of melatonin in your supplement (3 mg) is too much for your system, it could be contributing to the excess sleepiness/sleeping.

Good point, kaiasgram, I forgot to mention that. I'm actually starting to think about cutting my 3mg tabs in half as I'm using it to help me get to sleep a little faster. My GP had suggested starting at 3mg.

[Julie]

When I take 3 mg of Melatonin I'm good for nothing most of the next day, so have started cutting them in half (and only take them on occasion anyhow), plus the Valerian can't be helping much.

[bwexler]

I have two suggestions (already touched on)
1. Stop the natural sleep aid
2. If you are planing to sleep use your mask and machine.

The grapeseed stimulates energy and the calcium can cause mussels to contract, magnesium is more of a relaxant.
The non mask time may be undoing the rest you achieved while using the mask.

[ChicagoGranny]

3 mg Melatonin. It helps me fall right asleep, but is it causing me to sleep too much?

So tired of being tired

That is 10 times too much melatonin. Either quit it altogether or go to a smaller dosage - http://www.puritan.com/puritans-pride-b ... ?scid=6829

The dosage you are taking could be making you lethargic the next day.

The pills in the link are 200 mcg or 0.2 mg. One pill is usually enough, two pills is maximum.

Here is an article about dosage - http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2005/melatonin

In earlier research, scientists led by Professor Richard Wurtman, principal investigator for the current study, showed that only a small dose of melatonin (about 0.3 milligrams) is necessary for a restful effect. Taken in that quantity, it not only helps people fall asleep, but also makes it easier for them to return to sleep after waking up during the night--a problem for many older adults.

Yes and don't ever sleep without the mask.

[ladyjanern]

thanks Chicago Granny for info links and others for your help. 1. I will just go off the sleep aid and 2. I will not sleep even a couple hours without mask. I will set an alarm and try to go to bed earlier each night in hopes of getting up earlier.

Here's hoping for 7 - 8 hrs of quality sleep. Not too much to ask.

Thanks again