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Sleep attacks

Messages
72
Recently I've been experiencing what can be best described as "sleep wave attacks". What happens is that at certain times of the day I feel extremely sleepy for a short period of time. These sleep waves occur usually at the following times.

1-4pm, 6:30-7:30pm (after eating) and 8-9:30pm

I usually sleep in the afternoon or after eating, which sometimes helps resolve some brain fog. But avoid sleeping during 8-9pm period as I wake up within a couple of hours and also never go into deep sleep if at all.

Sometimes I even fail to fall asleep despite feeling extremely sleepy. I also get wake up early 4-6am (sleep at 11-12pm) but then fall half a sleep till around 9-10am.

This started fairly recently it first happened when I started taking Candex but then stopped for a couple weeks and started again.

I was thinking it might be narcolepsy however I don't fall completely asleep more like stage 1 sleep. Nor do I get vivid dreams.

Not sure what I should do about it?
 

MikeJackmin

Senior Member
Messages
132
I call them 'forced naps' - they usually come in the early afternoon, and sometimes early evening, and it can be pretty strong. I understand them to be a sign that I'm worn out and that I need to throttle back my activity level a bit.

I try to minimize sleep during the day, but if I really have to, I'll set an alarm for an hour so I don't overdo it.
 
Messages
33
Location
United States
Recently I've been experiencing what can be best described as "sleep wave attacks". What happens is that at certain times of the day I feel extremely sleepy for a short period of time. These sleep waves occur usually at the following times.

1-4pm, 6:30-7:30pm (after eating) and 8-9:30pm

I usually sleep in the afternoon or after eating, which sometimes helps resolve some brain fog. But avoid sleeping during 8-9pm period as I wake up within a couple of hours and also never go into deep sleep if at all.

Sometimes I even fail to fall asleep despite feeling extremely sleepy. I also get wake up early 4-6am (sleep at 11-12pm) but then fall half a sleep till around 9-10am.

This started fairly recently it first happened when I started taking Candex but then stopped for a couple weeks and started again.

I was thinking it might be narcolepsy however I don't fall completely asleep more like stage 1 sleep. Nor do I get vivid dreams.

Not sure what I should do about it?

This happens to me too - also between 1 and 4 or 5pm - but not usually after dinner. Just like @MikeJackmin I usually set my alarm for one hour - however, half the time end up sleeping up to two or three hours. I often feel it is my most restful sleep because, like you, I don't have the vivid dreams while napping during the day.

My night-time sleep is not restful - because of the dreams which are accompanied by drenching night-sweats.

I also don't know what to do about it - am trying to get a sleep study, but it is wildly expensive. I am looking for a medical trial that might include a sleep study that goes beyond just ruling out sleep apnea, which my husband insists I do NOT have (I never snore or breath strangely in my sleep).

Not sure if this helps. Best,
P-Kat
 
Messages
72
I call them 'forced naps' - they usually come in the early afternoon, and sometimes early evening, and it can be pretty strong. I understand them to be a sign that I'm worn out and that I need to throttle back my activity level a bit.

I try to minimize sleep during the day, but if I really have to, I'll set an alarm for an hour so I don't overdo it.

This is pretty much what I do, I tend to avoid sleeping in the evening as that sometimes means I cannot fall asleep at night. But make exceptions if I cant function.