Vagus nerve and sleeping (sleeping on right side may be best)

[Mary]

I recently had some Things Go Wrong With Me which landed me in the hospital for 2 weeks, totally unexpected, had 2 - 3 procedures, sent home 3 weeks ago and almost recovered - except for sleep. Sleep, always elusive at the best of times, was worse than ever. I tried breathing exercises, higher doses of all my usual sleep supps (inositol, l-theanine, melatonin, some Chinese herbs, glycine, etc.) and nothing - several nights with literally no sleep, a few with minutes snatched here and there.

I found a one-minute youtube video about resetting your nervous system in one minute, had to do with the vagus nerve. It may have helped a little one or two nights but then stopped, though it got my brain thinking about the vagus nerve. (

)

Anyways, yesterday I stumbled across the crucial information that sleeping on one's back decreases vagus nerve stimulation and that sleeping on one's right side causes the greatest vagus nerve stimulation (https://mindd.org/vagus-nerve-stimu... a form of,electrical waves synced with music.).

Because of the surgical procedures I'd been forced to sleep on my back for over 2 weeks at home (too painful otherwise) - arggghhh!!!!! It didn't matter in the hospital because I was on a lot of drugs there, but once home was a different story.

Last night I carefully positioned on my right side, and it was like a miracle - I feel asleep within a reasonable period of time. I woke about 12:30, back to sleep till 3:00 or so, and then may have slept a bit more off and on, I'm not just sure, but this was more sleep than I'd had in the past 4 nights. I'm crossing my fingers that this pattern continues and maybe even gets a bit better.

Anyways this was all new information to me, hope it helps someone else -

The breathing exercise I did (which you can do anywhere) was just inhaling for 4 or 5 seconds, and then exhaling for 6 or 7. It's similar to box or 4-sided breathing and 4-7-8 breathing (I think they all have similar results, you can google it)

 

[linusbert]

forget the vagus nerve, its useless. never works. just broken all the time. cut it out, throw it away.. or knit a few socks with it. we cfs folks strife on the sympathicus!

hospital and surgery sounds awful and scarry. hope you are fine now besides the sleep.

 

[Mary]

Sorry @linusbert , I'm not going to forget the vagus nerve because I can't forget how I managed to sleep last night, after zero sleep the night before! (and the night before that too) I am pretty much fine, it was a bizarre experience, surreal, it's been decades since I was last in a hospital but this was necessary. I was too out of it I think most of the time to get scared, fair amount of drugs! Thanks for your good wishes

 

[cheeseater]

Before my sleep apnea resolved itself, I could sleep on my right side without incident. If I slept on my left side or back I would have sleep apnea all night. Two overnight sleep studies and they did not note this. I fugured it out myself.

 

[Wishful]

It takes me a lot longer to fall asleep on my right side than on my left. I think I only fall asleep on my right side if I'm really, really tired. Falling asleep on my back or front is difficult too.

 

[linusbert]

It takes me a lot longer to fall asleep on my right side than on my left. I think I only fall asleep on my right side if I'm really, really tired. Falling asleep on my back or front is difficult too.

same for me. on the back is hard for me. if i turn left side, i fall asleep in minutes or seconds.

the best sleep in my life i had on the back on a water bed one time. never could replicate.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I recently had some Things Go Wrong With Me

laugh...I love how you Framed That.

Yeah, a few things have Gone Wrong around here recently, too! Glad your on the mend, @Mary

I stumbled across the crucial information that sleeping on one's back decreases vagus nerve stimulation and that sleeping on one's right side causes the greatest vagus nerve stimulation

that is very interesting!

- I have slept on my side for many decades and I even think I cannot sleep lying flat on my back, what so ever.

-naps must occur lying on my stomach/across the bed sideways. Thats the only position I can nap in.

- my friend who does body work encouraged me to sleep on my back recently (to improve some shoulder issues).

-my husband and I are both side sleepers, and so he is NO LONGER sleeping next to me. This entirely changes the sleeping dynamic (he is in the long term care facility).

And because of my constant neck problems, I was heating up the buckwheat wrap in the microwave and using that and it sort of enabled me to: sleep on my back: which I am now doing between midnight and about six am.

Personally, sleeping curled up in a fetal position on my side under the blankets seems to be the natural version of sleeping. Lying on my back never does.

Something that drives me crazy in movies: how when people get awakened by a dream or noise, they show people sitting up in bed, bolting up. NO- you HIDE in the covers. But Hollywood can't film Hiding under the cover's well.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

and about six am.

to clarify, I wake up alot from about 6 or 7 on, wander to bathrooms, sit on toilets moaning, often still asleep.

Go back to bed. Sleep more. I can pretty much almost fall asleep like a narcolepsy victim, just about anywhere...but I want to lie down. Anytime I am in a chair thats not my one chair at home, I want to fall over pass out and check out.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

that sleeping on one's right side causes the greatest vagus nerve stimulation

delayed stomach emptying- happens to me...and extreme acute situations I get acute extreme severe gastroperesis. It scares me.

Anyway, sharing here that the b-caryophylene topically applied as Copaiba Oil to the stomach area, seems to "help" my delayed emptying ...it seems to lesson it. I even maybe headed off an acute situation by applying it at midnight (and then I also use the bio magnets)

 

[Mary]

Yeah, a few things have Gone Wrong around here recently, too! Glad your on the mend, @Mary

Thanks @Rufous McKinney ! I know my experience was a walk in the park compared to what has been going on with you and your husband. I've been out of touch but just glanced briefly at your thread. I think there must be a special circle in hell reserved for insurance companies and their minions!

 

[Mary]

Based on others' experiences here, I just changed the title of the thread to say that sleeping on the right side "may be" best - not "is"!

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I think there must be a special circle in hell reserved for insurance companies and their minions!

One of our discoveries is the SYSTEM is set up to ENABLE the insurers. Whenever we call the insurer they tell us they didn't deny ANYTHING.

The FACILITY does it for you. And subcontractors you've never heard of. The Facility announces you don't need their services, and stops ASKING for the insurer to cover it. THATS HOW ITS DONE.

But yes, I am convinced there will be a Reckoning. And they will have to reckon on how they were the enablers.