Who's trying to get to bed and get up earlier??

[roxie60]

Once again, symptoms have changed and I have no understanding why. I am grateful to be able to goto bed 'at normal peoples time' (what I use to call since I couldnt go to sleep til the wee hours of the morning). I can do this about 4 out of 7 days. It is still interrupted but there is just something about being able to goto bed and fall asleep between 10 and 11PM. I had so many months of the early morning saga it is a bit of a stress relief to be able to goto bed and fall asleep. Still wake up 2-3 times but that is soooooo much better than before this change that started about 2-3 weeks ago. I dont know if this like other symptoms is temporary but for now I will just be grateful.

 

[TrixieStix]

Hi CAcfs,

I think a lot of us have messed up sleep cycles--I do. But I don't really see the need to change it--I just avoid any appointments, etc., until at least mid-afternoon. We may not be able to change this just by training and will-power, cause the cause is physical.

I know some go right around the clock with their sleep cycles. Eventually you get to normal, but then the cycle keeps going and you are out of sync with the world again. I find it is best just to try to adjust the timing of the things I need to do. If I am making appointments or something, I just say that afternoons work better for me.

A group of "normals" just isn't going to work for us--cause they can adjust sleep timing just by slowly changing bed time and getting up time--many of us really can't cause it is a medical issue.

That said, I certainly sympathize!

Sushi

old thread i know but i have developed DSPS as a result of ME/CFS. I saw a great sleep doctor and he said there are no effective treatments and that the best thing to do if possible is to adjust your life around your body's preferred sleep/wake schedule. As for ppl who go to sleep at later and later times continuously that is an even worse sleep disorder called N24. Thankfully I as a disabled, no longer working, childfree person I am able to sleep all day and be awake all night as my brain demands.

 

[flybro]

old thread i know but i have developed DSPS as a result of ME/CFS. I saw a great sleep doctor and he said there are no effective treatments and that the best thing to do if possible is to adjust your life around your body's preferred sleep/wake schedule. As for ppl who go to sleep at later and later times continuously that is an even worse sleep disorder called N24. Thankfully I as a disabled, no longer working, childfree person I am able to sleep all day and be awake all night as my brain demands.

I'm now able to do as my body requires, and have benefited greatly from doing so.

Big factor for me is 'night-sweats', and I've found going to bed post 3am-ish really helps to reduce this.

Yet another, strange but true, lifestyle adjustment that improves stuff for me.

since doing this i have almost eliminated chest infections too.

 

[perchance dreamer]

I go to bed at midnight, but I'd love to do 11:30 instead. Unfortunately, I'm a night owl and can't seem to stop reading in time to get to bed earlier. Also, it takes a long time to do my sinus rinse and all the other things I need to do right before bed.

The only way I can read for any length of time comfortably is by lying down in bed on my side, so I can't get much reading done during the day.

Something I loathe is having to get up early and rush around. I need to ease into the day.

 

[Glycon]

Standard behavioral therapy for insomnia goes a little something like this:

(1) Go to bed only when sleepy;
(2) get out of bed when unable to sleep;
(3) use the bed/bedroom for sleep and sexual activity only (no reading, watching TV, etc);
(4) arise at the same time every morning;
(5) no napping.

Homework exercise: Come up with a version of the above that would make sense for ME/CFS sufferers.

 

[*GG*]

old thread i know but i have developed DSPS as a result of ME/CFS. I saw a great sleep doctor and he said there are no effective treatments and that the best thing to do if possible is to adjust your life around your body's preferred sleep/wake schedule. As for ppl who go to sleep at later and later times continuously that is an even worse sleep disorder called N24. Thankfully I as a disabled, no longer working, childfree person I am able to sleep all day and be awake all night as my brain demands.

Ah, nowhere near me, was thinking we could hang out some time. LOL

GG

 

[TrixieStix]

I'm now able to do as my body requires, and have benefited greatly from doing so.

Big factor for me is 'night-sweats', and I've found going to bed post 3am-ish really helps to reduce this.

Yet another, strange but true, lifestyle adjustment that improves stuff for me.

since doing this i have almost eliminated chest infections too.

Yeah it's benefited me physically as well, giving in to my body's "new" circadian rhythm. The sleep I get is more restorative. Not easy on my spouse though.

 

[Little Bluestem]

I saw a great sleep doctor and he said there are no effective treatments and that the best thing to do if possible is to adjust your life around your body's preferred sleep/wake schedule.

What an unusually sensible thing for a doctor to say!

The only way I can read for any length of time comfortably is by lying down in bed on my side, so I can't get much reading done during the day.

Assuming you have a sofa/couch, if you got a body pillow might you be able lay on your side there and read?

 

[*GG*]

What an unusually sensible thing for a doctor to say!

Shh, don't tell some in my family this. They think I should just get to be earlier, then I would be up earlier, like I used to be

Assuming you have a sofa/couch, if you got a body pillow might you be able lay on your side there and read?

Not sure how good the study is, but heard on the radio recently, John Tesh does some commentary, and it was found if you sleep on your Left side, you get better rest. Or was it the Right side. Ugh!

GG

 

[perchance dreamer]

Assuming you have a sofa/couch, if you got a body pillow might you be able lay on your side there and read?[/QUOTE]

@Little Bluestem, we got rid of our sofa and replaced it with comfortable chairs with foot stools. The 3 in our living room are in a line facing the TV.

We are having 17(!) in-laws over tomorrow for a party and will arrange them in a more conversational way than lined up like deck chairs on a cruise ship as we usually have them.

If I lie down to read during the day, I get really sleepy and can't really function.

 

[IreneF]

Shh, don't tell some in my family this. They think I should just get to be earlier, then I would be up earlier, like I used to be




Not sure how good the study is, but heard on the radio recently, John Tesh does some commentary, and it was found if you sleep on your Left side, you get better rest. Or was it the Right side. Ugh!

GG

Left side is better for your stomach for anatomical reasons.

 

[Glycon]

Left side is better for your stomach for anatomical reasons.

Depending on how normal and healthy are your innards, doesn't it?

 

[IreneF]

Depending on how normal and healthy are your innards, doesn't it?

Not unless your anatomy is reversed. Your stomach is tilted. If you lie on your left side things are more likely to go down instead of up. Try it some time when you have indigestion.

 

[Glycon]

Not unless your anatomy is reversed. Your stomach is tilted. If you lie on your left side things are more likely to go down instead of up. Try it some time when you have indigestion.

Not necessarily. (Hint: There is more inside your abdomen than just stomach. )

 

[WoolPippi]

Not necessarily. (Hint: There is more inside your abdomen than just stomach. )

I solved my lifelong sleep-through-insomnia by lying on my right side

Turns out my colon is making gas that blocks the hepatic bend at night, causing night sweats and insomnia. (No pain though, which is why it was never suspected to be Hepatic Flexure Syndrome)
Lying on my right side makes the gas bubble travel into the traverse colon.

After a while I turn on my stomach and stuff bubbles along while I catch some more zzz

For the first time in 40 years I sleep through the night!

(Not tonight though. I ate french fries yesterday and the colon bacteria are feasting on the starches...)

 

[Little Bluestem]

Not necessarily. (Hint: There is more inside your abdomen than just stomach. )

In IreneF's defense, she was talking specifically about the stomach.

 

[Glycon]

In IreneF's defense, she was talking specifically about the stomach.

Let me rephrase myself: There are things inside your abdomen that are NOT the stomach but affect what's happening with the stomach.

 

[DialRight]

Personally, I feel MUCH better and sleep less if I sleep at night and stay awake during the day. Sometimes happens that my daily regimen turns mad, so I go to bed about 5 AM, sleep for ~12 hours and feel awful when I awake.
When I try to fix it, I just can't go to bed early. So here is the solution that works for me. Instead of trying to sleep earlier, I just don't sleep for a whole night. So after a sleepless night, there are no problems of going to bed like 10 PM. After that, i wake up about 6 AM, go to sleep 10 PM, rinse and repeat. Feel much better this way, I sleep less and have more energy during the day. A sleepless night is a great way to fix your sleep/awake cycle.

 

[Valentijn]

A sleepless night is a great way to fix your sleep/awake cycle.

I tried that once when I had bad jet lag ... well, I tried staying awake a couple hours longer anyhow. My brain started partially shutting down. Vision was constantly flashing on and off, couldn't think straight, or walk properly either.

A couple days of melatonin worked for me. Of course, it made me feel like a zombie all day, but after a couple days I was sleeping normally again and didn't need to keep taking it.

 

[DialRight]

I tried that once when I had bad jet lag ... well, I tried staying awake a couple hours longer anyhow. My brain started partially shutting down. Vision was constantly flashing on and off, couldn't think straight, or walk properly either.

Yes, it's too hard to change your daily routine in just one day. If i can't do it in one day, two days usually enough. The first day I go to sleep at ~3 PM instead of 5 AM, then wake up midnight. After that, i'm able to stay awake until regular sleep hours.