FYI - What a diagnosed Narcoleptic's sleep patterns look like.

[JeanetteLH]

I know that a lot of you like to compare your sleep patterns to others' so you can see if your sleep is in the normal range. A lot of you suspect that you may have a sleeping disorder such as Narcolepsy or Hypersomnia. From what I've read, experts believe that there are many people suffering with undiagnosed sleeping disorders, so don't be afraid to bring this up to your physician, and advocate for yourself. My primary care physician initially just thought I was tired because I had four small children. Fortunately (well, in terms of getting a diagnosis is was fortunate), I was suffering from some other symptoms that pointed to more of a sleeping disorder as opposed to just the daytime sleepiness, so he referred me to a Pulmonologist who speacialized in Sleep Medicine. I did an overnight sleep study and a sleep latency nap study the following day. The criterion for a diagnosis of Narcolepsy (at least it was in 2006) is a sleep latency (time it takes to fall asleep) of less than five minutes for five naps (20 minutes max length) that are spaced two hours apart, and you must enter REM sleep in at least two of the five naps. 

Here is a sampling of my sleep patterns according to my FitBit. I've definitely seen a lot worse on here. LOL That's why I'm posting this so that some of you might feel confident enough to tell your docs that you think there might be something more than just your average sleepiness. Now, I will say that part of the problem for Narcoleptics is not spending enough time in the most restorative stages of the sleep. Fitbit only records "restless" and "deep sleep" and of course it's not based on brain waves, so there's no way to know when you've been in REM sleep, etc. However, it gives you a pretty good idea of the amount of sleep you're getting.

I tried to include a wide sampling, showing some of my best and worst nights. Also, I  have it set to sensitive and dominant hand, but wear it on my non-dominant wrist to see if sensitivty was decreased. I've worn it on both wrists with the same settings and I don't think I noticed a huge difference.

Have fun analyzing!

[SleepyHeather]

Does it track it when you fall asleep during the day?

I'm diagnosed narcoleptic as well, and when I get sleep attacks during the day they occur often without warning... Will it automatically log it when this happens and tell me how long I've been asleep?? Because that's what I want a Fitbit for... To tell me total hours slept per 24 hours not just at night. 

[Sbeamis]

Yes.

[Manbearpig7734]

You have to sleep longer than 2 hours.  And then it's like it guesses your rem state based on what the average person's rem state looks like.   It will never show you go right to REM even though that's what a narcoleptic does. So it's a little flawed.  But it will track if you fall asleep and stay asleep.  If you fall asleep for a minute or two it will not work.

[Sbeamis]

Oh good to know.

[SleepyHeather]

Thank you!!! That's exactly what I wanted to know. 

[Manbearpig7734]

 

[Manbearpig7734]

 

[Manbearpig7734]

 

[Debs79]

Do you have Narcolepsy? Just curious.

[Manbearpig7734]

Yes

[Sbeamis]

I'm border line of Hypersomnia (HyperSomnolance)/Narcolepsy

[SleepyHeather]

I actually ended up getting an Honor Band 5, and while I must sleep 3 hours or more to see the stages of my sleep, it does automatically log my sleep, whenever it happens for however long it lasts. The shortest one I've seen so far was 9 minutes. 

However, unlike a Fitbit, my sleep stages show I go directly into REM sleep, every single time I fall asleep, and usually right before I wake up as well... I really am looking forward to comparing it with my PSG and MSLT results. 

[Debs79]

I had a feeling you were by the looks of your sleep logs. They look really similar to mine. I have narcolepsy too. 

[Manbearpig7734]

Ya let me know the results I may switch over.

[Manbearpig7734]

I've never met another Narcoleptic before. I kinda want to meet one just
to see if we share any other similarities. For example I am an ENTP
personality type. I have a theory that some of the great minds (Einstein,
Davinci, etc were actually Narcoleptic). They said they had a strange
sleeping pattern and slept multiple times per day but narcolepsy was not
very well known back then.

[Debs79]

Interesting I'm ENTJ. Those 2 are pretty close. Some people have theories about birth month and Narcolepsy too. I was born in April. There are a lot more of us out there. A lady I work with has a husband with Narcolepsy. Back in 2016 Global Genes hosted a Narcolepsy Meetup in a few locations across the country. I went to the Chicago meetup and it was really cool to meet and talk to others with Narcolepsy. They gave us VIP treatment including free rooms and parking downtown, every meal was catered and even a free open bar LOL. I hope they will have another one because it was a good time. 

[Manbearpig7734]

Also, cool. I live in Missouri about 4 hours fromme Chicago. Never been

[BuckeyeKt]

Thanks everyone for sharing. I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy without Cataplexy in 2014. Began treatment  with medication and my life has improved a ton! Regular exercise and other healthy lifestyle changes have also helped. I bought a Fitbit in late December ‘19 to track steps and exercise more accurately. The sleep tracking was a bonus but I question how accurate it is since I’m sure my sleep is far from “typical,” even with medication.

[Cwifters]

Totally agree. I've got narcolepsy and know how i sleep all too well - straight into REM and stay there most of the night. I am usually pretty lucid and quite aware of dreaming. Had my Fitbit for about a week now and its estimated sleep stages are a load of crap. It's just trying to take the "normal" percentage range for each stage and then best guess when in the night i was in each. This does not work if the time u spend in each stage is not "normal". OK for recording the amount of time spent asleep and awake tho. Ive attached my sleep result for a night as an example. Definitely far from normal sleep cycles, but most of the light sleep shown i was in REM.

 

[Manbearpig7734]

When combined with your heart rate, you can tell exactly when your falling
asleep every time. Takes a lot of scrolling and some math. I'm about to
have to use all the stuff in court because they've been denying my
disability.