Many "wakeful" periods - bad sleep or is "sensitive setting" wrong for me?

[andreabrie]

I never thought I got bad sleep until I monitored my sleep with fitbit!  I consistently get sleep efficiencies in the 50-60% range and have over two hours and between 10 and 15 wakeful periods a night.  On the other hand, when I use the "normal" setting, fitbit says I slept all night without waking up and I know that's not true either.  Suggestions?  Do I need to talk to my doctor about this?

[Hjane26]

Well, the sleep clinic doctor said he thinks it's Narcolepsy.  It's actually not surprising to me, given my issues over the years.  But I am scheduled for an overnight sleep test next month anyway, just to see what all is going on.  I'm also doing the test where I stay all day the next day and take multiple naps, so they can see what they think it is.  Either way, I hope they can help me feel rested one day again! It's been so long since I wasn't sleepy all day!

[colin99]

Hi all, I purchased my fitbit flex a couple of weeks ago specifically to help track my sleeping (I'm enrolled in the Sleepio program). "Normal" mode was definitely recording way too much sleep; "Sensitive" seems more realistic - the bad nights are the 2 hour sleeps; the good nights are 3 plus hours. The low sleep nights it records definitely correspond to nights that I feel I didn't sleep well. I've had bouts of insomnia since I was a teenager but only in the past 6 months has it turned drastically bad (I'm 45 now).

I was diagnosed with a mild sleep apnea last year but had a lot of difficulty getting used to the cpap machine. Now that the issues have gotten worse, I'm attempting cpap again - iffy results but each night I do seem to be able to use it for a longer time period (initially I couldn' t even fall asleep with it on - tore it off for many nights!).

Later today, I'm back down for a consultation with the sleep clinic I went to last year. I'm hoping they have some good advice or at least tell me that I'm on the right track with increasing exercise, restorative yoga in the evenings, and improving my sleep hygiene and diet. As long as there's no pills involved - I've had way too many side effects 🙂 

[Devee]

I certainly commiserate with you, Keeping Pace, but was surprised -and a
little ashamed of my self-absorption in this area - to realize there are
people who have even more difficulty getting enough sleep than I do!
Returning to the CPAP helped me a great deal. I've decided it is worth the
hassle and mild discomfort to get used to it again. Good luck!

[Devee]

Best wishes to you as you work on solving this stubborn problem!

[redd]

sorry to jump into the middle of the discussion, but a couple of years ago i had a sleep study done myself. they found nothing unusual and gave me a diagnosis of narcolepsy, due to the fact that i would get unusually tired around 3pm every day. i was overweight (not as much as today tho), so i definitely understand the frustration of all of you. the doctor tried me on several medications to help me stay awake, but unfortunately it was an epic failure. since then i have learned to manage the diagnosis with better sleep habits and actually getting enough sleep, which was a major issue to start with. i feel for all of you, and hope you all find an answer to your dilemnas. shlould you have any questions, please feel free to ask. 

[MCee]

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@3DS wrote:

Sensitive setting could pick up movements from others in bed ( your partner or pets).

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Or, also, as in my case, my pet hopping up in my bed at night (after he listens to me breathing and decides I am asleep enough not to bother shooing him off) disturbs not only my tracker, but me!  I strongly suspect pets sleeping in beds cause a lot of sleep problems for their humans.  When my dog wants to readjust his position, he gets up, turns in a few circles, and then loudly sighs as he collaptses into a ball again.  Wakes me up every time.

[Pam1268]

Thanks for the info, this might make a big difference on how its tracking my sleep. I have mine on sensitive, instead of normal. I tend to flip from side to side while I sleep, but I feel very rested when I get up. I will check see how it changes now.

Pam

[tiredbunni]

@Hjane26- I had two sleep studies done. First I don't have sleep apnea but I was also told I don't sleep well at night. Duh like I already didn't know that. I had my second for Narcolepsy. It was later I found out I was dx on my LTD review. It must be a milder form of it but I struggled for 20 years to stay awake each day. I'm losing the battle. I find myself asleep over the computer or at the computer. The Fitbit One can tell you there maybe there's something wrong but listen to your body. However mine is saying everything is okay when I know that I wake up unrefreshed. I just wanted to say you are not alone. I don't take any meds for it as they don't work and the side effects are way too much. Oh, I am in a trial study of a disease testing the Fitbit One. I wish you well on your tests and hope you get the help you need 🙂

[becomingafit50]

I just decided to read all of the sleep issues and I see I am not alone.  I don't have sleep apnea but I have always had issues with staying asleep even as a child.  The fitbit has merely confirmed what I already knew, but I am going to print out the reports and take to my doctor when I get my physical next month.  Tried Ambien (hated the hang-over effect) and now take three different OTC drugs (my nightly "cocktail") consisting of Unisom, Source Natural's NightRest, and Coffea Cruda.  It takes all three and most nights I sleep in the 90-93% efficiency range, meaning I still wake up often (and I remember 90% of the wake-ups beause I check the clock).  The most I sleep in a row on a good night is about 90 minutes, but, most of the time, it's less than an hour with my losing an hour to an hour and a half of sleep because of them.  And this is on the "normal" setting.  Also, I sleep with white noise because every little sound wakes me up.

I will be interested in seeing what my doctor makes of this.

[flguy]

I have made a few posts to this thread.  This current combination is working REALLY well for my sleep issues right now.  Even my wife notices I am dead to the world if she comes to bed after me, for example.  Normally we are always waking each other up with every movement throughout the night.  Lately I have been waking up at 6-6:30am FULLY refreshed and awake.  It's pretty amazing, but I cannot pinpoint 100% which change made the difference, or maybe it is all of them, but here in my nightly routine:

• Take 30 or 45mg of Restoril (temazepam) around 8:00pm.  Does't matter if this is with or w/o food.
• Carry on until 9:30pm-ish (tv, reading, computer, putting my son to bed, whatever)
• Around 9:30pm-ish get ready for bed and lay on my new Bulletproof Sleep Induction Mat for about 20 mins.  I set a timer on my iPad so I don't fall asleep on it
• 20 mins later put the sleeping mat away and turn on my iPad's Brain Wave Dream Inducer app.  I let it run for 5 hours.
• Sleep all night, maybe wake up once that I can recall.  Then up at 6-6:30am-ish feeling fully awake.  Definitely getting good REM sleep because I am having deep and vivid dreams, but nothing weird.
• Fitbit sleep efficiency is now mid- to high-80's, even getting into the low 90's one night. This is still on "sensitive" setting.  I was stuck in the 60's-70's previously.  I can definitely feel the difference.

I've been using the dream app for a little while now, so I don't think it's that.  I've also used the Restoril before but only at lower doses, and one time at the high dose but that happened to coincide with a really nasty cold I picked up, so not a great control scenario.  I thought the sleeping mat would be a gimmick but I am beginning to think there is something to it, either that, or the high dose of Restoril is actually working.  No sleep meds have ever worked for me before.

So, no real advice here.  Just some observations.

[becomingafit50]

Is Restoril prescription or OTC??

?
Benita Story
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[flguy]

Prescription. It's heavy duty. But way better than ambien, lunesta and sonata. None of those z-class drug ever worked for me.

[nursecarcar]

I am not sure if this might help.  If you limit the amount of fluids after 8pm you may have more comfort and less bathroom trips.  Hope this helps.

[becomingafit50]

It's not the trips to the bathroom that wakes me up.? In fact, most of my wake-ups are to check the clock and roll-over again.? Sometimes, though, going back to sleep is a real issue and I end up reading for a while in order to get sleepy once again.

?
Benita Story
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[Hjane26]

I have tried all the traditional sleep meds before, with no luck.  I have a hard time wrapping my mind around taking medicine for the rest of my life just to help me sleep.  I feel like there HAS to be an underlying issue, and I hope the doctors can help me figure out what it is.  I've had sleep problems for 14 years now, and I'm only 29.  That just doesn't seem normal to me...

On another note, they moved my sleep study up to last week.  I still won't have the results until next week, but it was an awful experience in my opinion.  Way too uncomfortable to actually sleep more than a couple of hours. I don't see how anyone can sleep during those things!  Then I had to take scheduled naps the whole next day as the 2nd part of the study.  I am pretty sure my anxiety got in the way of showing them the issues I have during the day, but I guess I'll know more when I talk with the doc next week!  

[becomingafit50]

My husband has been in two sleep studies for his sleep apnea.? I have no desire to put myself through it.? For me to sleep, things have to be just so, and none of them would happen in a sleep study.? Like you, I'd think they'd get the wrong idea thinking that it was worse than it really is and misread it.? It would go from waking up every hour or so and sometimes not being able to go back to sleep to not sleeping at all for me, which, most nights, I do sleep just not well.

I think I am going to have to find another way to get some shut eye.

?
Benita Story
www.basicallybenita.com.
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[SiberianWind]

Rosewein,

PLEASE use your CPAP! They really do help! I don't know how long ago you did your sleep study, but they have made advances since mine was done even in 2012. If you have insurance that helps pay for your machine, they should also pay for replacement tubing, and most DME companies (the company who provided your CPAP to you) will work with you and your sleep doctor to find a mask and machine that isn't as obstructive, noisy, or inconvenient to use. 

I didn't go to my year follow-up because I thought there wasn't anything they could do, but decided recently to go back in to have them do SOMETHING to help me. They ended up adjusting my pressure setting, giving me a new mask (my old one "whistled" too much for me to sleep with it), etc. They may be able (depending on the cause of your apnea) to solve your issue with an alternative treatment. It never hurts to ask them and let them know the issues. I found my doc was more understanding than I assumed he'd be.

[Ovakalla]

I normally do not wake overly rested, and on normal mode I spend netween 30 and 50 minutes flipping around according to my tracker.  I have between 16-I believe my high was 21.  Is this something i should be discussing with my doctor?  I have an appointment coming up but didn't know if I should bump it a few weeks to check on my sleep.  Thanks for any answers in advance and taking time to read this. 

[colin99]

Hi, unfortunately I can completely understand where you're coming from. My sleep issues started in my teens also and progressively got worse (I'm now a tired 45). I've had two sleep studies done in the past five years; the first one I don't think I slept at all so the data was very incomplete. The second was last year and they found a minor sleep apnea problem. I've had a rough time getting used to the machine but I'm back into it again - it took my sleep falling apart completely earlier this year before I started to push at it.

I'm also signed up at the Sleepio site. They discuss a lot of sleep hygiene issues, ways to deal with running thoughts (I'm plagued by anxieties) and setting up night time routines to aid in better sleep management. It's a very long-term project 🙂

[becomingafit50]

I would discuss this with your doctor, for sure.

?
Benita Story
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www.dyedinthewool.biz