Restless 30-45 x / night

[sbear]

I've been monitoring my sleep since I've gotton my Fitbit about 1 1/2 months ago, and it says I've been reslesss around 30-45x / night and awake 3-8x/ night, losing around 2 hours of sleep per night. I've checked the sensitivity and it is set on normal. Even before I got my fitbit, I've always been tired during the days, needing at least one nap and having to got to bed early each night. I've cut out all caffeine out of my diet to see if that would help, and nothing!

Does this mean anything??

[ShelleyG]

I too suffer with poor sleep.  I blame my age probably caffiene intake also.  Lots of things can factor in to poor sleep.

[Jeroen]

Try to look for external influences, noices, open windows, a wrong pillow, electronic signals, seems like thats where you have to find your solution.

[laschingert]

sbear: Have you made changes or seen a doctor about this? I just started monitoring my sleep with my new Fitbit One and have observed consistently that I sleep only 3–5 hours a night when I am in bed for 8–9 hours.

[Ezmerilda]

Sleep is also an issue for me. Broke down and did a sleep study, guess what I'm a light sleeper! Told them that when I went in.  So looking for any new solutions. Best I've done is start using a combination of Melatonin and an antihistamine (benedryl, Zyrtec, claritin, etc) at least helps me fall asleep. Feel confident that its safe as my 5 yr old grand daughter's  ped  suggested. Doesn't help a lot with the restlessness though...

[laschingert]

I know you are probably in a different state, but what did you pay for your sleep study? I have been considering one. I am sure I will be told that I am a restless sleeper too. I am in bed for 8-9 hours and get 3-4 hours of sleep a night. I don't think I have any of the sleep disorders. I am worried about taking melatonin because if you take it a lot it stops your body from producing it naturally. What does the antihistamine do? I heard someone tell me that Magnesium supliment help with sleep too. I have to research that.

Last night I got one extra hour of sleep than I usually do (yay!) I took a warm shower right before bed and read in bed rather than watch TV to wind down. I plan to stop drinking beer after work (only one, but it can inhibit sleep) too. I follow all other sleep hygene techniques already. Ugh!

[Arleens383]

have you tried GABA and 5-HTP?   For years, I would rarely sleep very hard until I found these.  They help my brain shut down so I could relax and sleep.  

[Ezmerilda]

Laschingert,

I'm from Michigan and have Blue Cross. Insurance paid for the study so I don't know what the cost was, just that I was very dissapointed in the reccomendations given and the lack of 'listening' the 'therapist' did. So again, as so many of us have found, the medical proffession is more interested in what they can get paid for than actually helping, (sleep apnea is a $ maker). 

I don not know what the magic is with the combination of Melatonin and an antihistamine is, just that a pediatrition suggestion suggested it for my 4 yr old grand daughter. It worked for her and both of her sleep deprived grandmas! As to taking melatonin causing the body to quit producing it I had not heard that before. 

Exercise DOES seem to help. 

[lvmcamy]

So, I have no idea how to improve my sleep. Has anyone changed their mattress and greatly improved their time asleep?

My sleep time ranges from 1hr, 44 min today (!!!) to almost 4 hours, and that was when I was in bed for almost 9 hours. Average is about 2 1/2 hours of sleep. I'm kind of at a loss on what to do about this. I exercise, have cut down my caffeine to 1 cup of coffee first thing in the morning, but I always feel tired and generally crappy. I am mildly depressed, but I have a very busy job and busy life, with great kids and a supportive husband, so I don't think about it or spend much time dwelling on it. I am 41, am 10 pounds overweight, but eating healthy and plan to lose it in the next few months, and I have no health problems. No one in my family has ever had sleep apnea. I have no health insurance, so a sleep study is not an option and I'm unwilling and cannot afford to take medication or wear CPAP, so I don't know what a sleep study would even tell me that would help. I think my mattress is really, really uncomfortable, but it is almost 10 years old and I guess I don't want to spend $1,000 and find out it doesn't change anything. I think I am depressed about these poor sleep numbers since I got my Fitbit for Christmas! When I changed my Fitbit to "sensitive" it basically said I wasn't sleeping at all, but in "normal" I'm still getting less than 4 hours per night, with at least twice that time spent in bed. Just weird to have this tool, but nothing to do to solve it. I plan to slowly eliminate caffeine (trying to avoid the headaches right now), and I am going to increase my exercise as much as my schedule permits. I ran a marathon several months ago, but had to give up many aspects of my life to fit it in, so I really wish I knew if my sleep numbers looked better then. It is not an option for me to exercise that much again due to how much time it took. And I was EXHAUSTED while I was training for that baby, ha!!

[Hbressler]

Been researching this. Sounds like sleep apnea. I have this issue, too and going in for a study in a few weeks.

[laschingert]

I barely snore, maybe once a week for a little bit. Sometimes I snort myself awake, but that is usually when I start to fall asleep, and again, it is maybe once a week. I doubt it is apnea.

[Kitsboy]

First off I would think if you were in bed for 8-9 hrs and only asleep 1-3hrs you would be very aware of this fact. That's not much sleep. My guess is your fitbit is probably faulty. Good way to test is have someone else sleep with it and see what they get. 

[Ezmerilda]

I think the comment above was a good one. Some of the newer sleep studies, particular for apnea are much less expensive and basically involve you picking up a monitor, hooking it up and sleeping at home, returning it and having a tech look at the read out. Gives a quick-n-dirty apnea eval. 

I did the much more involved sleep study and was told "you are a light sleeper, everything wakes you up" No jike, thats what I told them! Thankful for insurance on that one. 

You might try something simple like the pain reliever of your choice before bed and see if that changes the pattern. If it does then discomfort may be keeping you awake. 

Then perhaps look at a mattress topper (tempur pedic style) far less $$ than the etire mattress. 

Again (said it before on here) my current sleep aid is 10 mg of melatonin (OTC) WITH an antihistamine (Zyrtec for me) lots of folks like benedryl (keeps me wired!)  along with ibuprophen for the aches and twinges of 'old' age. Worth a try and pretty safe in the drug department. Try it, check your sleep pattern. Ya never know.

[duanefn]

Hi Esmerilda, the melatonin is a great product but benadryl will keep you from moving into REM sleep.  Many people use it for sleep but then the restlessness occurs and they often do not connect the dots.

duanefn

[duanefn]

Kitsboy, this is good advice.  I changed the fitbit to my non-dominant arm.  Same results decreased hours asleep and restless.  Had my partner sleep with the fitbit.  His readings were great.  I think my results might be right.

[thor0298]

I had this issue and had a sleep study back last September. I found out I wake up around 80 times an hour and never reach REM sleep. I got a cpap back then and have used it everyday since. I show almost no restless on my fitbit. For me, it made a dramatic difference in my life. Also previous to this I had tried melatonin and various prescriptions. I now am off prescriptions and sleep well

[lewiswolk]

I find exactly the same thing with me. Been monitoring my sleep for 2 weeks and on avg I am awake 15 minute 5x and restless between 60-80 times adding up to 31x a night. No wonder I am always tired even when I go to bed at 8:30 and wake up at my normal 4:50am for work.

Kinda scary lol.

[briana928]

I can sort of relate to your situation. I have multiple chronic illnesses, most of which highly affect my sleep quality (Fibro, Chronic Fatigue, EDS). I got a sleep study done a few years ago because I was having problems falling asleep at random. It became so severe that I was falling asleep while driving. The sleep study was covered by my insurance. During the 8 hour study, they found that I never went into a deep sleep and moved over 800 times during the night. They kept me the next day for further study. They had me lay down for a nap every hour and a half to see if I could fall asleep and how quickly. I fell asleep every time. They ended up diagnosing it as "hypersomnolence" which to me is the same as CFS.

I took sleeping pills for many years but the last year I have weaned myself off and now only take melatonin. I think I slept better on the sleeping pills but I hate to be dependant on them. When I do feel decent when I wake up, its usually the nights that I dont play on my phone before bed. Knitting and reading help wind me down. Still working on getting better sleep...and better health for that matter! Any suggestions are welcome ❤️

[LalaMansoni]

I have been working on my sleep for a while now, and it is finally getting better.  I have to be really conscious about what I am doing, right from the beginning of the day.  It sucks, but I can only have one double shot coffee before 9 am. I don't black tea after mid day, and green tea after 3 pm.  I need to watch what I do at night.  If I am on my computer or phone within 2 hours of bedtime, I don't sleep well at all.  I can watch tv, but I need to have all the lights off in the room, just so it is fairly dark.  I take melatonin sometimes, and magnesium daily.  I think a good bed helps, and I need my bedroom completely pitch black.  Sometimes, I take valerian in the evening to feel a bit more relaxed.  I had breast cancer this last year, so shutting off my mind is the real challenge.

[LalaMansoni]

Sorry, but I also wanted to say that sugary drinks (Coke, Diet Coke) keep me awake too.  I am super caffeine sensitive.