Sleep and Bad Sleep

[DakAttack]

I'm hoping some of you guys might have some wisdom to share regarding my sleep problems. I don't know how prevalent sleep paralysis is, but I go through periods where I can get it once a week and sometimes periods where I get it only once a month. The experience always includes some kind of hallucination, either visual or auditory, and the feeling that either something is pressing down on me or something is approaching me. Sometimes I'm not sure it should be called a hallucination, since it's so much like a dream. I just happen to be unable to move until I force myself awake. These are problematic, and I've found no solution, but they take the silver medal to this next problem.

I get these bad dreams that never seem to end. They play on my fears in a very obvious manner, but during the dream it all seems so coincidental. I never wake from these naturally, and they never get better. They get worse, up until I'm feeling so completely stressed that I somehow realize that things aren't this way and that this is a dream, and I'm forced to force myself awake. Whenever I wake like this, I have a headache and it feels as though I never went to sleep to begin with. These dreams only seem to occur during the second half of the night, and I usually find myself forcing wakefulness in the mornings.

The reason I'm asking for help is that, lately, I've been having a lot of trouble feeling awake during the day at work. I think the root of my problems is that I become sore while sleeping and wake up to roll over, which compromises my deeper sleep cycles. I can't rely on coffee or other stimulants, because they worsen my anxiety. I'm kind of at a loss for a solution, beyond booking an appointment with a doctor, but that's my last choice. I've spent most of my PTO for this year already, and I need to keep what I've got left for actual needs.

[Etra]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

Sleep paralysis isn't something you can treat on your own (normally.) Besides making sure you set yourself on a regular sleep schedule and get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night, there's not much else you can do. Sleeping on your stomach may also help you fair better. However, most causes of this sort of thing are stress, bi-polar or similar conditions, medications/drugs. You will have to see a doctor to get this sorted out. He may suggest putting you on antidepressants or check to see if you have cramping in your body causing this (chest, leg, etc.)

See a doctor. We can't really help you out.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

Do you stay up too late to get the proper 7-8 hours of sleep or do you keep yourself up with work and games?

It sounds like sleep deprivation.

When I went through something similar (my "crazy" from a few years back) it came back in the form of panic attacks, agoraphobia (even in FFXI HNM camps, another reason for me to hate them) and sleep paralysis. No nightmares, but them my dreams are either unmemorable or totally non-sequitur. I think I only had that sense of a presence once or twice.

So I eventually cut out FFXI and most games where I plan my time around other people. Took some time, but I got back to normal sleep eventually.

I had the run around from doctors, being sent around to everything I didn't need but a sleep therapist. I wound eliminate thing that prevent stable sleep, like soda, coffee, cigarettes. Any strong uppers. Drop MMOs if, they are sleep vampires and have stressful elements due to stupid people and drama. If it is not a game you can take on your terms, drop it. Same goes for activities you feel obligated to do but don't really like (well except household chores, loving the wife and kids/dog. Talk to a doctor (dont care just go)loved ones, hell, talk to you dog. Don't bottle so much up.

If its the job, maybe it's time to look for something else. If life is monotonous, mix things up. That's about all I can tell you.

[Takelli]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

There could be a few things you do before you go to bed to help relax if its stress related. Do some meditation, or Yoga. Helps relax the mind and Body.

Have you tried Herbal teas as well? Seeing as you don't want to go to the docs for this, seems like it might be a good idea to do a few things that could help you relax some.

But, the best bet would be to go to the docs.

[Nandito]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

Adding along with all the above;

get a better mattress.

[DakAttack]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

I go to sleep around midnight and wake up at 7am, so that's not terrible. I cut out caffeine around 5pm, and League of Legends around 8pm. The frustration that game can cause doubles when I become frustrated that I let it frustrate me in the first place. I've been reading before bed, GRRM's A Clash of Kings, which helps.

Has nobody else woken up the wrong way and felt as though the entire night's rest was ruined?

[Armando]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

Has nobody else woken up the wrong way and felt as though the entire night's rest was ruined?

Whenever I sleep less than 8 hours I feel tired all throughout the day even if I sleep as much as 7 hours, which you'd think would be good enough (then again, some studies suggest 8 hours isn't enough to begin with.) Also if I don't drink a lot of water the night before I wake up all thirsty and feeling terrible. On the other hand when I drink a lot of water I wake up wanting to pee pretty badly.

Something I've been toying around with whenever I'm feeling too tired at work is taking a 20 minute nap during my lunch break. Got the idea from this Lifehacker article. It basically explains that napping is not the same as sleep and even if it takes you 30+ minutes to fall asleep, you can still benefit from a 20-minute nap, because the goal isn't to go into deep sleep. It also suggests you use pzizz to help you nap. You're not going to overcome a heavy sleep debt this way but it does help. I know not everyone has the time to nap during their break though.

I also read some article recently about how sleeping positions can screw up your sleeping. The tl;dr was that sleeping face-down can be hard on your back but can help snoring, sleeping face-up is best, and sleeping sideways is second best but you need a thicker pillow to span the gap your shoulder creates and you should consider putting a pillow between your knees to keep your spine aligned.

Here's some other miscellaneous stuff you could try, though I don't know if any of this would help you with your nightmare problem.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

The tl;dr was that sleeping face-down

First thing to come to mind when I processed that string.

Some good advice, though.

[Neverslip]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

I'm sure you already took this step to educate yourself a little. But, here's the link to generic-wiki anyway.

Sleep paralysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I recently mentioned this to my doctor at my physical. We believe my isolated instances (not like yours) is due to my body falling into REM before my mind is actually asleep. Because it's pretty rare (yet memorable and slightly perturbing) my doctor didn't think I really needed to worry. If the frequency was greater then he'd suggest a sleep study. For me, he only wanted me to eat healthier and get a earlier sleeping pattern (typically I go to sleep between 1130pm-2am, still do). I haven't had any instances in a long while. I would say that the frequency you are experiencing this would definitely warrant bringing it up to a doctor's attention. Good luck.

[Aeni]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

The experience always includes some kind of hallucination, either visual or auditory, and the feeling that either something is pressing down on me or something is approaching me.

Oh ... so that's what it is. For the longest time, since I was a teen, I thought it was some malevolent spirit messing around with me. I mean, I only experienced it twice, and it's been nearly two decades since, but man, people would tell me some bad spirit didn't like me and tried to suffocate me in my sleep. Well ... those two episodes did accompany nightmares ... and they were pretty effed up nightmares to boot.

[DakAttack]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

The first time was made all the more strange because my father had told me in some old wise-man way that "One day you'll wake up in the middle of the night, but you wont be able to move. Just stay calm and it'll be okay." Of course I didn't stay calm, and I ended up waking myself, which, from the feel of it, must be the most egregious thing a person can do to their own body.

[Aeni]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

The first time was made all the more strange because my father had told me in some old wise-man way that "One day you'll wake up in the middle of the night, but you wont be able to move. Just stay calm and it'll be okay." Of course I didn't stay calm, and I ended up waking myself, which, from the feel of it, must be the most egregious thing a person can do to their own body.

Yeah, my first experience, I immediately panicked. It felt like I was both drowning (my lungs being filled with water) and suffocating all at once. Couldn't yell or scream, well, attempted to but no sound came out, and I had a hard time just trying to "wake up". That was accompanied by a nightmare about being adrift in the ocean on a tiny boat, in a black, black sea, on a moonless night. I think it was also a sea squall/storm, as the boat was tossing and turning.

My second experience was a couple of weeks living with my (then) girlfriend and essentially the same kind of physical sensations but a different dream. In it, there was a mob of angry, faceless people (maybe even night marchers) making their way up the street to my girlfriend's home, calling out my name, wanting to lynch me, maybe. And there was a cold, but heavy presence in the room, and it felt really dark, even though the bedroom light was still on. Scary stuff.

[Armando]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

Goddamn. That sounds fucking terrifying.

[DakAttack]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

One of the earliest experiences I can remember was pretty simple. I was aware I was lying on my side, and I could hear children laughing and playing. It didn't become concerning until I could feel some presence slowly approaching me. Another time I was laying in bed at home, and I could hear the dog sniffing through my trash, eventually stopping beside my bed to stare at me. I knew he wanted outside, but I couldn't seem to move or sit up. Once I finally woke myself up, I was in my college apartment, on campus.

One of the worst was a dream of being in the back seat of a car that turned down a thin road. The road fell away and the car slowly drifted into the darkness below it, and then slowly disappeared until only I was left. At this point I realized it was a dream, but I couldn't wake myself from it. I was still in the dark when I began to feel hands pushing down on my body, pushing me further into the darkness. That one still gives me the creeps.

[Phanex]

Re: Sleep and Bad Sleep

Yea you diffently need a sleep study done.

I had the pressure on the chest once before, while i was under a lot of stress, no job, new town, etc, etc, but then my cat started to sleep on top of me and i hadn't had it since.

I recently went to the doctor cause i was having heart attack like symptoms every other week, chest pain, pain in left arm, numbnes in left arm and leg, shortness of breath, heart rate up to 120+ b/m. always at night mind you. DRs ran every test they had and no damage, no heart attack, no stroke, nothing. Then they asked me one question...do you sleep well at night? they sent me for a study and found out i had sleep apnea. it can cause all sorts of problems from memory issues to heart issues.

Long story short, go see a DR or request a Sleep Study.