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Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

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Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#71

Post by cachestash »

goldenkey wrote: post #66
SaintGhurka wrote: post #23

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

I had a sleep study done but was so uncomfortable I couldn't fall asleep...all the wires and crap. Waste of money.

Same happened to me. I felt pressured into sleeping and as a result, I could not sleep.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#72

Post by elcritch »

technofiend wrote: post #67
SaintGhurka wrote: post #23

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

Getting an APAP (auto-adjusting machine) was automated to the point that the barrier to entry is pretty darn low. An at-home study required me to sit through dead obvious instruction on how to equip and use the machine. Once I was prescribed a machine as a result of the study, the most time-consuming part was picking up a machine and sitting with a nurse to try on various masks. Since the machine itself is set to wha…

I’m not in a position to do a sleep study. But I’d like to self-monitor my sleep and oxygen levels. Do you know of any DIY projects in that area? In the future fitbits and Apple watches should automatically include sleep / oxygen quality. It’ll take getting past the FDA, but for the low cost of having that info bs the benefits society would gain... well DIy seems like a good way to trail blaze.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#73

Post by anonymousab »

SaintGhurka wrote: post #23

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

That said, it's not always a magic bullet.

I got a cpap after a sleep study found I had 80+ breathing interruptions in the short overnight test window.

It easily brought them down to The value is absolutely there in the greatly reduced likelihood of death in my sleep, and the white noise is better than snoring when sleeping around others. But I wouldn't want to get people's hopes up about it providing them the bad sleep panacea they desire.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#74

Post by cachestash »

SaintGhurka wrote: post #23

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

You're all going to think I am a crazy, but I instead elected to tape my mouth closed with 3m tape right when I go to bed. This to me is superior and should be your first port. Not only did it fix my apnoea and huge lack of energy during the day, but also my chronic sinus issues that had plagued me for years. Its also a lot cheaper, much easier to use / travel with and gets me into a good habit of nose breathing during the day. A CPAP machine is still reinforcing the poor habit that may well have contributed to your sleep abnormalities in the first place. Mouth Breathing. It costs $2 for a roll of 3m tape, so it's not like it costs a lot if its really not working for you.

Mouth breathing is horrendous for your health and well being. There is a good reason why it was ostracized in the past ("mouth breather" was an insult). It was a clear sign of poor health in an individual.

It's one of the best unknown health hacks out there.

https://askthedentist.com/mouth-tape-better-sleep/

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#75

Post by jmpman »

balfirevic wrote: post #41
SaintGhurka wrote: post #23

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

I wonder if it would be helpful to allow people who experience sleep issues to just get a CPAP machine and try it out, instead of having to go through a sleep study.

I bought a wearable blood oxygen meter as I was concerned I had apnea. A previous study was inconclusive (I don’t think I slept the whole night). If I sleep on my back, I’m certain I have apnea, but haven’t validated with the o2 meter. Sleeping on my stomach, my o2 levels were acceptable all night. Once I confirm apnea on my back, I’ll probably get another sleep study (I’ve gained at least 30lbs since the last), and a CPAP... just like my father.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#76

Post by balfirevic »

cachestash wrote: post #74
SaintGhurka wrote: post #23

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

You're all going to think I am a crazy, but I instead elected to tape my mouth closed with 3m tape right when I go to bed. This to me is superior and should be your first port. Not only did it fix my apnoea and huge lack of energy during the day, but also my chronic sinus issues that had plagued me for years. Its also a lot cheaper, much easier to use / travel with and gets me into a good habit of nose breathing duri…

> You're all going to think I am a nutball, but I instead started to tape my mouth closed with 3m tape

Wait, while sleeping or during the day? If while sleeping, isn't it dangerous?

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#77

Post by bradstewart »

elcritch wrote: post #72
technofiend wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting an APAP (auto-adjusting machine) was automated to the point that the barrier to entry is pretty darn low. An at-home study required me to sit through dead obvious instruction on how to equip and use the machine. Once I was prescribed a machine as a result of the study, the most time-consuming part was picking up a machine and sitting with a nurse to try on various masks. Since the machine itself is set to wha…

I’m not in a position to do a sleep study. But I’d like to self-monitor my sleep and oxygen levels. Do you know of any DIY projects in that area? In the future fitbits and Apple watches should automatically include sleep / oxygen quality. It’ll take getting past the FDA, but for the low cost of having that info bs the benefits society would gain... well DIy seems like a good way to trail blaze.

I can't comment on how accurate it is, but my Garmin Vivosmart measures sleep pulse ox.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#78

Post by tomato2juice »

cachestash wrote: post #74
SaintGhurka wrote: post #23

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

You're all going to think I am a crazy, but I instead elected to tape my mouth closed with 3m tape right when I go to bed. This to me is superior and should be your first port. Not only did it fix my apnoea and huge lack of energy during the day, but also my chronic sinus issues that had plagued me for years. Its also a lot cheaper, much easier to use / travel with and gets me into a good habit of nose breathing duri…

> You're all going to think I am a crazy, but I instead elected to tape my mouth closed with 3m tape.

It does sound a little crazy, but only because I'm surprised there's not a more comfortable solution. Tape on my mouth would prevent me from falling asleep.

Is there not some sort of mouthguard that blocks airflow, and thereby achieves the same result in a more comfortable, less sticky situation?

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#79

Post by dnissley »

balfirevic wrote: post #69
dnissley wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just got one a few weeks ago. Feel free to AMA. It stays on for me (medium to large size head, or so I think) -- tends to ride up on my forehead a bit over time but never had it fall off. It's got some adjustments that can be made to tighten/loosen the fit, on top of which there is some elastic in part of the band.

What prompted you to get one? Did you have any sleep issues, or was it just curiosity? If you had sleep issues, did it help?

I've had more and more trouble sleeping as I age, and in the past 2 years it's gotten way worse. I've tried all manner of things and had put off getting the dreem for a while since it was so expensive. I've been to the doctor who sent me for blood tests and also referred me to a urologist, but everything came back normal.

My specific issue: I get up in the night to urinate consistently at least 1-2 times per night, and then usually have a very difficult time getting back to sleep -- since my body seems to think it's time to wake up at that point, and starts thinking about literally everything. I'm a fairly anxious person by nature as well, which doesn't help my situation.

It seems as though there's a vicious cycle that I don't know how to deal with well, where I have a bad night of sleep, then try to go to bed early the next night, but it doesn't seem to help, and it messes up my sleep schedule a lot, which leads to even more problems.

I'm in the middle of what dreem calls their "sleep restructuring program", which is based on CBTI. What it's having me do right now is basically restrict my sleep to a short 6 hour and 45 minute window, with emphasis on a consistent wake time. The idea is to focus on increasing sleep efficiency -- basically time asleep divided by time in bed. As you increase sleep efficiency it gradually widens the sleep window.

In addition it's having me form other habits around night time awakenings like not staying in bed if I can't get back to sleep to short circuit the association between wakefulness and being in bed.

I can't say whether it's helped for sure yet (my sleep efficiency has gone up in the past 2 weeks from 70ish percent to mid eighties), but even with the reduced time in bed I do seem to have about the same energy as I did when spending much more time in bed.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#80

Post by dcolkitt »

SaintGhurka wrote: post #23

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

This may sound crazy, but for those who can't tolerate a CPAP, an effective alternative is playing the didgeridoo.[1]

Anecdotally my wife and kids were complaining about my snoring, and I bought one for $40 off Amazon. Not only has my snoring improved, but my lung capacity has improved. Plus it's just fun to play.

[1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360393/

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