Couldn't a poor sleep pattern just be a symptom of an illness?
Many sleep-deprived are overweight with all the consequences thereof.
Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
61–70 of 150 posts
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#62I'll keep saying it: sleep apnea is vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated. I had so many weird symptoms for so long, which all gradually started to disappear as I started to get my sleep apnea treated. Unless you're fat, doctors will rarely even consider the possibility. And once you do get a polysomnogram, the usualy course of action is to throw a CPAP machine at you and send you on your way, without much followup.…
I'm not so sure, my experience tells me differently.. I am a thin guy with very low body fat. As soon as I told my doctor that I had woken up 2-3 times with my soft pallet dry & semi-collapsed, also that I would wake up regularly with a dry mouth, he immediately sent me for a sleep test. I went and did the test and the results were that I had mild sleep apnea. The sleep doctor told me that they were ordering a CPAP m…
I had the same experience.
Sleep study was a complete joke - I slept in a creepy hotel like room in a clinic for maybe 3h total. Uncomfortable and totally different sleep then at home.
AHI of 5, given CPAP with no follow up. It really felt like this sleep Doctor got paid to hand out machines.
Hacked the settings, used it for 8months then quit cold turkey as a test. Felt the same.
My sleep improved more from:
Drastically reducing alcohol, smoking, weed. Septum correction and tonsil removal. Sleep alone in bed in complete darkness in a cool room.
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#63I'll keep saying it: sleep apnea is vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated. I had so many weird symptoms for so long, which all gradually started to disappear as I started to get my sleep apnea treated. Unless you're fat, doctors will rarely even consider the possibility. And once you do get a polysomnogram, the usualy course of action is to throw a CPAP machine at you and send you on your way, without much followup.…
What symptoms did you have, if one may ask?
(Not OP)
I would call it the no booze hangover. Sometimes the symptoms would be like a mild hangover. You wake up with a headache, still tired, and a little bit of a “what happened last night?” vibe.
Except that “what happened last night” was drink plenty of water and go to bed at a reasonable hour.
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#64I'll keep saying it: sleep apnea is vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated. I had so many weird symptoms for so long, which all gradually started to disappear as I started to get my sleep apnea treated. Unless you're fat, doctors will rarely even consider the possibility. And once you do get a polysomnogram, the usualy course of action is to throw a CPAP machine at you and send you on your way, without much followup.…
How did you get it treated? I've heard of the machines for this, but its not a very appealing option. I've also heard of exercises for neck/throat/jaw region, but do they work?
In regards to your last question, Yes, the exercises can/do work with helping to strengthen your throat area. Tying your jaw shut at night with a scarf, or taping your mouth shut, works as well. Another thing I learned, through a comment found here on HN, is how to force your sinuses to open up. Even if you are congested, close your mouth and try to breath through your nose. Eventually (usually not long) your body's need for oxygen will take over and open up your sinuses. Hope this helps but remember that I am not a doctor.
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not so sure, my experience tells me differently.. I am a thin guy with very low body fat. As soon as I told my doctor that I had woken up 2-3 times with my soft pallet dry & semi-collapsed, also that I would wake up regularly with a dry mouth, he immediately sent me for a sleep test. I went and did the test and the results were that I had mild sleep apnea. The sleep doctor told me that they were ordering a CPAP m…
This seems to jive exactly with what OP was saying. In that they diagnose you with apnea, throw a CPAP machine at you, and then do no follow up. I’m curious what part of this you are saying is not aligning with OP?
I'm not fat. I was immediately diagnosed and rushed to a sleep doctor.
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#66For me the number one issue in the industry for sleep health has been PagerDuty and chronic short staffing.
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#67So if I wake up in the middle of the night for two hours every day for 60 years, I can still technically live more years than those having a good night sleep. Unless we count the time we spend sleeping as living.
Well, if it doesn't take a lot of years off your life.
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
How did you chose your new mattress? I've had a hard time knowing from the short impressions in a mattress store if that mattress is really what I want or just feels nice for 5 minutes in a store
We've had good luck buying basic spring mattresses with almost no extra features and then experimenting with toppers. You can throw 2 or 3 inches of latex or memory foam on it and it gives you that instant comfort. Cheap spring mattresses seem to be getting harder to find online. I believe the margins are much higher on memory foam products.
Was looking for this type of comment.
My wife got a foam topper and an 'under mattress inflatable thing' for my bed about 10 years ago - it was like sleeping on a new bed. I think it was around $150 at the time. Possibly getting a new bed this year, but those gave new life for a long time.
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#69I'll keep saying it: sleep apnea is vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated. I had so many weird symptoms for so long, which all gradually started to disappear as I started to get my sleep apnea treated. Unless you're fat, doctors will rarely even consider the possibility. And once you do get a polysomnogram, the usualy course of action is to throw a CPAP machine at you and send you on your way, without much followup.…
why treat “sleep apnea” and not the actual root cause?
if you’re not fat and have sleep apnea, the other major cause is alcohol consumption/smoking.
seems odd to treat the symptom eg sleep apnea and not try to cut out alcohol and smoking and then reevaluate.
Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits
#70I really wanted there to be controllable habits listed in this article, but instead it was about sleep characteristics. Telling me that "having trouble falling asleep," or "having trouble staying asleep," or "not feeling alert upon waking" are working against me is useless to me. These aren't "habits." I'm not choosing to do them until they become routine. They just happen to me. Tell me how to FIX those things. Tell…
Even a lot of the more specific habits that do sometimes get recommended ("sleep hygiene") are:
1) Potentially expensive/disruptive (control of the sleep environment may imply moving house or installing soundproofing materials, air conditioning, etc.)
2) Contradictory (get out of bed if you don't fall asleep in 15 minutes, but also don't look at the clock)
3) Not individually tested or validated
4) Based more on old-school behaviorism than on anything specific to the processes of sleep.
EDIT: forgot an important one
5) Only addressed at difficulty falling asleep initially, not staying asleep or improving sleep architecture.