Can't fall back asleep :(

[Route67]

I am happy with my treatment so far; about 8 weeks in, I have learned to use the mask with no problems, and fall asleep easily [but then again, I always did fall asleep just fine]. I have also - thank GOD - solved my nocturia problem! Yaaaaayy.....no more getting up to urinate 5 or 6 times a night, that is such a relief.

However.....being 50 years old, I do have to get up at least once a night, around 4am, to relieve myself. From that point on, I get back in bed and nothing; just tossing and turning, mind racing, uncomfortable, etc....super frustrating.

Any idea's how I can get back to sleep? I usually go to bed around 11 or 12 at night and would love to sleep until 8 or 9 {I am self-employed, so no need for an alarm}. At that point, I believe I would officially be 'cured'.

Thanks all.....

[Sleepster]

My standard remedy: Get out of bed, take some behadryl, read until you feel sleepy again, and then go back to bed. Try to keep the light level as low as possible while reading. Eliminate caffeine from your diet.

[Route67]

Thanks, I don't drink any coffee [never have] and while I sometimes may drink soda or iced tea with caffeine in it, I never drink either after 6 or 7pm.

The problem with me is I seem to be telling myself "I know I won't fall back asleep now" and then it becomes self-defeating, over and over again for hours on end. I think about bills, or problems, a song starts playing in my head over and over, etc.......absolutely maddening.

Sometimes, same as before I started being treated for Apnea, I still look at my bed as the enemy. I wish I could ONLY look at it as my friend.

[JudgeMental]

Hey Route67..Glad things are going well. Only a few suggestions, that you have already considered, I,m sure. Glad the nocturia issures have easied, as they can be problimatic. As we (men) age, once or twice a night is very common, whether we are on CPAP or not.
On the occassions that I can not get back to sleep, which thankfully is rare, I lay there and constantly say to myself "I am going back to sleep". It usually works for me as I am a firm believer in mind psycotherapy. If that takes longer then I feel is working, then I resort to 3-5mg melatonin, which works great.
Good Luck.

[PaulaO2]

Hide your clock. Don't look at the time. Just get up, do your business, and lay back down. Keep telling yourself that you will fall back asleep because it is 11pm, not 4am.

Work on it during the day, too. Think of something that you can use your mind for. Maybe go on a mental hike somewhere or some other relaxing thing you normally do. Take your mind there.

Don't lay in bed and worry and fret. Get up to do it. Once you've circled the wagons and are mentally exhausted, go back to bed. If it starts again, get up. In psych terms, you are rewarding the behavior by remaining in bed. Get up. Teach your body that laying down means sleep, not worry.

Last resort is to talk to your doc about it. There's some time release sleep medication that works for folks like you. There's a window between 2 and 4 that many, many people wake up and cannot go back to sleep.

[ConnCarl]

It sounds like your situation is similar to mine...after years of chronic sleep deprivation, effective xPAP therapy would cause me to wake up after three hours or so.

Turns out that this is pretty common. Your body is accustomed to getting by on so little sleep, it's rested and ready to go on just a few hours of restful sleep.

I think you just have to learn to sleep through the night again, like a newborn. At least, that's how it worked with me. I eventually was able to sleep longer and longer until my sleep patterns normalized.

In terms of resolving your problem, I used to just stay up late. Personally I found it easier to extend my sleep in the morning.

Good luck! Carl

[Sleepster]

I used to hate going to bed early because I knew I would have trouble falling asleep. I would also wake up every 2-3 hours. After finally having enough of that I got diagnosed and went on CPAP therapy. That was almost one year ago.

I still have trouble falling asleep most nights, although it's not as bad as it used to be. I still wake up during the night, although it's not as often and I now find it easier to get back to sleep. It look a while for these things to happen. Improvement was gradual and it still continues.

I formed bad sleeping habits before CPAP. I'm gradually trying to break those habits. There's no telling how long I had untreated OSA, but I do remember complaining to a doctor about 20 years ago that I would wake up in the middle of the night with my heart racing.

I figure that if it took that long to form these habits, it's going to take a while to reverse them. I may still have trouble falling asleep, and I may still have trouble staying asleep, but overall I get a lot more sleep. And a higher quality of sleep.

Shifting focus from the part of my life I spend sleeping to the part I spend awake, there's a tremendous improvement in the quality of my life. I'm not one of those chipper people who go around feeling good every day, but on most days I feel a heck of a lot better than I did before CPAP therapy. In fact, I'd have to say that every day is better.

The improvements have been slow and gradual for me, and after almost one year, I'm continuing to improve.

[DoneDunIt]

I had a standard F&P CPAP set at 11 and would wake up at night several times and it was very hard to go back to sleep. I found a ResMed S9 AutoSet on Criagslist and have had the best nights of sleep since. I found from the Data collection that most of the night I did not need the higher pressures all though the night. Now when I wake up, the pressure is lower allowing me to go back to sleep quicker. With all the help I found from reading the post on this board, I have manged to get better sleep.

[Dennis of the NorthWet]

...... From that point on, I get back in bed and nothing; just tossing and turning, mind racing, uncomfortable, etc....super frustrating.

Any idea's how I can get back to sleep?

You are suffering from what I refer to as "sleep angst". It's a self fulfilling situation, a vicious circle, a being you own worst enemy situation.
One worries and frets so much about not being able to do something, and are so consumed with concern about the issue that you worry yourself into an inescapable corner. Relax......

When I'm too wound up about something to sleep, particularly as you describe after waking in the middle of the night, here's what has worked for me many times. It's a meditation tool (yoga of some sort) I picked up way back. BTW, I don't "meditate".

To prep yourself for this, remind yourself that whatever is keeping your mind in high gear will still be there the next day, and aggravating yourself with it for hours instead of sleeping won't help or make it go away. If the issue is really so important, get up and actually deal with it. Love yourself first.

When finding yourself in a sleepless turmoil, make yourself clear your mind of all thoughts. You will have to keep at yourself to STOP THINKING and RELAX, dammit ;' >.

To facilitate this process start with a full body relaxation exercise.

Lie comfortably on your back. Starting at your toes, and working your way up your body, slowly tense each muscle, as individually as you can discern, for about 10 seconds and then relax the muscle(s). Don't give yourself a cramp. Wait a few seconds to feel the relaxation before proceeding to the next muscle. When you get to your chest, move down to your hands and then up your arms, shoulders and finally ending with the muscles in your head. It's surprising how many muscles are in your head.

Take your time and feel the relaxation. Don't be in a hurry for anything to happen, just be "in" the sensations.

Very importantly; while doing this relaxation work, picture in you mind a blank white wall. Nothing, just a white haze. Think no thoughts, and when your mind inevitably takes off on a tangent, corral your thought and go back to the blank white wall. Think no thoughts.........

FWIW,
Dennis

[Route67]

Thank you Dennis and others, I really do wish it were that easy.

I am waking up with Nocturia [still] and when I lie back down it's extremely hard to get back to sleep.....I got maybe 3 hours total last night and feel like garbage today. But I will try your advice, my mind is not racing so much as playing songs and just driving me nuts.....I am semi-retired and lead a pretty stress-free life so I really have no idea why I can't just rest my mind and go back to sleep.