Vivid Dreams

[MouthBreatha]

I do not take any sleep aids, just something for anxiety. I've never had trouble getting to sleep except when I was untreated for acid reflux and I didn't know that was what it was. I learned a long time ago that alcohol messes up sleep cycles and makes for a lousy day the next day. When I do drink in the evening, I dream like a mother *** all night.

Thanks for the info about the sleep cycles. It all makes sense. I started on the CPAP on May 5th and my dreams got very vivid then gradually lessened so. Recently I was off the machine for about a week and a half because I had a sinus infection and it was making it worse because it dries me out quite a bit, even with higher humidity. I got back on a few days ago and the dreams have gotten very vivid again. Interesting. So now I am going to do my best to use it all night and not use that anti-anxiety medication and see what happens. With the anxiety, at least I know I can make certain behavioral / relaxation changes that will help with that; but if the medication is causing my sleepy/confused/ ect. problems, then there is nothing I can do to alleviate that except stop the medication. I am supposed to take 3 a day and most of the time I only take 1 so there really isn't much weaning off I can do.

[DocWils]

Depending on what type of med, you can move the time you take it to lessen the impact on your sleep cycle and maximise its daytime effectiveness, which si when you need it most. It usually depends on how long it takes to build up in your blood system.

[MouthBreatha]

I don't think so. I am pretty sure that taking it is causing daytime sleepiness and cognitive impairment as a direct side effect. So if I take it at 7 AM like I normally do, I am starting to feel sleepy by 10 AM and crash around lunch time. The afternoons are not much better. Just one dose (an not 3 as prescribed) stays in my system long enough to mess up most of my day. I was just curious if it could ALSO disturb my sleep cycles.

[me50]

My doc told me when my nose got dry inside to get a q tip and ut coconut oil on it then swab inide my nose. Once my nose hurt to touch and felt hard. After using thisonce a day for 2 days th problem was alleviated

[MouthBreatha]

Is there a good time of day to do that? I have nonalergic rhinitis so my mouth and nose always gets dry at night. CPAP makes it worse. I might as well give that a try.

[DocWils]

Answer to question one - it depends on what type of med you are taking (you never said which) - timing is everything, but most anti-anxiety drugs will make you relaxed or sleepy, and they do affect your sleep cycles in various ways.

Question two - q-tips in the nose? A bit dangerous, IMHO (one slip and ooops!) - you can buy salt water sprays and wet the nose that way, or buy salves (Bepanthen is the best for this) that you can inject into the nose cavity, then press the nasal walls together to spread it. Or you can irrigate the nose twice to three times a day with salt water.

[me50]

Answer to question one - it depends on what type of med you are taking (you never said which) - timing is everything, but most anti-anxiety drugs will make you relaxed or sleepy, and they do affect your sleep cycles in various ways.

Question two - q-tips in the nose? A bit dangerous, IMHO (one slip and ooops!) - you can buy salt water sprays and wet the nose that way, or buy salves (Bepanthen is the best for this) that you can inject into the nose cavity, then press the nasal walls together to spread it. Or you can irrigate the nose twice to three times a day with salt water.

As far as what time of day to use the coconut oil.....I used it in the morning when I woke up but did not hesitate to use it again if my nose was dry later on.

I only put the coconut oil on the inside of my nostrils and no place else. I suppose one could use a cotton ball but since I don't go anywhere but the inside of my nostrils, I wasn't concerned about the q tips. I do like the results of the coconut oil so I will just use a cotton ball from now on.

I was using q tips with tea tree oil to put on the outer part of my ear and a few other locations on my face (of course, I wasn't using the same q tip) but I will use cotton balls from now on just because.

I don't like using my fingers even though I wash my hands first.

[quiescence at last]

hi. of many hundreds of dream I logged (took note of when I woke) nearly all of them are during the period I associate with REM sleep due to the nature of my respiration rate and tidal volume. Of those hundreds, only a handful had the character of being agitating or scary. The remaining ones are often complex, yes, and detailed, containing oddities in plot or bizarre (not scary just strange) twists. You know the "elevator ride - buying 40 cans of tomato sauce - sand castle building - wet paint" dream which all made perfect sense the moment I awoke but was largely forgotten after just a few minutes.

The reason I may associate my dreaming to only REM periods may be because I usually awaken right after a period of REM sleep subsides or during the last throes of REM period.

Hope your dreaming is enjoyable.

QAL