Thursday:
Had a weird morning, Jasmine was still home way past the usual time she usually leaves to catch the bus so I asked her when she had to go. 8:50. Are you sure? She thought about it. Oh, 7:50! Aiden was still asleep as his school starts much later, I dragged him out of bed and put him in the car still in his pyjamas and drove Jas to school. Just made it in time. Don't know what happened to Jasmine's brain this morning.
That one good sleep I had the other night reminded me what a difference it makes. I am an altered person. When you're tired all the time you don't have much mental energy for work, emotional energy to resist junk food, or physical energy to exercise. After a good night's sleep I was suddenly able to do everything I feel like I "should" be able to do but usually don't. One of my major sleep issues is of course my sleep apnoea, and with the long hot humid summer I haven't worn my CPAP for months (it's the machine that keeps me breathing properly all night so I don't wake gasping multiple times an hour). Yes I know it is vital for my health, but before you get too disapproving, just imagine wearing a sweaty face mask in a sauna and trying to sleep with it on!
We are into autumn here now and the nights are cooling down, it's time to try my CPAP again. Hopefully by next summer I'll have lost enough weight to cure the sleep apnoea (in my case it's almost certainly a fat neck causing it, so losing weight should help). I'm also thinking about another option, a mouthguard that holds my mouth in a position that helps me breathe. It was offered to me originally as one of my choices (surgery is another option) but I decided to try the nose pillows first. It seems like a mouthguard that pushes my jaw forward would be difficult to sleep in too. But maybe I should try it. Has anyone tried one of those? The technology improves all the time, and I have seen advertisements for a new type.
Whichever I go with, I am determined to adjust my mindset. Not "I hate wearing this thing" but "this is helping me breathe smoothly all night".
A lack of sleep is definitely one of my triggers for eating poorly too! I think I might go and get my sleep checked for apnea. Sometimes i sleep for ten hours and still wake up tired and my Dad has a CPAP. I can see how uncomfortable it is sometimes, you poor thing.
ReplyDeleteThat definitely sounds like you should get it checked out. I was able to do the sleep study at home, with sensors strapped all over me. Weird, but better than trying to sleep in some kind of lab.
DeleteI had actually made an appt for my sleep study, but had to cancel when insurance wouldn't cover ANY of it, I'd have had to pay $850 out of pocket.
ReplyDeleteI blame most of my current symptoms on menopause (night sweats, alternating hot & cold) but may start taking low dose melatonin again - it seems to help.