Sleep Issues

January 28, 2005

For the last few weeks I've been having trouble sleeping. Actually,

more STAYING asleep. I go to sleep fine, but most of the night I keep

waking up - it seems to be at the end of every REM cycle, at least the way

I understand them. Actually, most nights those seem to be messed up

also.

The way I understand it, the first cycle lasts for about two hours (or is

it three?), then 90 minutes thereafter. That 2-3 hour one seems to

happen in the middle of the night. Last night, for example, I woke up

after 60 minutes. Back to sleep - woke up 45 minutes later. Then 90

minutes later. Then three hours later. Then about 90 minute cycles

till I got up. Granted, the cat sometimes has something to do with this

" Hi Mom! Roll over so I can sleep on you! " but not to this extent.

I hadn't changed that much in terms of food etc. when this started - last

week I started being a good little girl and taking all my supplements

again, but that didn't really change anything in terms of the sleep patterns.

So I throw this question out there ... are there any specific things

(dietary, I guess) associated with waking after each REM cycle? I'm

talking wide awake here, not just a vague thing, roll over and go back to

sleep. It's been very consistent for at least three weeks. Sometimes

I wake up it feels like it should be 4 AM, and I groan and think " no, I

don't wanna have to get up soon " , but then I look at the clock and it's,

like, 11 PM. I FEEL like I slept more than I did during those earlier

evening wakings (even though I don't want to get up). Very strange.

I'm not explaining this very well ... ring a bell with anyone, though?

MFJ

Everything connects. The Universe is not THAT chaotic. Beauty can

still be found in the most amazing places.

January 28, 2005

At 03:05 PM 1/28/05 -0600, you wrote:

>

>Don't know if it relates, but I noticed I could sleep better when using

extra blankets.

>For some reason the weight of all the blankets is reassuring and relaxes

me. When

>using thin, scrawny blankets, I tossed and turned from restlessness perhaps

>because I'm a hefty guy. (I'm not talking trash bags.)

>

>Darrell

Heh. Thanks, Darrell - I like the weight too, more than the warmth.

That hasn't changed, though ... except perhaps the extra 10 pounds of

CatCat trying to sleep on my butt. :-D

MFJ

There is a fine line between eccentric ... and people who are just plain

nuts. ~ Lavin

January 28, 2005

At 12:38 PM 1/28/05 -0800, you wrote:

>

>>> So I throw this question out there ... are there any specific things

>(dietary, I guess) associated with waking after each REM cycle? <<

>

>Falling estradiol levels. How old are you? What are your menstrual cycles

>like if you are still menstruating?

>

>Christie

Hmmmmm. Will be 42 in May. Most of my life, cycles were fairly

normal (don't remember exact length of full cycle), but pretty light and

short - 3 days light bleeding, first day always heaviest. Little over a

year ago after I'd lost about 50-60 pounds, I switched to WAP diet and

starting fixing other internal things, biggest one being hypothyroidism

(man, you shoulda SEEN the size o' that goiter!) ... at that point things

changed. Cycle runs 24-28 days, but bleeding lasts more like 4 - 6

days, first three days pretty danged heavy, and I'm lucky if I get off with

four days in all, five seems to be standard. When the full cycle runs

short of 28 days, the " short-timing " is between date of last bleeding and

ovulation - I've been known to start ovulating 8-10 days after start of

last. I also apparently became susceptible, for a while, to PMS for a

couple of days, which had NEVER happened before. LOL - my boss learned

when to not be ... errrrr ... inconsistent in her instructions during those

times. That part seems to have stopped, for the most part, other than

generic mood - but I don't bite people's heads off any more.

MFJ

There is a fine line between eccentric ... and people who are just plain

nuts. ~ Lavin

January 28, 2005

MFJ:

>

> >So I throw this question out there ... are there any specific things

> >(dietary, I guess) associated with waking after each REM cycle? I'm

> >talking wide awake here, not just a vague thing, roll over and go back to

> >sleep. It's been very consistent for at least three weeks.

> Sometimes

> >I wake up it feels like it should be 4 AM, and I groan and think " no, I

> >don't wanna have to get up soon " , but then I look at the clock and it's,

> >like, 11 PM. I FEEL like I slept more than I did during those earlier

> >evening wakings (even though I don't want to get up). Very strange.

> >

> >I'm not explaining this very well ... ring a bell with anyone, though?

> >

I find I don't sleep as well in the winter, when I don't get the sun and

exercise. Going out and doing something physical in the yard really

helps ... as does lifting weights. Also if I don't get enough food

(starches specifically) in the evening I won't sleep through the night.

The food thing is why I switched from mostly morning eating ( " eat like a

king in the morning " etc.) to the Warrior Diet ( " eat mostly in the

evening " ). Both eating plans have the bulk of your food in a 4-5 hour

window, and both work for me, but if I don't eat in the evening I won't

sleep through the night, which I find aggravating. Starches stimulate

the production of serotonin. Also most animals DO sleep after eating.

Hunger is a signal to your body that it's time to go hunt some more food!

-- Heidi Jean

January 28, 2005

,

My patterns of sleep aren't quite so erratic as yours, but they are very

similar. Whenever I'm having digestive problems, it usually a matter of

waking after every two to 2-1/2 hours, feeling a little cold and having to

go pee, but soon after feeling too hot (as in a hot flash, but not bad

enough to sweat). There is also likely to be one long period of not

sleeping (from 2-3 hours), usually between midnight and three which I

understand is somehow connected to the workings of the liver. My stomach

usually feels gassy and burning and my mind is going like crazy. When I

fall asleep, I often have really bad dreams that are hard to shake even

after I wake.

I was having all those problems while drinking milk and eating loads of

cream and I am sleeping much better now that I've given those up. I'm now

waking only once or twice a night and usually getting in about 7-8 or more

hours total. But some nights when I wake I do have to take something for my

tummy before I can get back to sleep. Probably because I'm still having 1-2

T of butter a day. I think the milk and cream (and to a lesser extent the

butter), besides being a possible casein problem (since it was all clabbered

or soured, I'm thinking probably not lactose, but who knows) may also have

enough estrogen in it to bring on those hot spells.

The something I take is grated ginger and honey in eyebright tea. I have no

idea why/if the eyebright helps my digestion, but there's something about

the bitter taste of it that seems to help me. In any case, it's been good

for my eye problems. <g>

January 28, 2005

> There is also likely to be one long period of not

> sleeping (from 2-3 hours), usually between midnight and three which I

> understand is somehow connected to the workings of the liver.

>

Years ago I had the same problem only between 4-6 AM. Chinese medicine chart

said that was liver time then. Thought about that chart recently, searched

net to no avail as I couldn't find in any of my books.

Wanita

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January 29, 2005

,

These are called premature awakenings. There are 5 stages (some categorize

four) the brain goes through in the sleep cycle. It then repeats the cycle over

and over again through the night. Normally there is a waking state for a few

seconds between the cycles. It is so brief we do not realise it, unless as you

are experiencing and the resumption of the first stage does not automatically

kick back in.

One of the main causes of this is alcohol use - you don't see it necessarily the

night you drink but days on out. It also is common with insulin resistant

problems and diabetes which alcohol use often goes with. You don't have trouble

going to sleep because you are probably so tired at that point after not getting

sufficient sleep the night before.

I had the problem several years ago, I went on Atkins and ate low carb,

especially at night, no eating after 8, no alcohol, I started on vitamins -

mainly multi I think is most important, three meals at the same time each day

are important - there is a rythmn to our body functions that gets out of sync.

The premature awakenings resolved pretty quickly.