Posted by IsoM on February 3, 2002, at 16:32:53
In reply to Sleep and depression, posted by sid on February 3, 2002, at 11:57:21
Sid, sleep & depression & all other moods, I think, are so tied together. Normal, for me, means 8-11 hours light sleep with frequent awakening (4-8 times/night), too much dreaming & groggy when I get up - never feel well rested. My best sleep will occur shortly before I'm due to get up. If I do nap in the afternoon, I sleep good for 1-2 hours but dislike doing that. I honestly never remember having slept well even as a child.
I've been back on my adrafinil for 17 days now & the last 2 nights, I only woke twice each night. Last night I slept 11 hours & other than wakening twice, slept very solid too. Surprising! Maybe my body's catching up on deep sleep?? I'll have to wait to see what the long-term benefits of adrafinil are, sleep-wise. I'll check the write-up on adrafinil from the CNS Drug Review on it but I think it said that it did improve sleep for many. (Who knows? It may even help my headaches. Solid sleep = less headaches?)
You do know, don't you Sid, that just because you don't remember your dreams, doesn't mean you don't dream? I think I remember mine so easily as I awaken briefly after my dreams throughout the night & so am aware of what they are. If you cycle from your REM sleep down through the layers to stage 2, 3, & 4 without surfacing, you wouldn't remember them. So if you're remembering them more, it probably means that you're not sleeping as deeply as before - a common side-effect of SSRIs. Your dreams might be more vivid, but it's likely you're still dreaming the same amount as before. Your deeper, more restorative, sleep may be suffering though.
Gravol has served to help me fall asleep easier, but it's never helped me stay asleep in the least. I'm hoping adrafinil will enable me to chuck out the Gravol completely.
Years ago, in th early '80s, I read a article in a science journal on sleep. It mentioned that most people fall into 2 categories with falling asleep & wakening. They tend to either have "thick" boundaries or "thin" ones. Those with thick boundaries could feel themselves growing sleepy, sinking deeper & deeper into sleep. They usually could be easily aroused from sleep then. They also rose slowly from sleep when awakening. But paradoxically, couldn't be easily aroused into wakefullness but would slip back into sleep. The thin boudaries were those whose head hit the pillow & they were out. Same with wakening - they'd open their eyes & were awake.
It seemed few people with thin boundaries had sleep disturbances/problems. It was those with thick boundaries that had the most disturbances or were more likely to at some point in their life. Sleep science being in its relative infancy then, had no explanation for these differences. I'd still loved to know myself & have never read anything new about it yet.
poster:IsoM
thread:92702
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020131/msgs/92732.html