# Sleep is huge



## simonlebon (Apr 13, 2015)

Just fyi.

I have sleep apnea and I recently got a fancy new cpap machine that logs my stats every night to a web site I can go and look on everyday to see how well I slept the night before. It will tell me how many times I took it on and off, how many "events" (non breathing) I had per hour and how long I had my cpap on total time.

I can *directly* correlate my days where my dp/dr/anxiety seems worse with the nights I don't do well with my cpap. I'm single so I never had any insight like that before. I'm also in the process of working with a TMJ/Apnea specialist to possible get a mouthpiece made which could help me along with the cpap to make sure I get as good of sleep as possible.


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2016)

Agreed. If I don't sleep a minimum of nine hours, I get really really bad DP\DR\Anxiety. Its ridiculous how important sleep is to us.


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## Billy D.P. (Apr 12, 2016)

I can second this. I went a period of three months with insomnia and my symptoms significantly worsened. After getting back to an average of about eight hours per night I've felt a world of difference. But this isn't just a DP thing. Lack of sleep is just like chronic stress -- it literally kills you if perpetuated. You gotta sleep in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2016)

Sleeping with chronic and intense DR is almost impossible for me. In fact, those are the moments when it's the worst. I don't know how you guys get a full night sleep with this.


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## simonlebon (Apr 13, 2015)

The main reason I get a good night sleep is seroquel. Knock me out within 30 minutes.


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## simonlebon (Apr 13, 2015)

Polysomnogram is basically a sleep study. I had to get one done to get diagnosed with sleep apnea to get my cpap. As far as psychiatric analysis of the results, I'm not sure how that would work. Send the results to your psychiatrist?? Or maybe I"m just reading too far in to what you are saying. But yes, if anyone on here hasn't had a sleep study and thinks they may have some kind of apnea or other issue, it's definitely a good idea.


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## 58779 (Jan 7, 2016)

Interesting. In my case, while a feeling of altered consciousness set in during existential thinking, feelings of unreality began two weeks after that, when I woke up and I wasn't sure if I was awake or not. I thought I was dreaming for some while. I will think about testing for sleep disorders.


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## Guest (Apr 15, 2016)

Anything over 7.5 hours for me makes my DP/DR unbearable, makes everything feel/look like it has a weird nostalgia filter on it.


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Sleep is essential in combating DP...Unfortunately its usually the first thing that goes wonky when you develop DP.....My sleep patterns are awful....I have really bad insomnia and it comes and goes in waves.....I will not sleep a wink for maybe 3 nights, then I will literally conk out and die from exhaustion for 16 to 18 hours....During this 16 to 18 hour sleep period usually after maybe 3 nights of insomnia I will sleep like a rock....Its really frustrating and leaves me feeling f****d up!!!....

Ive always been a poor sleeper, even before DP as a kid I would always be awake late at night....The other thing Ive always had from a really young age is a serious fear of the dark so as you can imagine that doesnt help at all either...I actually get better quality sleep during the daylight hours for some unknown reason...As a result I try to nap in the afternoon if I can manage it...

My sleep is so bad that I have tried various sleeping pills....They didnt do squat...In fact the damn things made me worse.....They didnt help me sleep and in fact just made me groggier.....

Another odd thing that I do since I developed DP is sleep with the TV on all night....When I first developed DP (way back when lol) the mind chatter at night was so horrendous and disturbing I would have to leave the TV on in the background as a distraction to try and get to sleep....Now I cant even get to sleep without the TV on.....If I do manage to get to sleep without the TV on I am always guaranteed to wake up in a panic as a result of seriously disturbing nightmares....

LOL im sitting here typing this at 5.30 am after yes you guessed it, another sleepless night!! 

I dont know how I used to manage to concentrate in work for all those years and not have a serious accident....And my job was really technical and dangerous and very fast paced (I was an electrician working on high voltages day in day out and worked to constant deadlines) So you can imagine you needed your wits about you....F**k me when I think about it....Its actually kinda scarey in hindsight....I could have been killed!!!

Anyway if anybody is aware of a way to make me sleep better please let me know...Even if its in a pill form....And please dont suggest counting sheep or hot milk....When I say I cant sleep "I LITERALLY CANT SLEEP"

LOL the sun is starting to rise!!! Midnight sleep rant over 

Time for the breakfast sports news !


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Space Monkey I hear ya dude!!!!

Excellent post!

Insomnia is awful to deal with on a regular basis....Throw DP in on top of that and its sheer hell....In my opinion insomnia is not the scariest DP symptom but the most frustrating....It is also the most persistent thing ive had to deal with since devloping DP....All my other symptoms come and go every so often but my insomnia has been constant...

Im like you now Space Monkey...I basically sleep when ever i feel like it because I dont often get the opportunity to drift off to sleep peacefully and naturally...So when the occasion does arise and I do feel naturally sleepy (which isnt often) I lay down and nap....

I can also identify with the SAD Space Monkey....I have it real bad....I actually fear the Autumn equinox and despise the short days of winter....Often people on here complain that bright sunshine makes their DP worse.....Im sorry but that is not the case for me.....Give me all the bright sunshine you can....Dark grey days like the ones we often experience here in Ireland (Its like a continuous grey blanket of low cloud....I call it the grey dome) are particularly bad for me....Im like a different person when the sun shines....When the days are dark and grey and short I just wanna lay in bed....When the sun shines bright im like a spring chicken......There is alot to be said for the absorbtion of natural vitamin D from the sun....Eskimos must be the most depressed people in the world LOL


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Its been recommended....Might give it a go next winter....I just believe ya cant beat the natural vitamin D we absorb from the sun....It works wonders for me....Your not an Arsenal fan by any chance are ya Space Monkey bein in London?


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Wanted to add something to this post...

Ever since I developed DP i havent felt physically or mentally tired in the same way that everyday normal people feel tired....For example a normal person feels exhausted from a long day at work or a lot of exercise or at the end of a long day shopping or basically when its time to go to bed....They then lay down and go to sleep! Basically they fall asleep from being (as a normal person would put it) tired!

Since ive developed DP i dont experience this type of tiredness (physically and mentally) In fact if I have a busy day I get more and more worked up as the evening approaches and I find it practically impossible to slow my mind and body down for sleep...

The only kind of tiredness i experience is mental from anxiety and depression but this type of tiredness has the adverse affect of keeping me awake....This leads to a type of lethargy that is so uncomfortable and disturbing.....You feel like you cant carry out tasks and cant get out of bed but at the same time you are both physically and mentally completely uncomfortable and almost on edge....

The result is insomnia!


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Its actually kinda like permanent jetlag!


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Here here!!!!

Wired and Tired!

Nail on the head Space!


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## simonlebon (Apr 13, 2015)

I also remember reading this article from Deepak Chopra a while back. And it actually makes sense. Untreated sleep apnea damages the brain. And personally I know I went several years with it untreated. I remember waking up in the middle of the night out of breath, choking, trying to catch my breath. I had most likely went several seconds or who knows.. a minute? without breathing. This probably didn't do me any favors in relation to dp/dr. My hope though is that taking care of myself now and keeping my sleep apnea treated will allow my brain to continue to heal from whatever damage may have been done.

http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/intentchopra/2012/01/being-alert-to-sleep-apnea.html



> Sleep apnea damages the brain
> 
> MRI studies of people with sleep apnea have found that the concentration of the brain's gray matter-the cerebral cortex of the brain, where most information processing takes place-is actually reduced in people with sleep apnea. Affected were areas involved in memory, concentration, cardiovascular activity, breathing, and executive functioning.


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## simonlebon (Apr 13, 2015)

I've gotten used to it and recently got what's called an "auto cpap", which means that it automatically only gives me the amount of pressure I need to keep my airway open. A normal cpap just shoves a fixed amount of air through you no matter what you need. And the higher the pressure , normally the less tolerable it is. So they have to set it at the highest end of what you might need. So this has been better. The problem I have now is that some nights (luckily it's not most nights), i just rip it off in the middle of the night and have no idea of doing it, and then just wake up after so long and put it back on. Unfortunately even though my cpap can auto shut off when I take it off, the engineers didn't think to put an alarm feature on it for people like me who want to know when I take it off. :/ Geniuses!

So overall it helps me A LOT and I"m grateful for it, but it's not 100%. I am currently working with a TMJ/Apnea dentist that is going to do some scans and see if I am a candidate for a custom mouthpiece that will pull my jaw forward a bit to open up my airway. This will help as well. My apnea is severe enough to where it's doubtful I will be able to get rid of the cpap, but with the mouthpiece as well, if the cpap comes off, I'll be able to breathe much better. So it's kind of like a backup I think. For some people with less severe apnea, the mouthpiece could be all they need.

This is the appliance.. actually made by the same company that makes my cpap.

http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/products/dental/narval.html


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## XBrave (Oct 28, 2016)

at the time that dp/dr started for me, I had disrupted sleep pattern. I would sleep at 3 -4 AM and wake up at 7 for university. This increased my tiny little anxiety and depression and one night_ high on marijuana _ i experienced huge shame and inadequacy and then panic. 3 nights later i smoked again and got dp/dr.

I'm turning to a circadian sleep wake cycle to check how it effects my dp/dr.

blessings to y'all


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## RedSky (Jan 11, 2017)

Oh man I don't even know how to map out my sleeping habits... It always takes me an hour to fall asleep (unless I am absolutely exhausted.....or drunk ) and I try for 8 hours a night which I normally can normally pull off but sometimes 8 hours isn't enough! sometimes its too much, and sometimes it is just right. Other times I'll get 6 hours and I'll wake right up with tremendous amounts of energy and then I'll try to get 6 hours again a couple days later and I'll barely be able to make it through work... I have found a mug wort tea that helps my sleep schedule but I have run out and need to order more, I tried sleeping pills once but it gave me the worst nightmares I have ever had and woke up in a cold sweat.


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Sleeping pills make my insomnia worse....Go figure! :???:


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## 707 (Mar 1, 2017)

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