[NT] Sleep Disorders & Regularity of Dreams

[spirilis]

Found this thread searching for kicks about sleep apnea. Was diagnosed last month & got CPAP at the end of April.
I realized when reading about the subject how one side effect of CPAP is "excessive dreaming", a curious choice of phrasing if I'd ever seen one. It hadn't bothered me much but I realized then that I couldn't remember having a dream for months, possibly a year. After CPAP with anything resembling a good night's sleep I have at least one "full length" dream, and usually 2 or 3 on a perfect night now, with a very brief awakening at the end to toss or turn (and recall some details for later, as that brief awakening seems to be key to remembering them).

 

[Zhaylin]

I'm an NF, but I have sleep apnea. I've also had those dreams about having a baby, or a pet, then realizing I hadn't fed it for several days or weeks lol I wonder why that seems to be a common theme. (I also have dreams about having a body or bodies buried under my home and I'm paranoid about them being discovered. They're never people I know IRL.)

I started using a CPAP but it triggered and worsened my TMJ which triggered daily migraines. I've not used the CPAP for several months, but the TMJ and migraines remain. I came here, mostly, just to warn people about the possible connection. If you have TMJ and are recommended a CPAP, try a full face mask. After a lot of research (and possibly some grasping of straws), it seems the "nasal pillows" (which I LOVE) can worsen TMJ for some people.

As for dreams, I've always been an excessive dreamer. [MENTION=585]spirilis[/MENTION], you are correct in connecting the brief awakenings to dream recall. I can wake up, after a full nights sleep, remembering 4-6 dreams*. Humorously, I tend to recall the ones I have first the best (every time I wake up, I tell myself not to forget the dreams, but in doing so it crowds out the more recent ones)**.

Health timeline and theories:

I started CPAP last January and I took to it right away, with no problems. The TMJ and migraines became progressively worse over the months that followed, until I finally connected them to the CPAP in c. late May/early June 2018. In August, I broke my shoulder and needed surgery a couple weeks later. I couldn't use my machine at all for a month and the TMJ/migraines eased up. I went back to CPAP c. October and they returned. I stopped, but the problems didn't go away.
I thought, perhaps my theory was wrong. Logically, I'm undecided. Emotionally, however, I'm certain so I've never been able to relax enough to fall asleep. I even had a different mask ordered, but it doesn't seal properly. I ended up giving my machine to my husband to use.

*Since breaking my arm, my sleep has suffered drastically. I never WANT to go to sleep, so I spend hours on gaming apps until I "pass out". Then, I sleep fitfully. My dreams have suffered even more so. **I'm fortunate if I recall a single dream a night nowadays.

 

[Earl Grey]

I very regularly have sleeping problems, to the point I wonder if I am insomniac. In fact, I have not been able to sleep well for the past 2 weeks. I just read a previous post about CPAP and excessive dreaming, and googled it. Interesting. It is rare, but occasionally I had woken up because I realized I had not been breathing, and had to manually take in a deep breath upon waking.

 

[Froody Blue Gem]

I don't have a diagnosed sleep disorder, and don't suffer from regular fatigue. But I know that when attempting to sleep, sometimes all the thoughts slow down the getting to sleep process. What happened during the day, things that pop into my mind, and other random junk. I may wake up at odd hours of the night because of medication I take before bed. When I do wake up, I usually do manage to get back to sleep but it may take a while.

 

[Non_xsense]

I just don't like to sleep ... what a waste of time . My curiosity actually explode at night ... From a biologic point of view we need people to stay alert when everyone is sleeping xDD.
My Ne is so stupid sometimes ....

 

[spirilis]

I very regularly have sleeping problems, to the point I wonder if I am insomniac. In fact, I have not been able to sleep well for the past 2 weeks. I just read a previous post about CPAP and excessive dreaming, and googled it. Interesting. It is rare, but occasionally I had woken up because I realized I had not been breathing, and had to manually take in a deep breath upon waking.

If you have usable health insurance, visit a doctor and ask for a sleep study. The sleep study I took was a home study w/ a machine I wore on my head like a headband for 1 night, though I've heard some home study machines have more components e.g. a waist belt or arm belt and wires. Sleep apnea isn't necessarily something you know about, I never woke up gasping for breath, but the machine caught it. My understanding is most apneas lift you out of NREM stage 3 or REM and up into NREM stage 2 or 1, not conscious but aroused enough to breathe heavier. Losing out on NREM S3 and REM sleep can slow healing of muscle aches/pains/injuries (one red flag for sleep apnea is someone who works out but doesn't seem to make gains or get any better at it, in combination with rarely dreaming).

No idea what the range of costs for the sleep study looks like, but in my case, the local dr I normally visit ordered the ARES system ( ARES™ Home Sleep Test – SleepMed | Better Sleep. Better Health. ) and with the 20% coinsurance I have to pay, my out-of-pocket cost was $60 for the test (dr's original asking price was $525, insurance walked it down to $300 and paid 80% as usual, so I paid $60).

 

[Tengri]

My step-dad has sleep apnea and uses a CPAP therapy machine to sleep nightly since around 15-years ago. He used to have chronic insomnia, irritability, weight gain, and depression until having a sleep study done to resolve it. My mom is a saint for tolerating it because even my step-dad calls it his Darth Vader mask. In terms of results, he has lost weight, sleeps through the night (even on camping trips), dreams often, and says he feels generally healthier with a better outlook on life. I have always been a good sleeper, thankfully, but it is shocking how common sleep disorders, chronic insomnia, and physical and mood health-related symptoms are in modern culture. Two of my exes (ESFJ and ISTJ) both had apnea and struggled for years with finding the right balance to combat sleeplessness (fans, noise machines, cutting out screen time and blue light, eating earlier in the evenings, morning exercise, to dietary changes like restricting carbs), but never took that step of attending a sleep study sheerly out of stubbornness.

 

[Maou]

Yup, I got a few but never actually tested. I would fall into the "mild narcoleptic" group because I experience both hypnagogic (as you are falling asleep) hallucinations, and hypnopompic (sleep paralysis/as you wake up) quite often. I also feel pretty tired all the time, can sleep for like 16 hours. But I also get bouts of insomnia randomly. I sleep walk a lot, and hypnagogic hallucinations resemble sleep walking at times, but its more like PTSD.

 

[Earl Grey]

If you have usable health insurance, visit a doctor and ask for a sleep study. The sleep study I took was a home study w/ a machine I wore on my head like a headband for 1 night, though I've heard some home study machines have more components e.g. a waist belt or arm belt and wires. Sleep apnea isn't necessarily something you know about, I never woke up gasping for breath, but the machine caught it. My understanding is most apneas lift you out of NREM stage 3 or REM and up into NREM stage 2 or 1, not conscious but aroused enough to breathe heavier. Losing out on NREM S3 and REM sleep can slow healing of muscle aches/pains/injuries (one red flag for sleep apnea is someone who works out but doesn't seem to make gains or get any better at it, in combination with rarely dreaming).

I found similarly on google. Try breathe out and relax, do not breathe in again. Remain in that state long enough until you feel that natural urge from your lungs to begin gasping for air. That is how I wake up, and I have been reported to stop breathing while asleep at least once. I didn't know about sleep apnea, so I thought it was normal. The strange part is that a quick google search says that because people with it do not remember their dreams, but I have a lot of nightly dreams (plural. within a night). Thanks for the information.

No idea what the range of costs for the sleep study looks like, but in my case, the local dr I normally visit ordered the ARES system ( ARES™ Home Sleep Test – SleepMed | Better Sleep. Better Health. ) and with the 20% coinsurance I have to pay, my out-of-pocket cost was $60 for the test (dr's original asking price was $525, insurance walked it down to $300 and paid 80% as usual, so I paid $60).

I hope those are American numbers and not anywhere outside the world, because those original numbers are outrageous.