My Health Journey: Sleep!

This past Monday I was fitted for my CPAP machine and full mask. The woman who gave me information on how to use the machine and mask also gave me some of the results from my sleep clinic visit - I stop breathing 96.4 times per hour, which means that on average I stop breathing 1.6 times per minute or every 37.3 seconds throughout the night. I think that may mean that the rest of the night I must either be gasping for air or trying to normalize my breathing. Sleeping poorly goes back to my teenage years or even earlier so I do not know how I have survived these almost 50 years with such "sleep debt".

So, I want to get to the bottom of this because I need to know why this is happening. When I was born I did not have a nose because it got squished as I entered the world. My mother tells me that my nose popped out in about three days but my sense of smell is impaired and I think there might be some other damage from getting squished in the birthing canal that may be causing my sleep apnea. I pray my doctor will be able to help me figure all of this out - I have an appointment with my doc this Monday.

Suffice it to say, I am sleeping better with the CPAP machine and mask because it forces air into the lungs which keeps the airways open long enough to exhale and then the machine forces another breath in right away. So, it is definitely a better sleep to be able to breathe all night. My sleep is still choppy because the mask and tube get in the way or they shift when I move so I end up waking up in order to re-position the mask and situate the tube. And if I yawn or breathe irregularly I get a blast of air back at me and the rhythm gets off and it takes a bit to catch up and get back in sync with the way the machine is breathing. These are my new realities on my journey to better sleep and better health but at least everything is moving forward in the right direction.

I'm noticing a deep sadness overwhelming me because I am learning that sleep deprivation is rarely noticed by the individual sufferer and I feel like I have missed out on all of these years I have lost to low energy/fatigue and impaired cognitive functioning etc. I have also been through enough to know that God in His infinite wisdom and kindness is sovereign over ALL and in this world we will have tribulation but I can rejoice even more because Christ has overcome the deprivations of this world. Also, God's creation and all of His love flowing through others is worth striving to do better, to learn more and to follow God in His purpose for my life. Amen and amen!

My PT is going very well and I am exercising at home too. I weighed in at Weight Watchers this morning and lost another 1/2 lb. this week, which is slow going but I've been told that as you gain muscle it weighs more than fat plus I can tell I'm losing inches too. So, I guess I am gaining muscle and losing fat at this point which is moving me forward in the right direction as well.

I looked up sleep deprivation and symptoms:

Symptoms may be present for years (or even decades) without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.   [what will my life be like when I get the complete sleep my body is so desperate for?]

Researchers at the University of Warwick and University College London have found that lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Up to 90% of adults with depression are found to have sleep difficulties.

Sleep debt is the effect of not getting enough rest and sleep; a large debt causes mental, emotional, and physical fatigue.

Small amounts of sleep loss (eg, 1 hour per night over many nights) have subtle cognitive costs, which appear to go unrecognized by the individual experiencing the sleep loss. More severe restriction of sleep for a week leads to profound cognitive deficits similar to those seen in some stroke patients, which also appear to go unrecognized by the individual. The lack of recognition of the effects of sleep deprivation appears to be a constant feature, one which, it is hoped, will be overcome by further research and education.

Short-term sleep deprivation has been implicated in contributing to obesity as well as glycemia dysregulation contributing to poor control of type II diabetes. [my doc told me I do not have diabetes PTL!]

Sleep is a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. [Sleep deprivation interferes with the growth and rejuvenating process of each of these systems]

In humans, each sleep cycle lasts from 90 to 110 minutes on average, and each stage may have a distinct physiological function.

A person who regularly awakens at an early hour will generally not be able to sleep much later than his or her normal waking time, even if moderately sleep-deprived.  [I notice this with my son, Stephen. He is an early riser and when he goes to bed late he still gets up around his normal time, which causes sleep loss]

May the Lord bless your sleep...

Sweet Dreams Everyone!

Rebecca