Sleep Disorders Community

I can totally Relate to this.

I was the same way before I got Fibromyalgia.

I would suggest despite the time to start your bedtime routine by seven and be in bed by eight and asleep by eight thirty. This wont give you the ten hours but it will be close.

Do you sleep through the entire night or do you wake up several times?

Friends and family will likely never understand this. Mine never did and understand even less now that i have fibro.

It seems we've been programmed to believe that we all need, drum roll.......8 hours of sleep but there are some people who get along fine with as little as 5 or 6 and then some like yourself who need 10. As long as you've been checked out medically, you should be ok. But that's the catch, as long as you've been checked out.

I (and my whole family) are long-sleepers and snorers. 8 hours a minimum, 10 hours better, 12 hours heaven. I finally went to a sleep disorder clinic and was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. I've been using a CPAP breathing machine and have definitely improved the quality of my sleep. My husband pointed out that I no longer take a 3 hour nap on the weekend. I'd urge you to have this checked as it isn't something that your general practitioner usually checks. Good luck!

If you don't already, take up aerobic exercise. When I started running, I gradually found I needed less sleep and had more energy.

Diet is also extremely important. Eat a salad of raw veggies everyday with vinegar and what-not and also invest in some quality multi-vitamins; when you get good nutrition your body is better able to restore itself, meaning less need for sleep.

Also, from your work schedule... have you tried a bi-phasic sleep schedule? If I were you I would try to get a three-hour nap when I get home from work (at 1 pm?), wake up, go run, enjoy your evening, and catch five hours of sleep starting at midnight. (You'll also notice that by catching that nap, you are sleeping when most people are at work/school, freeing up your evenings to spend with your friends and family)

There is nothing sacred about those numbers... do what feels right to you. I don't know if you know this but everybody completes sleep cycles at different intervals; the average is 90 minutes, but can vary significantly. Experiment with an alarm clock; adjust it every day fifteen minutes forward or backward from your usual time. The goal is to wake up out of dream-sleep; if you know that you were just dreaming when you wake up, then check the current time against what time you went to bed; after experimenting and taking data of your fall-asleep times and your wake-up times, and doing some algebra, you should be able to get a rough estimate as to the length of your sleep cycle (doesn't have to be too precise as the brain will stay in rem sleep for around 15-20 minutes before going back into deep sleep).

Why is this important? Because the brain is primed for wakefulness during dream sleep. after which it will cycle back down into deep-sleep; no matter how many hours you get, waking out of deep sleep will leave you feeling tired all day. Knowing the length of your sleep cycle, you can set your alarm clock to it.

One more thing, any adjustments you make should be made gradually. And talk to your doctor about it; excessive sleepiness can be the cause of something like fibromyalgia or hypothyroidism or depression. I think there are new drugs out, too, that aid in wakefulness and are neither anti-depressants or acute stimulants like ritalin or adderall.

I have the same problem. Until a doctor gives you a solution, accept that you need more sleep than most people.
If you can, have a sleep study done. They found that I did not get into the deeper stages of sleep where you get the most recuperative sleep. Eight hours is just an average. Some people only need four or five hours, and some of them act as if everyone else is lazy. Do you practice good sleep hygiene? Does it do any good to go to bed earlier? I assume you know there are some meds that can get you through the weekdays, like Provigil.
And tell your relatives and friends to visit this site to learn just how widespread this problem is. Sleep is not a luxury, its a need.

I also need to get at least 10 hours of sleep but the hours are less important than the quality of rest. Dreaming frequently interrupts the quality of my rest and sleep. I also have a small amount of sleep apnea. My waking up time is more important than my going to bed time. It is now generally accepted that lack of sleep/rest is the primary cause of fibromyalgia. I wear a CPAP machine but not sure it helps much except at high altitude. I am currently in Ecuador above 9000 feet and the machine does help here. Ambien and melatonin seem to hepl the quality of my sleep. Sleep labs have created fibromyalgia in people without fibromyalgia by depriving them of sleep.

If you're having sleep problems you've probably already seen the ZEO machine. I have one and have taken it with me to two sleep studies which confirmed the accuracy of the system. I have the same issue that you describe, even a bit worse.

It turns out that my sleep patterns are abnormal and I only get about 2% deep sleep per night, rather than the standard 20%-25%. There is research underway at the University of Wisconsin which may result in a new form of therapy for this condition. The nature of the research is confidential at this point, but they have had success in the past using TMS to modify sleep patterns.

If you can afford it, I would recommend getting a ZEO and checking your sleep paterns. The down side of this is that if you have the same problem I have, there isn't anything that can be done about it currently. (Besides Xyrem which is expensive and difficult to get a prescription for) However, keep your eyes open for something new coming from the University of Wisconsin sometime in the next couple of years.

I totally understand this, I feel as though I can never get enough sleep. I have had fibro for years and family and friends just don't get it. I don't know about you but if I don't get enough sleep, I start to hurt all over. Good luck

I have the same problem. 10 Hours cuts into my life too much as well and I have Insomnia. Do you have Depression. I was told by a sleep clinic that Depression could be the cause of the sleep disturbance and they did not have any evidence that I "constitutionally" needed 10 hours of sleep.

I've had it for decades and I hate it too. The sleep test I got was way back in the early 90's in Seattle.

Yeah by Friday I was a strung out wreck with massive coffee to keep me awake. I don't believe cutting out the coffee would of fixed the problems though. Something neurological or neurochemical I believe.

Your not alone. It's ruined my life.

You and I should look up the ZEO machine and find out if we get enough "deep sleep" per night.

Let us know when you hear anything about research at the University of Wisconsin.

Just curious what amount of sleep did you need with only 2% instead of 20% - 25% deep sleep?

I need 10%. Will buy a ZEO when someday I can afford it. But right now broke and unemployed.

Dave

Correction I need 10 hours of sleep not 10%.

To feel good about 14 hours . . . to function about 12 hours. I recently discontinued taking an antidepressant (check out a book titled The Antidepessant Solution) & that has reduced my sleep requirement to about 10 hours.

Yes I can relate. Sorry if I already sent this. I need 10 hours of sleep for decades since 1977. Could it be due to not enough "deep sleep" or REM sleep? Have you discovered any ways of treating it? As far as I'm concerned it's ruined my life.

Dave

I hope you are able to get on Disability or survive with a part-time job. I got denied my disability and now it's in the final appeal stage. Worst judge in Seattle. How unlucky can I get.

Anyway take care and hope there is a solution soon for all of us.

I hope we don't have to wait 10 years until nanotechnology kicks in to fix this horrible problem.

Dave