How many hours do you sleep?

For everything and anything else not covered in the other RLS sections.
Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Oozz »

I’ve gotten very very serious about tracking my sleep. Recently, I’ve actually bought a high end sleep research device to determine what is lacking - quality or quantity or both.

I’ve always thought my sleep quality was poor but, only 5 nights in, it’s clear I am not getting nearly as much sleep as I thought.

Even with meds, I’m getting an average of 5 hours, some of which is broken.

Mirapex .125
Pregablin 100-200mg

Yankiwi
Posts: 548
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:20 am
Location: West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Yankiwi »

I get between five and seven, usually in three or four segments over nine or ten hours from going to bed to getting up.
When I'm lucky I'm only awake a third of the night. On a bad night it can be half.

Rustsmith
Moderator
Posts: 6476
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:31 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Rustsmith »

Between "sleep" at night and naps during the day, I spend between 10.5 and 11 hrs/day in bed. But my sleep study last year found that it takes me about an hour to actually fall asleep and then for the rest of the night I am only asleep about 45% of the time. So for 10 hrs in bed at night, I am only really asleep for about 4.5 hrs, so it's no wonder that I have to nap during the day.

As a result of spending about half of each day trying to get some rest, I did another sleep study last week but this time I went to the lab where my doctor does her sleep work. I haven't heard the results yet, but I know that I had a horrible night (which is good for once) and that it had nothing to do with all the wires that were connected to me.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Oozz »

Rustsmith wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 2:31 pm
Between "sleep" at night and naps during the day, I spend between 10.5 and 11 hrs/day in bed. But my sleep study last year found that it takes me about an hour to actually fall asleep and then for the rest of the night I am only asleep about 45% of the time. So for 10 hrs in bed at night, I am only really asleep for about 4.5 hrs, so it's no wonder that I have to nap during the day.

As a result of spending about half of each day trying to get some rest, I did another sleep study last week but this time I went to the lab where my doctor does her sleep work. I haven't heard the results yet, but I know that I had a horrible night (which is good for once) and that it had nothing to do with all the wires that were connected to me.
Yes, I find myself napping pretty consistently as well. You sound so active, I’m very surprised you are getting by so well on 4.5 hours.

Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Oozz »

Yankiwi wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 8:01 am
I get between five and seven, usually in three or four segments over nine or ten hours from going to bed to getting up.
When I'm lucky I'm only awake a third of the night. On a bad night it can be half.

What is it that wakes you up? The RLS or just random awakenings?

Rustsmith
Moderator
Posts: 6476
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:31 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Rustsmith »

What is it that wakes you up? The RLS or just random awakenings?
That is what I am hoping that the latest sleep study will reveal. It isn't simple RLS and I didn't have any PLMS during the study that showed 45% sleep efficiency. I had some mild RLS urges once during the night during this recent study, so it could be that I am being awakened by such "mild" RLS that I am not totally aware of it. But my guess is that it is related to an issue with the glutamate (insomnia) side of RLS rather than the dopamine (urges) one. I also know that I rarely get into the deep stages of sleep because about once or twice a week I do something physical as I awaken from a dream, such as roll out of bed as I am dodging an attacker in my dream. So even during REM sleep, I am not far from waking up.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

debbluebird
Posts: 2386
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 3:27 pm

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by debbluebird »

Oozz wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 3:42 am
I’ve gotten very very serious about tracking my sleep. Recently, I’ve actually bought a high end sleep research device to determine what is lacking - quality or quantity or both.

I’ve always thought my sleep quality was poor but, only 5 nights in, it’s clear I am not getting nearly as much sleep as I thought.

Even with meds, I’m getting an average of 5 hours, some of which is broken.

Mirapex .125
Pregablin 100-200mg
The nine years I took Mirapex, I realized after stopping it and changing meds, it reduced my hours in bed. I went from 9 to 6 hours. At the time, I had started working the night shift plus was going through menopause and I didn't realize the reduction was the from the med. Afterwards my sleep hours increased again.

stjohnh
Posts: 1284
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:13 pm
Location: Palo Alto, California

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by stjohnh »

Sleep is more complex than most people think. There are several stages, and only the deeper stages give refreshing sleep. So a person can sleep 8 hours and still not be refreshed. It is not easy to determine how long each stage of sleep lasts for a particular individual. I spent a year monitoring my sleep with several different sleep monitoring setups. The best that I used was a chest strap that sends a signal for each heart beat to a phone app. The most useful parameter for evaluating sleep stage from heart data is the heart rate variation. The normal heart does not beat with absolute regularity. There are a few milliseconds difference between each normal heart beat. This is the heart rate variation, and apps can measure this. The Polar tracker is currently $53 on amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007S ... UTF8&psc=1

Wrist monitors (Fitbit, etc.) measure heart rate by pulse pressure, and that is not accurate enough to measure heart rate variation. You need a measure of the heart's electrical activity (chest strap).
Blessings,
Holland

Yankiwi
Posts: 548
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:20 am
Location: West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Yankiwi »

Sometimes it's my RLS that wakes me up, other times it's just random. Upon my first wake up it's as if my brain says "that was a nice nap". I try not to nap during the day or if I do to keep it short.

The Sleep Book: How to Sleep Well Every Night · By: Dr. Guy Meadows
I found this book very interesting. He explains the sleep cycle very well and he does stipulate that if you have RLS his techniques will not work.

ViewsAskew
Moderator
Posts: 16571
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by ViewsAskew »

As stjohn noted, you can sleep and not be rested. I was sleeping 12-14 hours around 2000 and was exhausted. The sleep study showed the PLMS in the incredibly high range. I rarely got out of stage 2 sleep and awakened 30 or more times that I was aware of, let alone all I wasn't aware of.

When I have had the infusion recently, when I have a good balance of my meds, etc., I sleep between 7 and 9 hours and get stage 3-5 sleep regularly.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Polar Bear
Moderator
Posts: 8799
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:34 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Polar Bear »

I was getting 2 - 4 hours of fragmented sleep and eventually after many years had a sleep test. This showed moderate sleep apnea and I was provided with a cpap machine. The result from the first night was wonderful. I now on average manage between 6 to 8 hours in 2 (occasionally 3) shifts and what I do get is much better quality. It is rarely my rls that wakens me. It is like an alertness and when wakened I'm up for about 2 hours each time. Being up this long may be partly my own causing as I get involved in stuff, such as I'm doing now (it's 6am). I have no idea what stages of sleep I reach.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

tagalongbuddy
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2020 5:57 am

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by tagalongbuddy »

Normally I get about 4 hours sleep. It's pretty common for me to wake up at 2 hours, then go back to sleep. If I get 5 hours, that was a good night.

bpiper52
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 2:22 pm

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by bpiper52 »

4 hours average the last two weeks... i did get extra sleep using more twice the prescribed amount of gabapentin... from 1200 mg to 2400 mg. i am wondering if the RLS is outgrowing the good affects of Gabapentin. i have really strong affects from RLS. shooting nerve twitches that literally take me out of bed...anything to keep me from beginning to rest and provoke dopamine. it is just like sabotage. i was considered for cpac but it was considered "mild" so i did forego it. i don't think it will help though, because as soon as i begin to go into a deep sleep or consideration of it, my legs begin to rebel. as i am retiring i really want to get this thing out of the road so to speak. i have things to do in retirement and i don't want RLS to f-up my plans because of related health concerns.

Yankiwi
Posts: 548
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:20 am
Location: West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Yankiwi »

For years I got only around four hours of sleep, broken sleep to boot. That is not enough. I had big red circles under my eyes during that time. After starting to take iron tablets I was able to get about six hours, sometimes seven each night. Of course, to get that much meant devoting 10 or more hours from go to whoa. Luckily I have nocturnal activities to occupy my awake time.
In addition to 2 x 60mg of codeine and .25mg ropinerole, now I take 500mg of gabapentin which is helping.

Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

Re: How many hours do you sleep?

Post by Oozz »

bpiper52 wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 4:48 pm
4 hours average the last two weeks... i did get extra sleep using more twice the prescribed amount of gabapentin... from 1200 mg to 2400 mg. i am wondering if the RLS is outgrowing the good affects of Gabapentin. i have really strong affects from RLS. shooting nerve twitches that literally take me out of bed...anything to keep me from beginning to rest and provoke dopamine. it is just like sabotage. i was considered for cpac but it was considered "mild" so i did forego it. i don't think it will help though, because as soon as i begin to go into a deep sleep or consideration of it, my legs begin to rebel. as i am retiring i really want to get this thing out of the road so to speak. i have things to do in retirement and i don't want RLS to f-up my plans because of related health concerns.
I think gabapentin/pregablin works best for sleep when you cycle on and off it. I’ve been talking with my neuro about experimenting with this but haven’t put it to practice yet. I’ll start at 100mg and get about 2-4 nights of great sleep before having to increase by 50-100mg. That actually gives me a runway of about 3 weeks of great sleep if everything goes as planned.

Post Reply