8 replies to this topic

[bzyb]

Hello, I am not sure if this is the right section, but I wanted to ask about not really a sleeping regimen, but about waking up.

Ever since I was little, I can say I have not been a morning person. More than that there is difficulty getting out of bed even setting a couple alarm clocks. It is like I sometimes feel weak, extremely tired, and uncomfortable getting out of bed. I am working with a sleep doctor who told me I do have sleeping issues: apneas, oxygen dips, and low REM sleep which probably contribute to a host of other problems. I am prescribed CPAP which I use everyday, and modafinil which I can't use everyday because of tolerance/edginess/sleep deficit. I do find when I pop a modafinil or a supplement like sulbutiamine it does help, but I can not rely on them everyday, maybe a few days a week if that (unless somebody knows what to stack with them to reduce tolerance).

My question is I was wondering what some people do to get up (if they have a hard time getting up or know people that do). A bucket of cold water, loud music, or something that disturbs others is not an option lol. I am looking along the lines of something cheap I can buy like at a big box retailer or amazon. You know how boxers use smelling salts, or I dont know maybe something non-harmful that I can sniff that tells my brain time to wake up. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I can buy to do something like that, I was thinking like vinegar, ammonia, or like wood polish or something but wasnt sure what was safe to sniff. I've went to stores to ask about smelling salts and the like, and they have no idea, so I probably have to find something myself.

Thanks to any suggestions!

[hippocampus]

Light therapy or very bright sun helps me very much. Those lights are expensive, I bought mine for 200 €, but it's like new for five years already so it's worth it.

[bzyb]

Thanks for the reply. Light is a good idea, I'm located near Canada so there is less sunlight in the winter. Still light doesnt seem to effect me as much since I am a real deep sleeper or slumberer I should say lol. I've been trying to take some serotogenics and Vitamin D in the morning but still tired. Thats why I think of some olfactory stimulant might work better for me, since I've tried taking stuff orally, or with the light, pinching myself doesnt seem to wake me up so much.

Kind of like how when a boxer gets knocked down, he is woozy and a bit out of it, and then the manager makes him smell something to wake him up, is that only in the movies!? I dont have the money to buy a light box now, but let me know if any suggestions as far as trying to wake up the other senses...safely I may add would be helpful!

[zorba990]

Try Rosemary Oil
http://health.howstu...romatherapy.htm
Then follow with tyrosine, and Alcar if needed.

[bzyb]

I haven't thought about aromatherapy although I see the little bottles at health food stores. So I'll definitely have to try to that. The memory element would be nice, but more so something that kind of shocks the system or alerts the brain to immediately wake up. I know its important to improve quality of sleep, but some mornings even stimulants like modafinil take me an hour or so to wake up. Down the road I hope to move into my own place and maybe blast some music or something perhaps that'll help but is an impossibility now as around me is mostly older people.

I dont have tyrosine, but do have NALT which I use as an afternoon pick me up, I will experiment with it in the morning since its probably healthier than stimulants. Alcar, I'm kind of mixed about it since I dont feel anything happening when using it, except maybe anxiety which is not good since I'm working on that. I have high acetlycholine nature already, so I'm very careful with choline, but if alcar is very helpful in the morning I may try that. Thanks for the suggestions, I also liked the lemon scent that might be nice.

[bzyb]

Just a quick update for anyone with similar symptoms or following the thread. It may be a good idea to get in touch with a good sleep doctor. These last few weeks I found out what I may have guessed, but never was quite certain that I a) Have obstructive sleep apnea, b) low breathing/oxygen levels, c) Only a few minutes of REM sleep a night, and what I expected today that I may have Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome.

This is when people have difficulty falling asleep until 2:00 AM or later and have trouble waking up in time for work/school. Also some people can not adjust to a 24-hour period, which is very similar to the effect of jetlag. Here is one of the articles about it...https://www.technology.org/2013/03/04/late-sleepers-may-have-more-than-24-hours-in-a-day/.

I suspected it because it takes a lot to knock me out each night, and then in the morning it takes a lot to get me up. Even sublingual sulbutiamine, modafinil, serotonergics cant get me up until a couple hours after taking them. So it was finally good to hear the doctor suggest it, because before he probably thought I was just a lazy addict or something, no joke as its hard to get any prescription from him lol.

So not having the greatest of insurance, treatment probably won't happen over night. I'm on CPAP, modafinil, and have been given a respironics watch monitor and sleep diary that I will keep track of my sleep for the month or so and then hopefully the doctor can find out some good treatment for me then. Rest assured I will get to the bottom of this and update if there are any changes!

Hopefully others with Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome can find a cure and get a better nights rest.

[truboy]

With usual diet i wake up around 7:30-7:00 on average no matter what time i set alarm on, even 10 alarms - no difference, i just turn them on and go back to sleeping.
But if i reduce carbs in the evening (zero carbs after 4 pm) - can wake up any time, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30 - no problems - with just one alarm.

[bzyb]

truboy that sounds great that you can do that, especially if you have to arise early for work. My sleep problems have been a little bit deeper since I was a child.

My update, is I finally found a good doctor that is thinking for my benefit, one of the first! He has me on bright lights/melatonin therapy so hippocampus your idea was helpful. I bought a portable bright lights, as only 10000 lux minimum is needed from amazon, mine was 60$ but really is cheap and flimsy like a big remote, I was hoping for something more robust.

Anyway anyone with delayed sleep disorder, well should find a good doctor who will do a sleep study, keep a sleep diary, and also use an actigraph to monitor your movements. Then they will do the bright light/melatonin therapy where you take melatonin as a regulator 5 hours before you sleep, and incrementally you adjust your sleep pattern by 30 minutes a day from a later to an earlier time. The problem with doing it like a 3 hour shift to wake up early for an appt or something, is it'll overload your system. I tried to do that and had a lot of issues. Also I was so tired I passed out donating blood. So its about the small shifts and eventually adjusting to light earlier and earlier in the day. Thanks everyone for the tips, hoepfully this regiment sticks we'll know in a couple weeks when it finishes.

[bzyb]

Forgot to add - Boxer salts is known as ammonia inhalant and is good for emergency/first aid kid. I don't think its good to use everyday or to sniff for extended period of time, but I tried it and the smell was bad enough to wake me up. Will not use everyday and just keep for emergencies like grogginess/sleepiness before final!