Is it possible to have Insomnia and Narcolepsy at the same time?
February 24, 2010 by admin
Filed under Dealing With Insomnia
Ers questioned:
What if someone sleeps all day because of their lack of sleep at night from their Insomnia?
February 24, 2010 by admin
Filed under Dealing With Insomnia
What if someone sleeps all day because of their lack of sleep at night from their Insomnia?
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I’m not sure that would be considered Narcolepsy. Narcoleptic fall asleep at random times without being tired. Usually, the brain stem has a loop it runs through with sensory Information during the day to maintain consciousness. When no sensory data enters, the brain stem shuts this process down and sleep occurs. From what I know, narcoleptic will shut this process down at random intervals.
If you are having distress sleeping try getting one of those white lights on amazon that you can use. It’s supposed to even out your melatonin levels so that you can sleep. Melatonin contributes to the sleep cycle, so you might even want to see about taking a supplement of them. Also try to establish a routine before you go to bed. That way your body and mind start to get in the mind set of sleep so you can enter into more easily.
yes it’s possible. in fact, MANY narcos are diagnosed insomniac first because our sleep is so off kilter that is causes our nighttime sleep to be disrupted. i was place on melatonin for years before it was realized what my real problem was…and even now, i find myself having distress sleeping all night on occasion.
to dispel a common myth about this, we don’t fall asleep without feeling tired. we feel tired ALL the time. that is our #1 symptom: excessive daytime sleepiness. we feel tired all day, but it is for no apparent reason. sleep attacks may or may not follow this tiredness. many narcos don’t have sleep attacks, they just feel dragged out & tired all the time.
and our disorder has nothing to do with a sensory underload in the brain. it has to do with missing amino acids in our hypothalamus, the area of the brain which regulates sleep (among other things). we can fall asleep in damn near any activity, regardless of how much that activity may keep another person’s brain active.
having said that, i’d first suggest looking at your sleep hygiene. sometimes simply lifestyle changes can make a difference. this may include things like establishing a routine sleep schedule (going to bed & rising same time each day even on days off), not drinking caffeinated/alcoholic drinks or exercising within a few hrs before bed, using bedroom for sleep only (no tv, etc.), keeping room darkened for sleep, using white noise to drown disruptive influences, etc…and make sure naps during the day are not going to interfere with night sleep or you’re making a vicious cycle. limit naps to no more than 20 mins (even narcos follow this rule) and generally no later than 3pm if you want to still go to bed by ten.do whatever it takes to stay up during the day if your naps are keeping you from falling asleep at night.
if nothing helps, then a visit to your doc is in order. don’t just let him place you on sleeping pills or anything like that. there are a number of things that can disrupt nighttime sleep, cause distress falling asleep & make you tired all day long. he may need to do a sleep study to rule out narcolepsy or any of the other problems that are potential causes of your problems.