#Sleep Disorders & Sleep Studies

[watermelinoe]

the sleep clinic never got back to me.... they should be paying me to study me like a lab rat

[tianshiisdead]

Forget school actually please send hate to distract me from no money I'm so hungry o(-( dunno how much longer I can go with the 1 food item per day money saving scheme to attempt to afford rent

[dammarchy211]

In this post is mainly about sleep and i thought it implied that dexter gets nightmares.

So does dexter have nightmares? If so how does he deal with them?

Yeah! Fun fact about Dex, he has narcolepsy, which involves too much REM sleep (the part of sleep where you are dreaming), as well as frequent hypnogogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis. This doesn’t necessarily mean nightmares or scary stuff, but for Dexter is usually does. That’s also part of how Raz would enter his mind the first time, Dex has such an overactive mind while he’s sleeping, that Raz would accidentally drift into his mind while their both asleep. This also manifests as a lot of Literal nightmare entities in his mind.

As for dealing with them, for a long time he doesn’t. He’ll wake up from a particularly bad dream and not go back to sleep out of fear or protest or whatever. Or not want to lie down again if it’s sleep paralysis or hypnogogic hallucinations. Not super frequently, but sometimes if it’s really bad or he gets overly paranoid he’ll wake Batty up, or sometimes even less he’ll get Wanda (or Ant). Most times Dex kinda just survives off of the principle if he wakes himself up enough and THEN go back to bed, he’ll dream about something different, which usually works.

I like the idea that there are some sleep hypnosis psychics or something that could combat the overactive REM sleep, THEN Dex could get a nice night’s sleep with less nightmares, but he doesn’t know anyone who can do that jfhjrgj. Cheri definitely could, but they’re never rlly close enough for that to happen, HOWEVER Raz IS her student so……

[arctic-hands]

My last bout of sleep paralysis (which was when I was recently hospitalized for nine days and getting no sleep because literally almost every half hour someone was waking me up for vitals or a blood drawl or to give me medicine or to prod my stomach or the attending bringing in the interns because I'm a great case study or because my infusion pump wanted to make obnoxious noises for no reason) was so horrific that when I told my therapist about it yesterday she visibly paled and freaked out on my behalf. Is that a good sign?

[voidimp]

man i would love to be asleep but unfortunately my brain

[redd956]

Gonna go do a sleep study tonight, to get told I have nightmares, whoopdee fuckin’ doo

[2amrainbow]

Hi everyone.

As many of you may have noticed, it's been really hard for me to post for the past couple months.

Unfortunately I'm dealing with a bunch of health issues, mainly revolving around me sleeping. I am pursuing a diagnosis for narcolepsy.

I sleep way too much, sometimes up to 15 hours a day. I have trouble focusing, staying awake, or even just standing for long periods of times. It's really frustrating and it honestly makes me so angry at myself. It feels like my body is deteriorating, like I'm on a time limit to get things I want done.

My sleep isn't restful, and then I feel like I have to cram two days worth of productivity in the few hours I'm awake and alert. It's not even part of the "your worth is your productivity" grind of capitalist society; I can't even get done things that I want to do. It's a physical effort to just get out of bed in the morning.

It's not like when I dealt with my depression. With my depression I could think my way out. With my chronic exhaustion, I can't think my way out to a different body.

My dream is to be an artist and to be able to communicate through my art. I want to tell stories and connect with others through my art. But I can't make art right now, and that's the part that makes me frustrated to tears.

[sopranoentravesti]

Someone: stay awake— focus on the sound of my voice!!

My sleep disorder ridden ass: *blinking in and out of consciousness * huh wha?

[leebird-simmer]

Psychopathology, Ch. 9 notes

{Note: I have no personal experience with disordered eating and I don’t know how accurate this chapter of the textbook is. If you struggle with an eating disorder or previously have, and you notice incorrect information in this post, please feel welcome to drop corrections in the comments.}

Eating disorders: psychological disorders characterized by disturbed patterns of eating and maladaptive ways of controlling body weight.

Describe the key features of anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa: an eating disorder characterized by maintenance of an abnormally low body weight, a distorted body image, and intense fears of gaining weight.

Describe the key features of bulimia nervosa.

Bulimia nervosa: an eating disorder characterized by recurrent binge eating followed by self-induced purging, accompanied by overconcern with body weight and shape.

Describe causal factors involved in anorexia & bulimia.

- Eating disorders typically begin in adolescence and affect more females than males.

- Anorexia and bulimia are linked to preoccupations with weight control and maladaptive methods of trying to keep weight low.

- Many other factors are implicated in their development, including social pressures on young women to adhere to unrealistic standards of thinness, issues of control, underlying psychological problems, and conflict within the family, especially over issues of autonomy.

Body mass index (BMI): a standard measure that takes both body weight and height into account.

Evaluate methods used to treat anorexia & bulimia.

Severe cases of anorexia are often treated in an inpatient setting in which a re-feeding regimen can be closely monitored. Behavior modification and other psychological interventions, including psychotherapy and family therapy, may also be helpful. Most cases of bulimia are treated on an outpatient basis, with evidence supporting the therapeutic benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal psychotherapy, and antidepressant medication.

Describe the key feature of binge-eating disorder and identify effective treatments for the disorder.

Binge-eating disorder (BED): an eating disorder characterized by recurrent eating binges without subsequent purging.

- People with BED tend to be older than those with anorexia or bulimia and are more likely to be obese.

- CBT and antidepressant medication have been shown to be effective in treating BED.

Sleep-wake disorders: persistent or recurrent sleep-related problems that cause distress or impaired functioning.

Describe the key features of insomnia disorder.

Insomnia: difficulties falling asleep, remaining asleep, or achieving restorative sleep.

- frequently associated with worrying and anxiety, especially performance anxiety associated with overconcern about not getting enough sleep

Insomnia disorder: a sleep-wake disorder characterized by chronic or persistent insomnia not caused by another psychological or physical disorder or by the effects of drugs or medications.

Describe the key features of hypersomnolence disorder.

Hypersomnolence disorder: persistent pattern of excessive sleepiness during the day.

- Despite adequate amounts of sleep, these patients feel unrefreshed upon awakening and aren’t alert during the day.

Describe the key features of narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy: a sleep disorder characterized by sudden, irresistible episodes of sleep.

- may involve genetic factors and loss of brain cells in the hypothalamus that produce a wakefulness-regulating chemical

Cataplexy: a physical condition triggered by a strong emotional reaction that involves loss of muscle tone and voluntary muscle control, which may result in a person slumping or collapsing to the floor.

Sleep paralysis: a temporary state of muscle paralysis upon awakening.

Hypnagogic hallucinations: hallucinations occurring at the threshold between wakefulness and sleep onset or shortly upon awakening.

Describe the key features of breathing-related sleep disorders.

Breathing-related sleep disorders: sleep disorders involving recurrent episodes of momentary cessation of breathing during sleep; often associated with daytime sleepiness.

Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome: a subtype of breathing-related sleep disorders more commonly called obstructive sleep apnea. It typically involves repeated episodes during sleep of snorting or gasping for breath, pauses of breath, or abnormally shallow breathing.

Describe the key features of circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders.

Circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders: sleep-wake disorders characterized by a mismatch between the body’s normal sleep-wake cycle and the demands of the environment.

- more likely to occur as a result of frequent shifts in work schedule or frequent travel between time zones

Identify the major types of parasomnias and describe their key features.

Parasomnias: sleep-wake disorders involving abnormal behavior patterns associated with partial or incomplete arousals.

Sleep terrors: a sleep-wake disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of terror-induced arousals during sleep.

Sleepwalking: a sleep-wake disorder involving repeated episodes of sleepwalking.

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD): a sleep-wake disorder characterized by vocalizing parts of a dream or thrashing about during a dream.

Nightmare disorder: a sleep-wake disorder characterized by recurrent awakenings due to frightening nightmares.

Evaluate methods used to treat sleep-wake disorders and apply your knowledge to identify more adaptive sleep habits.

A. Biological approaches

- anti-anxiety drugs are most commonly used; however, this is not always a good long term solution because of the potential for psychological and/or physical dependence on sleep aids.

B. Psychological approaches

- cognitive behavioral interventions have emerged as treatment of choice for patients with chronic insomnia

C. Healthy sleep habits

1. Establish a regular sleep-wake cycle.

2. Limit activities in bed to sleeping (as much as possible).

3. Get out of bed after 10-20 minutes if you are unable to fall asleep; take action to restore a restful state of mind.

4. Avoid daytime naps and avoid ruminating in bed.

5. Establish a regular daytime exercise schedule.

6. Avoid use of caffeinated beverages in the late afternoon & evening.

7. Replace self-defeating thoughts with helpful alternatives.

[gryffindorpsychologyandcoffee]

Preparing for my in class presentation tomorrow about sleep disorders and autism! What a week I’ve had… but it ends with my birthday! How is your week going?

🎵 Adhd Relief Music- YouTube

[hauntedselves]

saw my clinical lycanthropy intro post in the wild and my eyes caught on the part that obstructive sleep aponea (OSA) is apparently not uncommon in CL.... and guess who got diagnosed with OSA a few weeks ago...!

here's the relevant section in the paper i cited (Guessom et al., 2021):

i'm going to be doing a continuous airway pressure treatment trial soon to see if it helps with my chronic fatigue, it'll be very interesting to see if it changes my CL or other psychoses...

[farcillesbian]

omg. so i was really upset this morning because i missed my virtual clinic appointment. but also confused because i swore that my appointment was at 1:40 pm not 9:40 am, i put it in my calendar immediately after booking and everything.

i would not intentionally book a 9:40 am appointment if i had other options because i know that i have difficulties with waking up in the morning and am prone to sleeping through my alarms. it’s why i literally do not sleep the night before i have to go to the airport to catch a flight. and as i feared, i did sleep through multiple alarms today.

i was in tears trying to explain what happened to the secretary, that i was so sure i selected an afternoon time and i’m so confused why it got booked for 9:40 am instead. and she was like “there’s no way that could happen, the times online show as atlantic time.” she booked me a new appointment for 11:20 am next week and then i cried for like 15 minutes bc i get so embarrassed about my sleep issues and think that people assume i’m lazy & making up excuses.

then i got an email tonight that i’m being charged a no-show fee, and i was like wtf. i told you there was a technical error and you said nothing about a no show fee on the phone either. so that prompted me to check the new appointment in the online portal on my computer and see what time it shows up as. lo and behold. it says 3:20 pm instead of 11:20 am and there’s no timezone listed. for some fucking reason times show up in UK time in my browser even though the laptop is set to the correct time zone!

[bloodglucose]

.

[redd956]

How the sleep study went?

And so far... (Health Update)

I took my first ever sleep study yesterday night for Nightmare Disorder. It went pretty well, even if the experience was a little awkward.

Summary:

The tech was incredibly nice, and polite. She did a wonderful job in explaining the process to me, and the overwhelming amount of equipment that was going to be utilized. She hooked the many wires and bands up to me, and then she left the room so we could do exercises.

Exercises included her speaking through a speaker in the room, and potentially looking through the cameras. I did a bunch of movement and sound exercises to make sure all the equipment was working. There is a mic in a sleep study where the tech can hear you, so in case you want something or the tech needs something from you the both of you can communicate.

I did have a pretty hard time actually falling asleep for the study because the equipment was uncomfortable, and I was very anxious about the results. I did get some successful periods of sleep though.

The tech did have to come into the room and wake me up a few times. Due to my restless sleeping I had several times pulled off the equipment in my sleep, stickers, and all. I also kept rolling onto my stomach and obstructing a piece of nose equipment. 

Aftermath:

There was a bit of aftermath, in the form of the medical gel used to attach the stickers. For those of us with lots of hair the tech has to put the stickers and gel in your hair as close to your scalp as possible. The gel is quite difficult to get washed out, as it more so melt from hot water. Other than that I found the sleep study a learning experience, and can’t wait to hear my results from a future appointment.

I did learn that I am more restless than I thought.

What to expect if you have one?

It will be a little awkward, but have no fear it’s the tech’s job and they’ve seen a bit of everything

You will likely be woken up or checked on a few times throughout the night. If you are used to having sleep problems, which would be what you’re going for, this will have no effect on your health and attitude.

Hair can’t be wet with any conditioners in before the appointment, and your closing has to be a certain way and a comfortable two-piece.

They’ll have accommodations for different sleeping styles. More blankets, TV sleeper, using the bathroom throughout the night, all of that is there for people.

There’s also a shower in case you want to do that after finishing the study.

If you are young you will likely be the youngest patient there, and less common. Most of the people going are there for sleep apnea, which primarily effects older people and men. So techs and nurses will be a bit more curious about you.

[onlythestarsarewatching]

I did a sleep study 2 weeks ago and I'm anxiously waiting to hear about my results! What if I have a brand new never heard of sleep disorder? I'll be famous

[elvenmoans]

and forcing people with delayed circadian rhythms to sleep at night and work during the day is the same as making people with typical circadian rhythms do night shifts. And we all know how hellish night shifts typically are

there’s a decent amt of neurologists who’ve called the sleep schedules we’re obligated to be on despite flagrant conflict with our natural circadian rhythms “borderline torture” and the work hours we’re expected to put in despite the fact that the average person can only maintain maximal efficiency and focus for 3 hours at a time “nearly inhumane” and i think about that a lot