Organization: NetRunner's Paradise BBS, San Diego CA
Newsgroups: alt.med.cfs
Date:         Mon, 11 Jan 1993 19:36:38 PST
              <CFS-L@NIHLIST.BITNET>
Comments:     Cloudbuster
From:         ronald hill <rhill@NETRUN.CTS.COM>
Subject:      Sleep, sleep, sleeeeep.

        Before two years ago, when my symptoms got much better, I
had terrible problems sleeping, simular to what people have
descibed.  During the last two years, I generally feel that I
sleep quite well.  The problem is in getting asleep, and knowing
how long to sleep.  I notice two general rules.

        1) No matter when I go to sleep, it always seems to take 15
hours or so later till I can get to sleep again.

        2) I tend to want to sleep from about 3am to 11:30 am.  Even
if I stay up all night or get very little sleep, it's very
difficult for me to go to bed any earlier.

        3) The exception to rule number #1 and 2 is that between 6
and 8 pm (no matter when I got up).  I feel a profound sense of
fatique and can almost always fall asleep.  Sometimes I'll even
accidently fall asleep.  Again, even if I've gotten very little
sleep, I can go to sleep between 6 and 8, but NOT any other time
until 3am or so.  Sometimes I'll try going to sleep around 8:30
or so, and it almost never works.  I'll simply lay in bed for
hours, sometimes all the way till 3.

        4) If I get little or no sleep, I'll almost always feel
_better_ as far as my "CFS symptoms", although I will, of course,
feel very "sleepy tired".  Of course, this will only work for a
night or two.


        What I'd like is to be able to keep to an establish regular
sleeping time, something like 3 to 11:30.  The problem is that
sometimes I'll sleep too late, which usually means I'll go to bed
later that night, which screws up everything.  Or, I'll (for
whatever reason) simply have trouble going to sleep, which again
screws up everything.
        Another problem I have is knowing how much to sleep, because
like I said, if I sleep too late I have to go to bed later the
next night.  Sometimes I'll wake up and feel really sleepy and go
back to sleep and then wake up feeling bad, like I've slept too
much.  Other times, do the same and wake up feeling like I needed
the "extra" sleep.

        The interesting thing to me about the above "rules", is that
they seem to have very little to do with how if FEEL health wise,
or "sleepy)tired" wise.  Quite often I will go to bed feeling
quite good, sleepy, and/or relaxed, and yet not be able to go to
sleep.  Whether or not I can sleep usually depends on the above
rules, more then how I feel, how sleepy I am, or how relaxed I
am.
        I came upon these rules after careful observation, and I am
careful NOT to be ruled by them.  I will quite often go to bed
at the "wrong time" (according to these rules), and I tell myself
that I'll be able to get to sleep, and yet, more often then not,
I can't. \j\
        Of course some of the common "sleep rules" are helpful, such
as not eating or drinking much a few hours before sleep,
especially sugar and caffiene.  Also having good sex before sleep
is good.  :))


---
rhill@netrun.cts.com (ronald hill)
NetRunner's Paradise BBS, San Diego CA
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU