Sleeping Issues

[Governor Megachris%Participant 3584]

At the risk of sounding crazy here…what are people’s thoughts on sleep paralysis (or any other sleep studies)? I know there’s some scientific explanations for it, and I’ve experienced it before, but it’s something far more terrifying to me than any nightmare, as I literally *feel* it most of the time. This past night was indeed the worst it’s EVER been.

After the first instance about 5:30 this morning (I only knew this because my cats woke me up about 5:00-5:10 this morning first, to which I fell asleep right after), I felt it happen a few more times. I had my alarm clock set for 7:00 AM, so this was a tad uninviting.

I was sleeping face down, and tried rolling over. I couldn’t. I had trouble breathing and it felt like something was sitting on me…definitely not one of my cats, though! My entire body was frozen, and I used all the strength I had to fight against it. After what felt like a VERY long struggle, I finally broke free of it.
Here it is 11:00 AM now. I have this extreme sense of depersonalization and fear as I sit at my work desk, and my chest is still very tight, almost as bad as it was when I couldn’t breathe this morning. I keep telling myself I’m awake and aware right now, but I can’t bring the world into focus, if that makes any sense.
At what point should I be concerned about this? Should I just let this go? When it’s happened before, I normally could. I’d remember being able to go just fine through the day, but I feel…VERY odd for some reason right now. I don’t feel “myself.”

[Anonymous 1]

Holy crap, I had a few of those when I was younger (and a couple of time when I moved to Vancouver)! I never knew what they were called and I thought it was just me. Geez!!! Dude, I can’t tell you how grateful I am for you doing this post.

Usually when it happened to me, I would get desperate. Because I never knew what it was (until this post). So I would always struggle, with all my strength, with no avail. It is awful, worse than any nightmare indeed.

I will do some research once I get home.

Thanks again.

Cheers.

[Governor Megachris%Participant 3584]

I’ve had some people tell me that it could be sleep paralysis linked to sleep apnea (I have had issues with completely NOT breathing while sleeping before several times), but it’s never been as bad as it was this morning.  It just felt like something was pinning me down, and throughout the workday until just about 30 minutes ago I felt like something was hanging onto my shoulders and my mood was really…off.  I was DEFINITELY not myself the first 4 work hours today.

I sent a message to some family members to see if anyone else had this issue.  The only response I got was from my mother, who told me “not to self-diagnose, eat well, exercise, and sleep well.”  Well, I’ve been doing just that these past few weeks (I mean, I’ve dropped 10 pounds in the past month or so, and I don’t plan on stopping yet).  Funny how I NOW start improving my overall health, and now my SLEEP is the worst thing to hit me lately.

[experiencedParticipant]

Consult an expert. Find one who has expert advice as the two are not always the same.   Here’s my two cents. They are actually sending mothers home from hospitals now with tiny dose caffeine pills to prevent sudden crib death when babies stop breathing and die in their sleep. It may be tied in to mothers having coffee during the pregnancy and during breastfeeding. In any case people seem to be drinking a lot more coffee nowadays than decades ago’s ‘got a dime for a cup of coffee.’  This can all be blown out of the water by the fact that you don’t drink coffee or tea, but if you do, there’s a parallel: baby is on caffeine, gets used to it as a stimulant prop, then no caffeine and it’s like morphine to where you don’t breath ie the lack of a stimulant = a depressant. So mothers, instead of being told no caffeine for pregnancy and breastfeeding – which they won’t obey, are given tiny dose pills to give to the baby at bedtime.  Implicatiions for grown men would be to cut down on daily caffeine vs a quarter cup coffee at bedtime would probably keep you awake although not frozen.      People have had it where they think they are awake, but are still asleep. That may be part of your scenario.

Get a sleep study [from a place that doesn’t sell positive pressure breathing devices – as there is a conflict of interest here. $$]

Maybe counseling regarding a literally abusive upbringing – knowing you are truly loved as a child, because you live in fear.

Hope this helps.

"It seems like there's times a body gets struck down so low, there ain't a power on earth that can ever bring him up again. Seems like something inside dies so he don't even want to get up again. But he does."

[Governor Megachris%Participant 3584]

That actually would make some sense, in a way.  Strangely, caffeine actually makes me sleepy instead of awakens me.  I RARELY drink caffeine (a rare Coke here and there maybe), but when I do, it REALLY knocks me out.  I had it last night as I had dinner (soon before bed).  Wonder if that would have any connection.

I’ve also had counseling done before, though it’s been hard to trust many of them as they seem to take the female’s side in my abuse stories (of the women abusing me physically, mentally, etc.).  I haven’t been to a counselor in about 8 months or more now.

If I can find an expert of this sort in my area, I’ll look into it ASAP.

[experiencedParticipant]

Another worthy source is a naturopathic, holistic, homeopathic practitioner. Doctor of Naturopathy.  They can have you tested for all sorts of stuff and make recomendations for thyroid levels / adrenal fatigue / B vitamin injections, etc. They are shunned by the medical community AMA wise because they quite often get great results and will put AMA outta business.  They will try to fix the problem rather than cash flow it via big pharma.

"It seems like there's times a body gets struck down so low, there ain't a power on earth that can ever bring him up again. Seems like something inside dies so he don't even want to get up again. But he does."

[Governor Megachris%Participant 3584]

They have doctors for that?  I looked it up, and they have one near me!  Are they doctors that use more natural herbs and such as medicines?  If so, I find it very funny you mention this.  I went to an organic medicine/grocery store that’s literally a 5 minute walk from my place, and tried what was called “Tibetan Natural Healing: Anxiety Support.”  I’ve had really bad anxiety attacks the past few years, and since I’ve started trying it 3 weeks ago, I’ve not had a single attack since.  I’ve had psychiatrists prescribe me with things like Xanax and Celexa (among other things), but NOTHING worked until this!  I totally sound like a commercial, I know…but it’s incredibly interesting!  Now that I know they have doctors for this kind of stuff, I might look into that…

[Crazy CanuckMember 4215]

Try turning off wifi if you have wifi in your home and if you have a cell phone turn it off while you’re trying to sleep. These device can prevent you from sleeping. Also watching too much tv that includes watching videos can be a disturbance.
Do you exercise much? Maybe you need some exercise. Try these suggestions, give it about 5 days and you should notice a difference. If not it could be something else.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2577824/Why-NEVER-mobile-bedroom.html

"If pussy was a stock it would be plummeting right now because you've flooded the market with it. You're giving it away too easy." - Dave Chapelle

[experiencedParticipant]

Canuck’s got a great point here. We are not designed to be sedentary. Without some daily physical exertion, the whole diaphragm / intercostals / lungs / heart ..all get into really crappy shape to the extent that what used to be easy eg sleeping on one’s chest, now becomes relatively difficult. Try sleeping on your sides with arms and legs in all different positions. You’ll be able to get angled toward face down, but without as much compression of the ribcage/thorax.    Throw a once folded towel over a door. Get close to the hinged side, and facing away from the door, reach over your head and grab the top of the door, palms facing the door, thumbs next to fingers. Exhale completely, close your throat and ‘try’ to inhale with your throat closed initially then gradually open it. Once you can do this without any sharp pains, do it with your feet pulled up off the floor. This will help expand your ribcage, decrease your thoracic curve, increase your lung volume and suck your intestines in to where they’are supposed to be. Sometimes it’s easier to go directly to the physical aspect and change it.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=exercise++++++vacuums&form=ASUTDF&pc=MAAU&src=IE-SearchBox

"It seems like there's times a body gets struck down so low, there ain't a power on earth that can ever bring him up again. Seems like something inside dies so he don't even want to get up again. But he does."

[Governor Megachris%Participant 3584]

I’ve been getting back into working out daily when I can (some days when I get off of work, I’m so worn out that I fall asleep almost immediately).  I’ve started with running and power walking.  My first goal is to get my stamina up, as I’ve never had good stamina, even as a teenager who was full of energy.  I could exert that energy, but I’d be out of it within less than a minute.  I may try @experienced ‘s method of sleeping on my side or back, because I normally end up sleeping face down…and I can imagine that’s not good for my ribcage region at all.

[RoyDalParticipant]

Ditto all the advice you’ve gotten so far in this thread (except the demonic thing, which I assume is a jest). I have had insomnia from time to time. (Never sleep paralysis though.)

I was told to:
* Go to bed about the same time every night, both work nights and weekends. Keep my body on the same rhythm.
* Go to bed early enough so you don’t need the alarm to wake up. (You can DVR the late nite comics’ monologues.)
* Avoid bright lights, TV, computer, wifi, other electronic gadgets for at least an hour before bedtime.
* No solid food 3 to 5 hours before bedtime (think Dagwood’s famous nightmares)
* Exercise is critical. Make sure you get some.

I do Zen meditation immediately before turning in. I stumbled on this one on my own. It is also a good way to pass the time when I simply can’t sleep.

If that Tibetan remedy is working, then it sounds like you’re on to a good thing. A friend of mine uses a homeopathic called “Rescue Remedy” when her kids are too frazzled to go to bed, and when they have nightmares. She gets it at the local health food store.

EDIT: Google produced 2 million hits when I searched for “sleep paralysis.” Some of them looked like reputable sites.

Society asks MGTOWs: Why are you not making more tax-slaves?

[Governor Megachris%Participant 3584]

Being the Christian guy I am, I almost did consider the whole demonic thing…then I realized that the whole “being saved” thing would technically mean I couldn’t be possessed anyway.  It WAS admittedly scary, but I tried to see if there were other solutions. 😛 I think it has to do with my sleep apnea.  I know I shouldn’t self-diagnose, but it’s exactly that.

My schedule works me like this:

Non-pay week (this week)
Monday – Tuesday 7:30 – 6 with a 30 minute break
Wednesday – Thursday 8 – 6 with an hour break
Friday 8-12

Pay week
Monday – Tuesday 8 – 6 with an hour break
Wednesday – Thursday 7:30 – 6 with a 30 minute break
Friday off

In other words, that 30 minute difference between work days really does affect me more than it probably should.

Funny that you also mention Rescue Remedy, as the lady that managed the organic shop recommended that to me as well.  She said it’s good if I get any panic attacks of any kind.  Supposedly, the story behind the Tibetan Natural Healing stuff is that monks with anxiety used it there in Tibet for 2 months, and never needed medication for it again.  We’ll see if it works for me.  3/8 weeks done!

To calm myself generally, I usually light some of my favorite incense sticks (Dragon’s Blood, Egyptian Musk, Egyptian Cotton, Isis, Amber) and play some dark ambient music.  Strangely, music like that makes me feel the most “at peace” because it sets my mind into an “I’m alone in the dark” atmosphere.

Example:

[experiencedParticipant]

My first goal is to get my stamina up, as I’ve never had good stamina

The quickest way to increase the volumetric efficiency of the heart is via interval training. Basically warm up then jog, sprint, jog, sprint,…….jog.

Always jog last, for a decent amount of time, since during the jog is when your heart is working the hardest to catch up ie  always! warm down.

 

"It seems like there's times a body gets struck down so low, there ain't a power on earth that can ever bring him up again. Seems like something inside dies so he don't even want to get up again. But he does."

[Author]

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