I've had two separate sleep studies performed, one a home study and the second at the Sleep Medical Institute in my city. Neither were uncomfortable nor burdensome. My problem has never been falling asleep but rather staying asleep as the latency to sleep in both studies attested to. I have a combination of major obstructive sleep apnea as well as extremely delayed or non existent level 3 and level 4 deep sleep. A regular sleep cycle consists of 5 levels of sleep that do cycle throughout the night in about 90 minute cycles...from level 1 through 4, REM and then back up to 1 again to start over. I stay in levels 1 and 2 for about 300 minutes and fall straight into REM where my cessation of breathing (apnea) is at its highest, about 45 times per hour. Each period of apnea lasted between 10 to 25 seconds before I would kick in and start breathing again on my own. For me, a CPAP with the humidifier is pretty much a necessity if I want to get any restorative sleep at all.
Lowered serotonin levels in my brain are another reason for my sleep disorders. Serotonin is a chemical found in our brains and spinal fluid. It helps regulate mood, sleepiness, calmness and relaxation. Lower levels of serotonin in some people can be a cause of sleep deprivation or sleep disorders. In some cases of mild sleep deprivation one can increase the levels of serotonin by increasing the amount of tryptophan in their systems. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is not produced by our bodies, thus we must get it from outside sources. Some food sources that contain tryptophan are milk, walnuts, bananas, turkey, salmon and strawberries. The biggest problem with just relying on putting more tryptophan into our diets to increase serotonin so we sleep better at night is that tryptophan uses the same means of transport into the brain as other amino acids and has to compete against them to cross the blood-brain barrier. As it happens, tryptophan is the least abundant amino acid and is forced to fight for access against the more common amino acids and usually serotonin levels are not increased significantly to make much of a difference.
So...what do we do then? When a sleep disorder is not apnea related but most likely due to lower serotonin levels? An herbal approach is one way and there are many choices of tryptophan available in natural vitamin stores. By increasing the abundance of tryptophan in your system, more is likely to enter the brain thus converting to serotonin. Caution must always be used though when using any herbal medication, especially if it is combined with any prescription medications. Natural does not always equal beneficial. I was sicker than a dog taking natural tryptophan. Many physicians, now utilize the beneficial effects of SSRI's for some sleep disorders. SSRI's are Selective Serotonin Re-Uptake Inhibitors. They allow the body to use the serotonin levels that are already present to their maximum effectiveness, letting the serotonin flow freely across the chemical channels in the brain without hinderance. Ahhh, anti-depressants...not
just for depression anymore!
I work hard to get a good nights sleep every night and can completely empathize with anyone who does have a difficult time. One of my dreams is to actually get a full 8 hours of truly wonderful sleep! One night at a time....
Not being so lucky to have the time to get online from work, sometimes I forget that others can. Lucky folks!