Insomnia

[Knowledged_one]

Dr steve is it possible for the mind/body to forget how to sleep or fall asleep. I suffer from bipolar and fatigue as well as insomnia and go through periods where i lay in bed but never fall asleep and then finally my body just crashes and i just feel that i dont know how to sleep anymore without taking ambien. Thanks in advance

[Coach]

Dr steve is it possible for the mind/body to forget how to sleep or fall asleep. I suffer from bipolar and fatigue as well as insomnia and go through periods where i lay in bed but never fall asleep and then finally my body just crashes and i just feel that i dont know how to sleep anymore without taking ambien. Thanks in advance
Along the lines of what he said...I "crash" usually around the same time every night (around 9:30) Usually @ 3 hours after I eat..Sleep is deep and varies from 1-5 hours then I am wide awake for another 4 then "crash" again for another 1-4. No drugs or alcohol involved.

[Dr Steve]

Dr steve is it possible for the mind/body to forget how to sleep or fall asleep. I suffer from bipolar and fatigue as well as insomnia and go through periods where i lay in bed but never fall asleep and then finally my body just crashes and i just feel that i dont know how to sleep anymore without taking ambien. Thanks in advance


It depends on how you look at it...in one way the body CAN kind of "forget how to fall asleep" when someone has insomnia.

In insomnia, people either have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. It can be caused by a lot of things including stress, sleep apnea, and medications. Chronic insomnia CAN be treated with things like Ambien, but there are alternatives. We could talk about those, if you like. Let me know.

The problem with Ambien and Lunesta is that they work so well that the body gets used to them; it relies on them for the signal to sleep, so indeed the body kind of "forgets" how to fall asleep in the sense that if you don't take the medicine, you'll have trouble for several days. A sleep specialist can help with sleep disorders, including insomnia.

There are some studies out there that indicate that people who take medication to sleep get good results initially, but then the medication tends to quit working so well. On the other hand, people who practice "Sleep Hygiene" do better in the long run even than people who take drugs to sleep.

I covered sleep hygiene in this thread: http://www.ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?t=72228

let me know if it helps!


your friend,


steve