Life Lesson

Is It Sleep Apnea or Just Poor Bedtime Habits

I may have found the answer while on vacation

At one of my yearly physicals, I mentioned I had problems falling asleep at night and waking up too early in the morning, which left me needing a nap during the day. After asking a series of questions, my doctor recommended I take a Sleep Study Test to rule out the possibility of Sleep Apnea, a potentially dangerous sleep disorder.

He asked about my living conditions, eating habits, whether I fell asleep during meetings, and if I snore. After answering as honestly as I could, he made an appointment for me to take the test.

I remember my son taking the test and needing a CPAP machine. Both he and his father snored loudly and had breathing issues during the night. My husband never did anything about it and snored so loudly that I could not sleep in the same room with him. When my son took the test, he was diagnosed with this disorder. Now I realize his father most likely had it, too.

I was hoping this was not the case for me. Even though I live alone I still would not want that contraption on my face at night.

Due to family circumstances, I put off the test for a better time, which didn’t come for years due to Covid-19.

In the meantime, I tried chamomile tea, as it was recommended as a natural sleep aid. The first few times I took it I felt as if my whole body was at peace — there was no twitching or rocking or changing positions a dozen times to get comfortable.

Then I found after 4 nights I wasn’t relaxing as much and started waking up feeling anxious and not returning to sleep quickly. It seemed to have stopped working and made it worse. So much for that!

In past years I’ve tried Melatonin, which after a few days gave me headaches, and Valerian Root, which gave me nightmares.

What I did notice

During the pandemic I couldn’t taste or smell anything, so I didn’t drink much coffee and slept better which could have been attributed to the illness itself. Once feeling better I went back to 2–3 cups a day and back to loss of sleep.

Normally I wake up around 5 a.m., have my first cup with a protein bar, then another cup around 10 with a small breakfast of eggs and whole wheat toast.

Then after my nap around 1 p.m., I have another cup to get me through the rest of the day usually with something sweet, like chocolate, as my sugar always felt low after an afternoon nap.

I may have developed this habit of consuming copious amounts of coffee during my college years. My study routine involved waking up at 4 a.m. and then continuing to study after dinner until late in the night, which left me feeling exhausted during the day. Coffee seemed to be the only way to combat the fatigue.

Other things I noticed

Family issues kept me up at night, too. Worrying about my two boys when they were little was bad enough, but nothing compared to how I worry about my three granddaughters. Geez, there are so many things in this world to be aware of and I can’t turn off thinking about the possible dangers they may encounter.

Owning a dance studio did not help. Not that I didn’t love it, I did, and I miss it. But the building was at the point where I either had to bite the bullet and start making some huge repairs, or lower the price so it would sell. (I did sell it after Covid-19. It no longer made sense to keep it.)

Of course, some of my stressors are due to my health. I’m not in bad shape, yet, but each day brings new aches and pains, blood tests showing anemia, ear issues causing dizziness, and my knees — forget about it! I try to be active but there are days when my body fights me.

Add to this my son, who is an amazing business person, may not be the most sensitive when it comes to my aging. His annoyance at my forgetfulness, not always hearing what he’s saying, and moving too slowly makes me feel like I’m a burden at times, and I fear the writing’s on the wall.

Second chance to take the test

Once again, at last year’s physical, my doctor asked the same questions, I gave him the same answers, he asked why I never took the test, then scheduled another one.

The problem was, even though it was an at-home test, I would have to drive an hour there and back to pick up the equipment, and then return it after the test. I don’t drive as much as I used to especially long distances.

Luckily before my appointed date, I had taken a Psychology Course online, partly because it was one of the courses I enjoyed most while working on my degree decades ago; the other because we have a child in the family who seems to be heading in the wrong direction and I was searching for answers.

One chapter in that course was devoted to Sleep Disorders.

Now we’re talking –- this is right up my alley!

The more I read about poor habits, the more I realized how many of them I was guilty of. These are some of the things I should be doing or avoiding:

• Keep to the same sleep/wake schedule each day
• Avoid devices with bright lights (like TVs, phones, computers)
• Avoid too much liquid before bed.
• Exercise during the day, and don’t overdo it at night.
• Don’t take naps during the day.
• Keep bedroom cool, over 60, under 70 degrees.
• Avoid caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol, and heavy meals which may make you sleepy but may wake you up during the night.
• Don’t work or eat in your bed.

I’m guilty of all but the cigarettes and alcohol. They could have made that list from my own life!

Time to make changes

To begin, I started using the timer on my TV so if I fell asleep while watching, it wouldn’t wake me up at 1 a.m. Along with having to go to the bathroom, once I was awake, I would watch more TV.

I avoided drinking coffee or eating chocolate and/or sugar past 11 a.m. and limited coffee to only one cup a day.

I limited my water drinking close to bedtime (like a baby?!), which cut down on bathroom trips (if the TV didn’t wake me up, my bladder sure did).

I also got into the habit of taking my multivitamin before bed not in the morning as it takes all day to give me energy, something I don’t need at night.

I have been known to walk or take aerobics classes right before bed, but that never kept me awake, if anything it tired me out as does walking, so I did not change that.

Even though some of this worked, I wasn’t quite there yet.

Since selling my building I no longer had the financial burden of maintenance and repairs and worrying about cutting grass, plowing snow, raking leaves, trimming bushes, emptying septic tanks, or the well running dry.

So why am I still having trouble sleeping?

I have to go one step further. I know I have to avoid naps in the afternoon, but that’s almost impossible. When I feel this veil of fogginess coming over me, I have to lie down for about 20 minutes to feel refreshed.

I also have to stop worrying about everybody and everything and trying to be all things to all people. It doesn’t work, anyway.

Vacation observations

Then I went on vacation with my family for 9 days and slept like a baby every night. What was different?

Well, fresh air, lots of walking on the beach, boardwalk, amusement park, restaurant, cool room, no time or place to take a nap, and a change of environment.

I think ocean air has some magic qualities that are not found anywhere else!

Additionally, I turned the TV off at 10 p.m. because the baby was in the room with me, ate less (food is expensive down the shore), and drank less coffee, as it was hard to find a good cup in the morning without walking a mile.

While at the hotel room, I asked one of the girls, who likes to stay up late on her phone and usually falls asleep after me, if I snore. She said, “No, just normal breathing.” I asked her what that was and she said, “You know, you’re not quiet, but you don’t snore or anything like Daddy does. You sound like a grandmother.”

Whatever that means — I’ll take it!

The verdict

On the first week back from vacation, I went right back to my bad habits of worrying, watching TV until I fell asleep, very often forgetting to turn on the timer, not exercising enough, making my one cup of coffee extra strong in the morning, and munching on chocolate after my nap.

Now I’m fairly sure I don’t have Sleep Apnea. I’m doing this to myself with my poor habits.

Knowing how important a good night’s sleep is and compensating with naps is like putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound.

The cure is in front of me. I can do it. It’s fixable, but It’s going to take willpower and discipline on my part.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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