Iceblossom

Yeah, I am well informed on the state of sleep medicine. I do not have sleep apnea which is a very serious but mostly easily dealt with condition. I do see a sleep specialist, she admits that there is still much they don't know about the actual mechanisms of sleep and there is a small number of us that just can't be helped right now. I've spent decades with the "sleep hygiene" of the 1970s, no caffeine at all/none after noon, maintaining a schedule, blah blah blah. I follow 99 rules and I am not willing to give up my pets. I've tried a lot of things over the last 30 years, my sleep regulator seems to have broken when I was on the 24 hour schedule of a mother with a new born. Recently however, they have taken the "hygiene" part out of the diagnostic manual. Another big change is they are finding specific genes, which is why I did get a 23&Me kit, restless leg syndrome has a definite genetic link (not my problem but runs in my family).

Basically, we all sleep in cycles (note the plural) that last roughly 90-120 minutes. I seem to be set to only sleep one cycle. In my brains defense I go into REM stage much faster than normal people, but I get basically none of the deep sleep cycle which is where your body rests and repairs. Sometimes after about 30 minutes to 2 hours of being awake I can sleep another cycle. Sometimes I can't. Sometimes I stay in bed and cry and other times I get up and get on with my day. Today has been a good day for quilting so far!

At my worst days, I get about 2 hours sleep in 24. Average is about 4 hours, which is the standard for "what is considered torture for prisoners". We are working to get me to 6 hours which I feel would be good or at least make a significant improvement in my quality of life. Different people have different requirements for sleep and some seem to be fine with 4... unfortunately 8 is probably best for me and is probably an non-reachable goal.

Edit: Currently I am prescribed Gabapentin, basically "off label", it helps me get to a deeper and more restful state of sleep but doesn't help me fall asleep or stay asleep. I also take (prescribed by my sleep specialist) L-theanine, a supplement just before bed. It seems to make me more contented/drowsy when I wake up and more likely to get another cycle. I got no immediate help from the magnesium I was prescribed and stopped taking it, but I'm finding research that suggests I need to build up my levels over time and am going to start taking it again and see if I can see a 6-month change.