Well, nine hours of sleep is so amazing for me I actually woke up and wanted to do a little jig. I’m what I call an undersleeper. I was actually talking with my friend Kristin yesterday- she’s the author of Bipolar and Pregnant, and we spent a long time talking about bipolar disorder and sleep. Here are all the ways it affected our sleep:
#1. Issues due to meds. Kristin talked about Topamax. She has no idea if it affects sleep- but she’s pretty sure it affects memory. Kristin uses Lunesta to sleep.
#2. When I’m depressed, I have agitated sleep which means my brain doesn’t shut down at night. Bother! I use Ativan to sleep when it gets bad.
#3. Of course, mania is the biggest problem. I rapid cycle almost daily, so on the nights I can actually fall asleep normally and get 7-8 hours of rest is pretty great!
#4 . Excessive tiredness from medications- especially some anti depressants. Whew, I used to get so tired my lips got numb and I slept 14 hours a day. No kidding!
Many people in this industry say that regulating sleep is the #1 way to manage the illness. How is your sleep? I need to write a book on the topic!
The buzz word these days is ’sleep hygeine” I am not even sure how to spell the word! Ah, here it is: hygiene!
Julie
Related posts:
- Thanks to everyone… Hi There, I am constantly amazed at what great comments...
- Bipolar depression: it IS unfair! I struggle with the word ‘unfair.’ Some of my friends...
- Bipolar Disorder and Suicidal Depression Downswings This post actually follows a thread I started about four entries...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Recent Comments