Will a Sleep Diary Give You Answers?
Whether you’re part of an official sleep study or you just want answers for yourself, one tool that will help you find the sleep that’s eluding you is a sleep diary. One of the most frustrating issues of having a sleep disorder is the not knowing why it’s happening to you.
A sleep diary can help you pinpoint the reasons you’re not getting enough rest at night. There is no exact right or wrong sleep pattern, but having a diary that chronicles your clumber will help you see when (and why) your sleep schedule is making you feel deprived.
When you’re suffering from sleep disorders, your mind may not function as clearly as it does when you are getting enough sleep. A diary will help you remember the details of why you woke up, or what caused you to have trouble falling asleep.
You’ll need to record certain elements about your sleep, not just whether or not you got any. You’ll want to jot down your pre-slumber routine – were you watching Prison Break or cleaning house right before bed or did you have a fat-laden, high-caffeine meal 20 minutes before you got into bed?
Your diary can reveal habits you haven’t picked up on. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A simple piece of paper with grids can be all you need to create a record of your sleep. You don’t even need to be exact with timelines – if you know you went to bed around 10 PM, write it down – don’t worry if it was 9:55 PM or 10:12 PM.
Keep track of the times you wake up and what made you wake up. Did you get out of bed when you woke up? What did you do? When were you able to go back to sleep? All of these answers help the sleep study clinic (or you) hone in on what you’re doing right or wrong.
Try to keep a record of when you went to bed and woke up, how often (and for how long) you woke up during the night, what medications you were on, what you ate, any naps you took during the day, and when you felt drowsy versus when you were alert and awake.
Note to yourself whether you felt refreshed or fatigued when you woke up the next morning. Keep track of what you consumed during the day – caffeine, medications, food, etc. At different times of the day, try to note how you feel – energetic or exhausted?
Go over your sleep diary and see what changes you can make in your lifestyle habits to help alleviate your sleep disorder. If you don’t see anything apparent to your knowledge, then take the sleep diary to a doctor and have him or her read through it to see if a professionally-trained medical professional can find the issues you need to address.
When Snoring Intrudes on Your Slumber
Snoring can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule – whether you’re the one with the snoring issue, or the person lying next to you is causing the noise. It can become a serious medical condition if the snoring is something more – sleep apnea, where the person’s snoring halts their breathing and causes them to gasp for their next breath.
If you’re sleeping next to a snorer, then you may not be in full control of the solutions you consider. Many couples find the sleep deprived spouse routinely moves into another room, wears earplugs, or spends all night tapping the snorer on the shoulder to interrupt the snoring and allow them enough time to get to sleep.
It can be torturous to sleep next to someone who snores, because it’s like having someone constantly stand there waking you up throughout the night. You might get very irritable and feel guilt for getting mad at someone who can’t control their noise level during the night.
The person doing the snoring (which may or may not be you) needs to find a solution that will quiet the snoring and allow them – and the ones they love – to have a peaceful night’s sleep.
Snoring is so common that about one-third of adults seek solutions for this issue every year. It may happen nightly, or only on occasion, such as when you’ve had alcohol before bed.
It’s caused when the air flows into your throat past the soft tissue, resulting in a loud vibration. People who are overweight may suffer from snoring more often than those who are not. Shedding pounds is often enough to shut down the snoring cycle for good.
Some people have resorted to sewing tennis balls in the backs of their pajamas to forcibly keep them on their side, since snoring is more prominent when the person is lying on their back.
Nasal strips and oral appliances can sometimes work. These keep your nasal passages or airways in your throat open to allow your breathing to continue without interruption. If sleep apnea is an issue, where your snoring fits suddenly stop with your breathing until you gasp for air, then you might want to consider undergoing a sleep study so you can be fitted for a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. This mask pumps air into your airways, keeping them open to prevent snoring and interruption of breathing.
As a last resort, you might consider getting surgery to address your snoring issues. All three surgeries aim to do the same thing – remove tissue obstructions to help you breath better during slumber, but each one uses a different technology.
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is the common surgery done under general anesthesia where the doctor trims your airways of tissue that could be obstructing your breathing.
Uvulopalatoplasty, or laser surgery, is another option where a laser beam is used to remove your uvula. It removes excess tissue just like traditional surgery, allowing air to flow without the loud, disruptive vibrations snoring usually produces.
Somnoplasty, which is also known as radio frequency tissue ablation, is when a surgeon uses low intensity radio signals to take out part of your soft palate – enough to end snoring and allow air to flow freely.
Talk to your doctor if non-surgical remedies aren’t working and see what type of options he or she can offer to help you (and your loved ones) find some peace and quiet during the night.