Your take on daytime sleeping / Napping - is it really that bad

[Archimedes]

Hi Folks,

when I first got diagnosed a decade ago I got a leaflet from my then Neuro stating a couple of "simple" no-no´s for a CH newbie. (Triggers etc). 

 

One thing that was mentioned on there (and I have read it here as well) was to not practice daytime sleeping / napping as this can act as a trigger.

 

The past cycles I sticked to this and did not sleep during the day. Since the current cycle is so bad with not a single day of relief from the severe nightly attacks since weeks and weeks, I just have crossed the line that I can not endure my day anymore as is. I am so dead tired. Like not just tired, absolutely non functional horrible tired sometimes seeing hallucinations already. Coffee and Energy drinks do trigger this cycle as well (never did before) so I cant push myself artificially either.

 

Now, I could not take it anymore and had a 1hr nap some days ago at around 3pm-4pm. Yes, it seems it is a trigger for me as I was welcomed after waking up with a very bad attack.

 

My question is - I am honestly in the situation to rather take the hit / pain and abort it then having to carry on with this tiredness.

 

Is there any more detailed research around if a daytime nap is making the whole situation even worse, lengthening the cycle etc ? Yes, daytime sleep is - at least what the media tells us - generally not that good if exceeds the power napping timeframe of like 20 minutes or so, but I am curious on your view if I mess up things more by rather taking the hit and have a bit of rest at least, or if it does not matter and there is no worsening affect other then an additional daytime hit.

Yes, I understand the circadian rhythm / Hypothalamus is once more interrupted with a sleep during the day but its f***cked anyways so maybe it doesn't matter anymore at this stage. Babies / Toddlers / older people also nap, so it can´t be universally "bad" for our internal clock.

 

 

[Cast Iron]

Of all people we are the ‘different’ ones in many aspects. Drinking energy shots before sleeping or during the night to abort an attack ànd go back to sleep is not what many people can do or would advise. The reverse is also true, at least in my case, I can not have a daytime nap because it will definitely trigger the beast to wake up and have some fun. Yes, this really forces me to do something else and wait for the normal sleep cycle to begin. It’s what my sleep neuro advised me to do, as well as trying to avoid bright lights (especially with a lot of blue in it) during the day and night in case I am pacing or rocking back and forth during an attack.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Cast Iron

[Dallas Denny]

@Archimedes

My hits are 95% nocturnal and I'm a classic 90 min after going to sleep clusterhead.....after the 4th hit I usually say f this and just stay up so sleep deprivation is part of the game ....I've had clusters for 37 years and I avoid daytime naps like the plague when I'm in cycle cuz it's always a trigger!!  However, I sometimes get so tired that I'll resign myself to a couple of daytime hits just so I can get 3 hours sleep.

Dallas Denny 

 

[Archimedes]

Thanks both, yes agree I also avoided daytime naps like a vampire does holy water but I this cycle I have just crossed a line of bearable tiredness.

So my question stands however, do we have any evidence that day time naps - disregarding the additional hit, may extend / worsen the cycle due to further circadian rhythm interruption or does it rather not matter as the cycle runs it course anyways. 

 

best

 

[spiny]

They have not caused those problems for me. I was able to nap during the day for several years prior to it becoming a trigger. It did not extend or worsen my cycle, but gave me an extra hour of sleep every 24 hours. The two the I got from 6am to 8am were not sufficient to keep me going for long. 

After they became a trigger, I weighed the cost and decided based on how I felt that day. 

With naps, cycle was 6 months. Without naps, cycle was 6 months. 

ATB!

[FunTimes]

Like the others have said, I don't think it would lengthen your cycle but it may add a hit to your day. I have had days that I just can not stay awake any longer and took a nap, the short ones like you said about 29-30 minutes are ok most of the time but do not hold you over when your only sleeping 2-3 hours a night. I find that the lack of sleep is also a trigger so I will sometimes take a day off of work or waste a weekend day and try to sleep all day waking up every 90 minutes or so dealing with the cluster and laying back down. After a day of this I seem to get back on track with my normal clusters. 

[jon019]

@FunTimes....that sounds like "rebooting" the hypothalamus.....i never thought to try. i'm wondering if a visit to a sleep therapist might be in order for some of us. perhaps light therapy as another form of reboot...

[Cowboy Jeff]

For me I get an erg to lay back and take an afternoon nap every single day between 3:00 - 4:30 pm. I can make myself not do it, But I have learned that if I skip that rest period that is always comes with an attack, I will pay big time because later in the night the next attack will be a Doozy. Some times 2 - 4 hours full bore.