Interupted sleep?

I have been sleeping 5-6 hours using a BIPAP. I really feel find and can seldom sleep more than 6 hours. I sleep like a rock; no movement or dreams I can recall. But once in awhile my sleep is disrupted by something that wakes me... this takes quite a bit but once awake, I am awake for the duration. Since going on the BIPAP machine I have NEVER fallen back asleep as I am wide awake. Last night (or tonight if you wish) my dogs started barking like crazy at about 1:30AM and I been asleep only a couple hours. I woke and couldn't go back to sleep. I feel fine and alert and won't feel bad during the day. Is this normal? Does anyone else on therapy experience this?

Hi, @wiredgeorge -- if I remember correctly, about 6 hours is the minimum needed generally for the brain to do what it does whilst we sleep -- clean up, file memories, that sort of thing. Sleeping only 5 might be insufficient. About dreaming -- if you aren't dreaming, that is one issue; if you are but are not remembering that, that may be completely different. While researchers and philosophers and psychologists argue about the purpose of dreams, we do seem to think we need them...for something... All that aside -- if you are awakened as by the sudden and alarming nature of the dogs "barking like crazy," do you find your heart pounding or feel otherwise kind of "alarmed"? If so, that might account for the difficulty or impossibility of falling back asleep. I am finding in my informal questioning of others that people who have had highly-stressful early life experiences and/or jobs tend to be hyperstartle-able (if not outright diagnosed with PTSD) and that can keep your physiology hyper-sensitive... Having said that, there is a treatment for circadian rhythm disorder that includes depriving someone of the second-half of the night's sleep -- I tried it myself, and had a fabulous next day and wasn't tired or nappish as I thought I would be. So, for what it's worth, it sounds like something is definitely going on for you, and finding out how to ease back to sleep to get a basic minimum might be a really good idea. Good luck!

I don't believe I have anything resembling PTSD. I am not a stressed-type person and believe I am sleeping very soundly when I sleep. I don't recall having a dream since starting BIPAP therapy but prior to therapy and when not sleeping as soundly I did dream constantly; seeming to hang on the edge of wakefulness and shallow sleep. Typically I would "see" something happening and tell my wife to get up and do something and then realize I was not able to see what I was dreaming about and doze back off. My wife told me I talked in my slepp a lot. My 02 levels were pretty bad at times and my wife actually took a video of me where I stopped breathing. I would restart breath with a gasp. During my sleep study, the 02 went down into the low 70s for lengthy periods. Since the therapy, I am up into the mid-90s according to my oximeter.

Last night was typical... slept for just under 6 hours and had NO events during that time. Woke feeling great (except for some dry mouth). Before therapy started, I just dozed back off into restless sleep after being wakened and would often get up 2-3 times during the night for a bathroom stop. I nodded off constantly during the day whether driving or working. Now I am alert all day. At this point, I NEVER wake for a bathroom stop even if loading up on tea or lemonade but if I do get awake, it is because of noise (lots of noise) and I just don't feel like I need to return to sleep. I am awake for the duration.

Can you provide me me with more info on that circadian rythm dis. Treatment? .