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[FrenchMovieTheme]

i know this sounds like a dumb question at first but hear me out. i have problems staying awake even if i have just gotten a good 8 hour sleep. i excercise at least 4 times a week for at least 20 minutes a day (most times longer)

example: i go to sleep @ 11 pm, wake up at 7 am. then i am driving on the freeway at 9 am, and im having trouble staying awake.

i also have trouble staying awake when reading books, when in class and so on. i literally have to take caffeine pills to stay awake at school even though i'm not sleep deprived. what the F is wrong with me that i have trouble staying awake while driving in the middle of the afternoon?

anyone else have this problem? and if you do, what is the solution?

 

[Chrono]

You might have some sleep disorder. Go to a doctor to be sure...

 

[rs7k]

Maybe it's narcolepsy. Do you tolerate those caffeine pills? Like, do you need them to stay awake and have you been taking them for a long time?

If that's the case, you might have a caffeine dependency problem. I had one, and I needed many cups a day not to doze off, and the excess caffeine made me tired at the same time. A very bad combination.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

no i dont need the caffeine to stay awake. i dont drink much soda, and i dont drink coffee at all so i dont know that it is a caffeine dependency problem. i don't need them to stay awake, only in certain situations. for instance, i never have a problem staying awake at work, even when i have gotten very little sleep.

sometimes i will even fall asleep playing videogames

 

[PartlyCloudlike]

Yep, it happens to me because I have sleep apnea. I could fall asleep at 9pm and wake up at 10am the next day yet still yawn heavily while driving to work. It's because I'm constantly waking up in the middle of the night due to the sleep apnea, so I'm not getting RESTFUL sleep.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

no i dont need the caffeine to stay awake. i dont drink much soda, and i dont drink coffee at all so i dont know that it is a caffeine dependency problem. i don't need them to stay awake, only in certain situations. for instance, i never have a problem staying awake at work, even when i have gotten very little sleep.

sometimes i will even fall asleep playing videogames

Blood sugar issues?

 

[goodcow]

Hook up a Dunkin Donuts expresso machine to an IV in your arm.

 

[Brian Fellows]

Only when I drive. Well not so much any more. But back in high school and the first couple of years after I'd start to nod off anytime I was in a car for more than like 25-30 minutes. Dont really have that problem anymore though.

 

[Mario_Hugo]

It's a common problem associated with little things like dehydration. Drink a LOT of water.

 

[Ronok]

I have problems getting to sleep....... And then due to this I have problems waking up..... It's really crappy really.

 

[Dyne]

Yep, it happens to me because I have sleep apnea. I could fall asleep at 9pm and wake up at 10am the next day yet still yawn heavily while driving to work. It's because I'm constantly waking up in the middle of the night due to the sleep apnea, so I'm not getting RESTFUL sleep.

My dad has sleep apnea. He got a machine to control it and now he's the best he's ever been. He liked it so much, he's fixed the company that sold him the machine, and is now part-owner and operator.

Can you get anyone to sleep near you for a night? A good indication for sleep apnea is irregular breathing and snoring. If you don't get it fixed it may lead to very unhealthy situations. Here's some symptoms from my dad's website:

* Snoring and pauses in breathing
* Gasping or choking during sleep
* Excessive daytime sleepiness
* High blood pressure
* Morning headaches
* Poor judgment or concentration

Anyways, check with your doctor.

 

[Vandiger]

Just reading your description you do have a sleep disorder. Now whether this could be due to narcolepsy, sleep apnea or just some unknown cause, you need to go to a doctor that knows about sleep disorders or has contacts to get you the proper testing.

 

[android]

I have severe Sleep Apnea. Apena is when your throat closes up as your muscles relax when you fall asleep. Since the opening is too small it collapses. You therefore stop breathing until your brain panics and pulls you out of REM sleep. This means that even if you have a full eight hours of sleep, you didn't get anything out of it. When I went to UBC's sleep center for testing, my results showed that I stopped breathing almost 300 times for a average of just under a minute. Thats around five hours out of eight. Once I got my CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) I couldn't believe the difference in my life. I haven't passed out once during the day, in the year I've had it. I dream again, which is something that when I look back over the previous four years I didn't do.

So ask your partner or parents, to listen to you sleep at night. If you have no one to do this, record your self. Listen for gasping or choking sounds as you snore. If this is happening go to your doctor. Even now the symptoms you describe are very simular to mine.

 

[callous]

I'm exactly like that (initial poster) when I sleep "normal" hours, like, go to bed at midnight and get up at 8. If I do what my body naturally wants to, which is to stay up until around 6am and sleep for 8 hours, I won't be sleepy at all between 2pm and 6am. I don't have apnea.

 

[Rei_Toei]

^ what he said. A friend's dad actually had Sleep Apnea and didn't know (was kinda used to it), when it was solved, the man (in his fifties) went almost ADHD on his family .

 

[tralfazz]

Blood sugar issues?

I had this issue. You piss in the middle of the night? I went to the doctor and found out my blood sugar was over 200 in the morning when it should be about 100. I was slamming sprite remix and cokes nonstop and essentially my body couldn't handle the sugar load anymore. I got of sugar immediately and saw a marked improvement in sleep and feeling more energized. Lost about 20-30 pounds in 4 months also.

 

[kgHavok23]

does anyone else have problems staying awake?

only in class...regardless of amount of sleep

 

[Raxel]

.

 

[iapetus]

sometimes i will even fall asleep playing videogames

Well quit playing MGS3, then.