Sleep And Immune Systems

[tex]

Hi All,

There is some evidence that sleep patterns affect immune system performance. IOW, short sleepers tend to have corrupt immune systems. I'm curious if this poll will shed any light on that theory.

Tex

[Rosie]

Tex, do you mean basically uninterrupted sleep or how many hours we are in bed. I typically wake up about 3 times during the night with hot flashes, but get back to sleep usually within 10 minutes. Sometimes when I'm thinking about something stressful it takes me longer to fall back asleep. I'm typically in bed from around 10 pm to about 6:30 am

Rosie

[tex]

I was hoping for the poll to reflect actual hours of sleep. I spend a lot of hours in bed some nights, but very rarely get over 6 hours of sleep.

Tex

[starfire]

I doubt I normally get over 6 hours of uninterupted sleep and haven't for many a year. That's WITH the help of Ambien CR. I do try to stay in bed as long as possible though unless I'm not even able to "drift" or "zone out"...... whatever you want to call it.

Love, Shirley

[Gas Bag]

I sleep about 6 hours, but mostly because I get up at around 4 am to get ready for work. And I go to bed around 9 pm, and then I have to get up and pee atleast once a night.
Now that I am post-menopause I do sleep better when I go to bed earlier and I do sleep in a bit on the weekends. Almost until 6 am sometimes.

Deb

[Matthew]

Thanks Wayne !

A Poll that connects so close to home.

For years I go to bed and go to sleep between ten and ten thirty and awake abruptly at four AM. I mean within minutes. It drives me crazy trying to figure out what happens at 4 AM that wakes me up.

I have tried some sleep aids but they just make it worse.

I can drift sometimes , like Shirley says, but it is really not sleep. I just think I would feel so much better if I could get two more hours of real sleep.

But then what can I say. I know that I am not going to sleep so I get up, wrap myself in a quilt and meditate for an hour. Then do yoga for an hour and get on with my day. Though I don’t sleep as much as I would like to I take the time to add a whole new dimension to my day. A time I have grown to cherish. A time just for me. Selfish? Yes, but who is more important.

Good, Bad? Who knows? That is just the way it is right now. And I have found a healthy way to work it .

Love

Matthew

P.S. I clicked 6 hours or less.

[mbeezie]

Before all of the diet restrictions I had horrible insomnia for years. Sometimes I would get as little as 4 hours per night. Now I have the opposite situation - feel like I can fall asleep at 9:00 and sleep straight through until the sun comes up - and I sleep hard- don't hear a thing.

Mary Beth

[ant]

My sleep is a bit inconsistent, but on average I recon I get about 7 hours (especially allowing the weekends for an extra lie in). However I do tend to wake up 2 or 3 times in the night. Also, I have noticed my 'jet lag' when traveling to/from Hong Kong and UK is much more difficult to shake than a few years back. The time difference messes up any regular schedule for BMs (obviously not an issue if/when D is in full swing ) but it is an issue when trying to get back to regular morning BMs. In fact I wonder if messing up the rhythm of morning BMs due to time difference could even bring on D sometimes. Just thinking out loud.

All best, Ant

P.S. Off subject, but since the onset of MC when I fly I have always taken Imodium to be on the safe side. Planes, airports and long immigration queues are not very IBS/IBD friendly!!

[MaggieRedwings]

A typical night for me is about 6 hours. Go to bed around 9 PM at the latest and am up like clockwork at 3:00 a.m. Some lucky nights it might be 3:30 a.m. Just not a heavy sleeper and use to have terrible insomnia.

Love, Maggie

[barbaranoela]

I also sleep like a rock---so along with my afternoon *snoozing* appears I sleep my life away~~~

Barbara

[Gayle]

Very interesting topic. Do folks with MC have this irritating issue (a degree of insomnia) in common also? Or is this just a general issue of our times?

I have always been what I consider a 'dysfunctional' sleeper. For me 6 hours of sleep is a good night (and that is often with the aid of Ambien)!

I ALWAYS have to get up to void during the night (more often than during the day?) If I awaken and think that I may have to go to the bathroom then I get up and go even though often it is really not necessary. But I've found that if I think it, that thinking will not go away until I've settled the issue by making the trip! So to me this is a mind issue rather than a bladder issue. Is that because of light and frequently interrupted sleep?

All this is more pronounced when I am taking the Entocort. Even though the absorption - to systemic effect - of that steroid is said to be minimal, it still seems to have an effect this way -- or is that all psychological also??



Cheers all,

Gayle

[Gloria]

I'm the same as Gayle - I'm up several times a night to go. Can't sleep if I don't. I used to take an aspirin on the evenings that I was in bed without sleeping for a couple of hours. I think that contributed to my MC.

Now, I just figure that I'll make up for it the next night. I don't want to get in the habit of taking a nap because if I take a nap, I'm not tired at bedtime and it seems to become a vicious cycle.

Gloria

[tex]

Ant,

Are you aware of this?

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2563

Tex

[tex]

Gayle,

My sleep issues, (short hours, and insomnia problems), began when my MC symptoms started, and they stuck with me permanently. Prior to that, I was a solid 8-hours-per-night sleeper.

Tex

[Delta]

I have a terrible time sleeping more than 5-6 hours. I toss and turn all night. I tried a sleep aid but with them I felt groggy and out of sorts.