[Secretum]

...and never get any rest? It does not matter how much I sleep; I can get 12+ hours and still feel tired. Any ideas as to what could be causing this, other than depression?

Thanks

[purpledaisy]

Have you been checked for sleep apnea?

I wasn't able to feel rested, no matter how much I slept, and my regular MD sent me for a sleep study.

They hooked me to wires and machines and watched me sleep. It turns out I stop breathing an average of 17 times per hour, which means my brain wasn't getting oxygen. I would gasp for air, jerk, and wake myself up.

It's pretty dangerous.

I snored like crazy, too, but didn't realize since nobody sleeps with me.

Now I must sleep with a mask and CPAP machine forcing air to keep me breathing.

It's worth asking about, just in case it might help you.

[medkev13]

There's this funny thing bout the body, sleep, and rest...

If you sleep too much, your body will experience something that's been referred to as sleep exhaustion. It's pretty much exactly what the name implies - you wake up feeling like you've not gotten any sleep at all, because you actually got too much.

With rest and sleep, the rest you receive is primarily acquired through your REM cycles. If you don't get enough/any REM sleep, you may not feel rested in the morning. Try maintaining a 7 hr sleep period, and listen to a soundwave that is supposed to encourage your mind to enter REM sleep. I recommend anything labelled under Binaural Beats, as these are specifically designed to effect the brain wave process of sleep.

[cocoabeans]

Medications.

[hamster-bamster]

Anemia (low iron is the most common type of anemia).

Thyroid issues?

[hamster-bamster]

My old friend, who is a psychiatrist in Europe, comments that sometimes after the depression has already lifted, the patient goes

[hamster-bamster]

Sorry, my phone - goes through a sleepy stage that later resolves on its own. Fwiw

[BlackPup]

Low vitamin D also makes you sleepy. My advice is to get your bloods checked for anaemic, vitamin d and hypothyroid and if sleep apnea is a possibity check that out too. If all comes back clear see whether you could still have some low grade depression lingering. If all is well there then start restricting your sleep because too much sleep actually makes you tired and start exercising for 30 min a day and see if that helps. Talk to your pdoc about your meds cos some meds make you sleepy too. Good luck

[Miss Laura]

I can at times sleep for more than 14 hours and still feel exhausted or I can sleep under 5 hours and feel like I haven't slept in weeks. I take a sedative at night and that doesn't work most of the time. I spoke to my Psych the other day and he has refused to change or up the med so I can get some sleep or at least help me get rid of some of the lethargic feeling. It's not nice huh!

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by Secretum

...and never get any rest? It does not matter how much I sleep; I can get 12+ hours and still feel tired. Any ideas as to what could be causing this, other than depression?

Thanks

Yes! This is me!

Now, I know if you sleep too much that's not good either. I can sleep for the recommended 8 hours straight, and I wake up just as tired as when I went to sleep or even more tired!

My mother-in-law, who is also bipolar, said that when she was diagnosed her doctor told her that sleep without rest was a symptom of bipolar. I don't know if that's true or not, but I feel like maybe it is. It's like my body goes through the motions of sleep. I lay down, close my eyes, drift off and dream, but something inside doesn't shut off like it's supposed to so I'm exhausted.