Hello all! I asked a physical therapist I know about my neck. I had narrowed the cause down to one of two things: either I hurt it in the gym on Thursday night (unlikely, since it didn't hurt until Saturday morning), or its from sleeping weird (I slept on Ben's water pillow Friday night and may have been sleeping on my side too). I didn't think the latter was likely since it's been bad for four days now, but the PT disagreed. He said sleeping on your neck weird really can cause pretty bad pain that takes several days to resolve. No more water pillows for me!
So maybe I'll make this entry about sleep. Ben and I have our little ritual when we sleep together, which I may have addressed previously: several minutes of cuddling, then one of us signals to the other that we're ready to go to sleep. We then go to our own sides of the bed. Some people are able to fall asleep cuddling, but Ben is unable to do that. As I recall we did attempt it the first couple of times, and I did wake up quite frequently (especially because that was in my tiny little twin bed, haha). I've grown accustomed to the routine. There's cuddle time, and then there's sleep time. This makes my sleep a lot better since I'm less likely to be woken up by sudden movement during the night.
Not all is good in dreamland, though. Ben has told me several times that he has heard what sounds like me having breathing trouble at times while I sleep. I'm hoping its not sleep apnea, that can be serious. I have been quite tired during the day at times, and I do have a deviated septum (one nostril is much easier to breathe out of than the other due to this), so I'm thinking I'd better get checked out. Either by an ENT doctor or a sleep specialist.
What about you, dear readers? Any sleeping quirks? What position do you prefer (I like to sleep on my back)? Are you able to fall asleep cuddling (or do you think you'd be able to)? What size bed do you have? Anyone familiar with what I'm referencing by the title of this entry? Hint: there was a recent Google Doodle dedicated to it.
8 comments:
I like 'cuddle-sleeping' but Stof can't fall asleep like that, so we have kind of the same habit. that is unless the cuddling leads to other things ;-)
We got a 160x180cm bed which is big enough for me. When I was living with my parents and on my room in college too, we slept in a single bed which was quite narrow. But since we were madly in love, that wasn't an issue. The nearer the better haha
I suffer from neck pain quite often and I know it's from sleeping in weird positions. I know sleeping on your back is the best for your spine and neck, but I just can't fall asleep like that. I used to sleep on my belly but that's very bad, so now I try to sleep on my side. I've this special shaped cushion that prevents me from sleeping on my belly, although I still manage to. Stof tells me I can be in the weirdest positions while sleeping; in strange curves, with my head against the headboard... and that I'm often breathing quite heavily. I guess I'm going through a lot of dreams while doing that.
A friend of a friend had a deviated septum that caused a lot of problems for her. Lots of sinus infections. She had surgery to fix it and couldn't be happier. The surgery was relatively simple and inexpensive, about $2,500. You might want to see if that would be an option for you.
Cuddling is necessary, and only rarely when I'm tired can I fall asleep cuddling. I have to sleep on my right side and back. I tend to move to the middle of the king bed with my BF so we can be close to each other.
I have a deviated septum too. I have heard the surgery needs to be redone, so I have avoided it. I've heard horror stories of bruising and I don't want that. I find using Singulair or Breathe Right strips, or nasal drainage spray works. The downside to nasal drainage spray is it takes away your sense of smell.
I sleep on my side, surrounded by pillows. No one for me to cuddle like you, but I do hug a large pillow all night long.
I can't really fall asleep cuddling either. Normally I'm just too worried about shifting around and waking up the other person to actually sleep. So your ritual makes perfect sense. Also, morning cuddling is even better.
Whether a deviated septum or actual obstructive sleep apnea, you really do need to see a sleep specialist. Not getting enough REM sleep can negatively effect your life and your health in so many ways. Your cognition will suffer dramatically if aren't getting good sleep.
BTW - are you happy with your MCAT score?
Hmm. I sleep in a twin bed here. I usually sleep on my back or side.
Regarding your weird breathing at night. Do you feel really tired throughout the day? Any difficulty breathing while you're awake? Any specific positions are better/worse for you?
An ENT doctor would be able to tell you if there's some kind of obstruction along your airway. You're unlikely to have obstructive sleep apnea, I think, but might as well get it checked out.
It's been 3 weeks without an update. I can never sense whether that is good or bad.
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