Hello Sunshine π
Narcolepsy, insomnia, or both?! π΄
To begin, pictured here is sleep data of a GOOD
night's sleep, which is pretty rare for me. This blog will record my latest sleep patterns.
The morning light has just begun to peak through my window as I write this... I have a habit of forcing myself to go back to sleep, scrolling on my phone or putting on a documentary rather than starting my day (my brain is funny; the more interesting or focused I am, the faster I fall asleep. ADHD?! Narcolepsy?! Insomnia?! LOL)
What my night looks like π π π‘
On average, I manage 2 to 4 hours
of sleep, which is abnormal and cause for concern. It's been an issue originating in my childhood. My circadian rhythm is flipped so I awaken every couple of
hours. And I get my best ideas at night. Ironically however, I'm not a night owl per se. Although, according to personal research, my sleep is most similar to the patterns found in birds.
Check out this documentary! Link attached πΊ ▶️ π§ Wildlife Stories: Sleep or Die | Free Documentary Nature I will create a sleep playlist asap and update it regularly! :)
Thus, I prefer to go to bed early and have very little trouble falling asleep, usually within 10 minutes. Staying asleep is the predominant issue. So it's safe to say I'm a VERY light sleeper!!
Causes | Background Context π΅♀️ βΉ️
I struggle with anxiety, iron anemia (one side effect are restless legs), dysregulated nervous system, PTSD/C-PTSD, DPDR, Autism (early diagnosis ), and as aformentioned, chronic breathing conditions like my asthma. My poor sleeping habits stem from my childhood (out of my control or otherwise very difficult to unlearn). Finally, I believe I have a lifetime of undiagnosed sleep disorder(s).
Other symptoms: night terrors, sleep talking, etc.
One observation I've made: my REM and deep sleep are ALWAYS significantly less than both the typical population range and lightest stage of my sleep, which is ALWAYS significantly higher (see above graph). This is curious and unsettling.
Overall, I have normal energy
levels with intermittent periods of overwhelming
sleepiness and "brain fog."
Dreaming occurs right before I wake up, as this is visually represented.
Currently, I'm participating in a
sleep study with Samsung Health to monitor and improve my sleep quality. Sometimes I forget to complete the survey hehe. Determining just how sleepy I am throughout the day is a challenge and can be hard to scale.
Hello reader π :) You can track your sleeping habits with Samsung Health. All you
need to do is connect the app to your
Wearable or smartwatch with bluetooth.
My assigned sleep animal is a deer. It's considered to be "Level 2" out of 4. Which is not as healthy as it can be.
Here's the corresponding description:
"Deer are skittish animals that turn away when they feel threatened. Deer sleepers are sleeping at regular times, but tend to toss and turn or wake up too often during sleep, and aren't sleeping long enough" (Samsung Health)
Sleep Study π©π¬
My long-term goal is to get a narcolespy and/or sleep disorder diagnosis because I genuinely believe I have all of the symptoms. This causes grogginess, sleep inertia, loss of productivity and creates a sleep deficit that mimicks insomnia.
I don't know whether the origin is genetic, stress-related and/or something I developed when I was a kid due to an illness. For instance, strep throat (there are interesting articles on this; its called PANDA/PANS).
Disability woes... or lessons? ♿️ π©π«
For as long as I can remember, I've always been a lucid dreamer, light sleeper, chronically tired and even fatigued. This affects my performance ability and attentiveness. So much so, an accessibility advisor once edited my college accomodation plan, stating that I'm I'm "sleepy." On the contrary, my disability is developmental: a language impairment. This was done without my permission or without due process.
Furthermore, my college accomodation plan doesn't explicitly label nor requires a designated or assigned disability. Thanks to the ADA or American Disability Act, I can request and secure accommodation, ' on condition the college student is disabled and/or has a history of disability, i.e. an IEP or 504 plan. '
Moreover, my current accommodation is based on my IEP plan from 6th grade (I must add I'm not very well-versed in self-advocacy, how the medical industry works or most importa, having a disability support team). As a matter of fact, I've only recently learned that accommodation plans are intended to be updated at least once a year or in correlation to the student's disability, academic needs and growth.
This event occurred during my 2nd year of college, so technically it's STILL/CURENTLLY out-of-date since I haven't returned to the accessibility office... π€ I lost financial aid eligibility (low GPA) during this time due to course overload and lack of disability support. Hence, I only enroll in online classes (part-time or less than) whenever I can afford it. My goal is to earn my financial aid back and resume full-time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this experience was very unprofessional and unsettling. One may say this experience was a wake-up call LOL Especially being that all I wanted and quite literally asked for was a printed copy from the accessibility department database. It was very off-putting and a perfect example of miscommunication, my "sleepiness" and clear lack of appropriate support or disability accommodation.
This may be a significant indicator that my sleep issues visibly affect or socially hinder me more than I realize?! LOL
But that's another blog entirely of its own!! (tags: civil rights, discrimination, disability disclosure, collaboration, preference, Autism awareness, language impairment, accessibility, inclusion, disability education, etc.)
