Strange Sleep Disorder -Any Ideas?

Life Health & Fitness
1

A friend of mine has had some sort of sleep disorder, if I can call it that, for the last few months. I don’t know if it’s a problem itself, or just a symptom of an underlying problem, which is far more likely I guess.

Basically, he has to go to bed before 10pm, otherwise he cannot function the next day. I mean, if he doesn’t get to bed earlier, he feels like he has a very severe hangover the next day, as in headaches, pain, etc etc. Getting 8 hours sleep in another time frame, eg, sleeping from midnight to 8am doesn’t do it. He’ll still feel crap the next day.

He also needs to sleep during the day, regardless of what time he went to sleep the previous night.

He lives a pretty healthy lifestyle; we both work out with free weights 3 times a week, and play soccer once a week. He doesn’t have a job, he’s a postgrad university student, 23 years old, with not a lot of stress at all.

I think he has a pretty healthy diet, although he has quite a taste for sweet, sugary things. He doesn’t smoke tobacco or weed or anything else (and hasn’t ever been a smoker), do any drugs (hasn’t done any before either), and only drinks alcohol occasionally.

Despite this, he CANNOT handle a late night (with or without alcohol), as it makes him physically ill.

Any ideas what could be behind this weird sleeping problem? I know people need different amounts of sleep, but this seems to be way beyond a simple “I need 8 hours a night”…

:s

2

Look into sleep apnea. Its a breathing problem related to snoring.

There is also a very expensive clock he could look at that I can’t find :frowning:

Also look into full spectrum lighting.

3

Allergies. I can wake up feeling as if I’d smoked two packs and downed a bottle of tequilla some mornings.

4

Thanks for the help… Full spectrum lighting sounds interesting. Also, the allergy theory is smething I suspected too. I think he’s gonna go for some blood tests, I’ll suggest allergy tests too.

5

Allergies are a leading cause of sleep apnea. You don’t get enough to breath while you sleep. It sucks. Get a good (quiet!) filter with Hepa.

6

I swear by full-spectrum lighting. We got a cool light/alarm clock combination that starts lighting up rather dimly at a certain time and gradually gets brighter until this tiny little chirping alarm goes off, but it’s more than enough to wake you up since your body has already sensed the “sunrise” going on. Don’t know if it would help in the OP’s friend’s case but it’s a nice thing in general if you can afford it (they don’t go cheaply, unfortunately.) I got one on Amazon.com but I think it ran like US$150 or so.

7

Sounds awfully like sleep apnea. Does he snore loudly? Stop breathing in his sleep?

8

Yeah I’ve just been reading about those alarm clocks with the gradually increasong light. Pretty cool.
About the sleep apnea thing, sounds quite possible, maybe as a result of some allergy, I’ll have to ask him if he snores or stops breathing while sleeping.

9

I know I am late to this thread and I hope your friend is better by now but have you considered getting checked for diabetes. It can cause increased fatigue. Anyway hope your friend is feeling much better.