Question about sleep and anxiety

[sturmer25]

I recently had a major surgery for sleep apnea. The problem was very real and my airway was collapsing at night. I believe I awoke during the 6 hour surgery and in the ICU i had an anxiety attack. I have had GA for many years. My question is, are there people here who otherwise are healthy but
wake up unrefreshed as a result of their anxiety even when they got 8 hours of sleep and have no recollection of waking during the evening?

I believe my surgery fixed one major problem but uncovered another and I now that my airway is not the issue Im trying to find what could be kicking me out of REM sleep, etc..

I have a 4th sleep study planned (this one post op) in the coming months.

Thank you for any help!
Stormy

[LadyK]

I was sleeping for 10 hours a night and feeling horribly tired even upon waking. Once I began a relaxation program I began sleeping less and feeling more refreshed. I even wake up on my own after around 8 hours.

I believe it is because, with GAD, our bodies are full of tension and unable to relax. I was also having horrible nightmares as well. So I really had no relief from anxiety at all.

I started doing progressive muscle relaxations when I woke up and before I went to bed. Within a week I saw a difference. Now I can get my body to relax on cue but I've been at it for a few years now. You should be able to find some audio files on the net for free. These are the ones that take you through each muscle in your body and get them to relax. It was difficult at first but it gets easier every time.

I'm not saying this is your problem, but it is what worked for me so I just wanted to pass it along. Using relaxation also got rid of most of my GAD. If your body is relaxed it is more difficult to get your anxiety to manifest. So I really just conditioned my body to stay in a state of relaxation instead of anxiety.

Good luck!

[02Batmobile]

It's jus' a symptom of anxiety I think. Feeling tired, lazy or having a lack of energy, whether or not you recieved a full 8 hours of sleep. Try exercising. People say it gives you a great night's rest. I should take my own advice actually.

On a side note for the other poster: I usually tend to feel even more tired if I sleep for longer than 8 hours and noticed this with other people as well.

Hang in there!!!
-James (AOL Instant Message Me!!) :)