Aasm Sleep Diary: Fill & Download for Free

How much time are you in bed at night ? If you are giving yourself opportunity to sleep for 8+ hours at night ( no phones, no tv, no light, no stimuli ) and do you feel rested in the morning once getting up for the day after 8+ hrs in bed giving yourself opportunity to sleep, yet dream in 15 min long naps during the day. Do your self a favor -To locate accredited Sleep Labs Find an AASM-Accredited Sleep FacilityNarcolepsy Overview and Facts(A.) Keep a sleep diary for two weeks (download from Internet ), fill out a Berlin Sleep Questionnaire (also from the Internet ).(B.) Find an accredited Sleep Lab, call the Medical Director and talk to them discussing the sleep log findings and your answers on the Berlin Sleep questionnaire, and make an appointment, if from your talk they agree you need further in depth medical diagnosis as to the actual EEG sleep during your naps .One of narcloepsy’s symptoms is the falling asleep rapidly, inappropriately, and going into rem as rapidly as you report. That is a genetically inherited or trauma induced condition that is treated with medications that are authorized for that, but otherwise legally regulated. To diagnose that the sleep specialist MD will explain the procedure to you, but it is not, and I repeat an over the counter self diagnosis nor self treatment issue.Without an overnight study to rule out other sleep disorders, all other attempts to say what is going on is guessing in the dark. Rapid rem can also be the brain trying to dream because other sleep disorders are preventing normal unbroken sleep. Diagnosis without sufficient evidence =’s guess work that gives false guidance and causes a medical problem to be treated wrongly.

Disclaimer: My answer only provides general information and must not be construed as medical diagnosis or advice.While this A2A question is loaded with details, the information provided is only the tip of the iceberg. It's no wonder that, like neurobehavioral disorders, sleep disorders are complex--sleep is a complex state of the brain. This is especially true with the insomnias, a diverse group of sleep disorders with only one thing in common--a chronic impairment in one's sleep quantity and/or quality.1. Purely subjective insomnia, also known as sleep state misperception or paradoxical insomnia, is not "true" insomnia; it is excluded in some insomnia nosologies.2. True insomnia can be environmental, psychophysiological, or behavioral. The latter is often due to inadequate sleep hygiene. True insomnia can also be secondary to a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, to a neurological, psychiatric, or medical disorder, or to drug/substance use/abuse. Finally, true insomnia can be idiopathic. Note that "idiopathic" does not necessarily mean "unknown cause". Today, most idiopathic diseases have a known cause, such as abnormal genes and gene products (ion channels, neurotransmitters, receptors, etc).Treatment will vary depending on the type and cause of the insomnia. An accurate diagnosis of the mechanism and cause of insomnia is therefore necessary in order for the treatment to work. Some forms of insomnia are more difficult to treat than others. In some cases (yours for example), only a formal face-to-face evaluation by a sleep specialist will result in an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.Now let's try to answer some of your questions................What should I do if I cannot fall asleep at night?Symptom: I have been having insomnia for years. In the past few months, it comes back again. I have been taking notes on my sleep lately. I have noticed that one day's sleep is heavily affected by previous day's sleep. If I sleep well today, it is because I had poor sleep yesterday (probably 4 or 5 hours sleep), which happens because I sleep well the day before yesterday (around 8.5 hours).The sleep specialist must see your sleep log or sleep diary. Here's an example of an unfilled 2-week sleep diary (source: AASM)................There appears to be strong negative autocorrelation.Suspected Cause:1. anxiety at work2. I spend huge portion of my free time reading machine learning. My brain is still thinking about it when I am supposed to sleep.Psychophysiological insomnia is a strong possibility. You may also have some issues with sleep hygiene................What Have I tried:Tons of things. I have completely changed my lifestyle.I stopped drinking coffee entirely.I take melatonin sometimes when I cannot fall asleep. I try to go bed every day around 10:15 PM.If I sleep well one night, I try to limit hours of sleep around 8.5 hours. (I feel tired in the day if I sleep less that 8 hours. )The sleep specialist should know everything you tried and whether you applied the treatment properly. For example, you said "I take melatonin sometimes when I cannot fall asleep". Although melatonin has mild sedating effects, it is used mainly to "reprogram" the sleep cycle. This can't be achieve if you only use it "sometimes". The sleep specialist must know every bit of detail about your sleep habits, factors than influence sleep hygiene, medical conditions, all medications you take, dosages, timing, yada yada. This requires completing a sleep questionnaire. There are short screening questionnaires for the patient and the bed partner (here's an example: Page on google.com) and there are also comprehensive sleep questionnaires (here's an example: Page on google.com). Sleep centers usually use their own sleep questionnaire versions................My Question:1. What can I do to get rid of the problem?2. Does the chronic sleep problem cause permanent change to my brain? What is that mean for me?3. what is a possible diagnosis and what are the treatments? How effective are they? (statistics are helpful)Just what I said--see a sleep specialist! If insomnia will cause any permanent brain damage, it's usually because of the sleep deprivation and/or the underlying cause of the insomnia. I would worry more about the risk of injury (e.g. car wreck) and the negative cognitive effects of sleep deprivation and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) on school/job performance, learning, judgment, personality, etc. A good screening test for EDS is the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Here's the 1997 version:Your sleep specialist is waiting for you. S/he has the diagnosis and treatment strategy. Good luck!A2A credit: Eric Zhao

Your behaviors can have a major impact on your sleep and can contribute to sleeplessness. Your actions during the day, and especially before bedtime, can make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep or get restful sleep.Your daily routines – what you eat and drink, the medications you take, how you schedule your days and how you choose to spend your evenings – can significantly impact your quality of sleep. Even a few slight adjustments can, in some cases, mean the difference between sound sleep and a restless night. Completing a two-week sleep diary can help you understand how your routines affect your sleep.The term “sleep hygiene” refers to a series of habits and rituals that can improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Board certified sleep physicians recommend following a series of common-sense, healthy sleep habits to promote better sleep. These healthy sleep habits are a cornerstone of cognitive behavioral therapy, the most effective long-term treatment for patients with insomnia. CBT-I can help you address the detrimental thoughts and behaviors that are preventing you from sleeping. It also includes techniques for stress reduction, relaxation and sleep schedule management.Sleep specialists recommend that you follow the healthy sleep habits that are highlighted in this article. If you have difficulty sleeping or want to improve your sleep, try following these sleep hygiene tips. If your sleep problem persists, the AASM recommends that you seek help from the sleep team at an AASM accredited sleep center.