Originally posted by eskimo2
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I drive home from work with the windows open, even in the winter, to keep from falling asleep. The only place I’m ever really concerned is at a 3 minute traffic light; I put the car in park just to be safe. I’ve done the head bob thing at that light at least a dozen times in the past few years.
I have my own sleep issue: I fold my arms while I sleep and hyper extend my wrists and cut off the circulation to my hands. I wake up regularly because my hands are asleep. I actually mounted my camera on the ceiling and set it to do a time lapse so I could see how I sleep. I think I learned more by having the camera flash wake me up dozens of times; I immediately focused on what I was doing with my hands. I think I have a blood flow issue too because occasionally my feet fall asleep too.
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Eskimo:
When you watched your time lapse, did you see lots of arm and leg movements? We all toss and turn some, but there are people who have a movement disorder of sleep that causes them to jerk, kick, extend, or tighten arms and legs through the night. The movements themselves can cause them to jump to lighter sleep, and can leave them tired from the poor quality sleep. Sometimes this is caused by iron deficiency, but if you've had this chronically its more likely "just the way you are" -- like some people have high cholesterol despite good diet. The problem is called Periodic Limb Movement Disorder; about 20% of people who have PLMD also have Restless Leg Syndrome, which is an uncomfortable feeling when AWAKE but drowsy. (Lots of Requip ads for this lately.) RLS meds tend to work well for PLMD too.
Other things that come to mind are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which can be worse during the night when people tend to bend at the wrist. That can cause the hands and forearms to get the tingling numb "falling asleep" feeling that most people blame on circulation. (It's actually much more likely to be from nerve compression, by the way. Circulation problems tend to cause color change, and outright PAIN rather than tingling...and they are much more likely to have symptoms when awake and using the muscles, which demands more blood flow than when you're asleep.)
Even if it isnt carpal tunnel, one way to minimize the unconscious tendency to bend the wrists over in your sleep is to use a carpal tunnel style brace at night. These are simple wrist braces that extend a little onto the palm, so you can't bend the wrist over enough to pinch either the nerve or the artery. They might help you out.
If arms and legs are both involved, I also wonder about any nerve compression at the level of the neck. Neck pain, or electric shock "stingers" when you move a certain way, can be clues about either slipped disks in the neck, or calcium deposits from past trauma or arthritis or whatever. Sometimes these problems show up in the night because we hold the neck in different positions and angles than in the day.
Regardless, take that sleepiness VERY seriously. Most fatal accidents are connected with excessive sleepiness, for the simple reason that drivers who are unconscious can't do ANYTHING to avoid oncoming bad stuff. Even drunks may realize at the last minute, "
thats a bridge!!" I've had a mother of 4, without any sleep disorder at all, drift out of lane after an all night drive home from vacation....leaving her husband a widower and her kids motherless. (They were in the car and saw her bleed to death.) If you're as sleepy as the average person with 5 solid hours of sleep, then you're as dangerous as if you were drunk.
