My mother has always always had some difficulty getting a full night's rest. Her bladder wakes her up once or twice most nights. Her bed is also uncomfortable, and I have tried to convince her to get a new mattress. She often wakes up with significant back pain. She does snore a bit (and recently I've heard her talking in her sleep).
Lately, she has been taking micro-naps in her chair while watching television. This is something she's never done in the past. The frequency of the naps and her denial of them is a bit alarming. I know she may just be acting defensively. She always teased my dad for falling asleep in his chair.
I'm wondering if she's had untreated sleep apnea all these years that is becoming more pronounced as she ages.
Any help in understanding what's going on would be greatly appreciated.
I have have a crummy mattress and lousy pillows and I sleep with an 84 pound dog who takes up the whole bed. If I get 3 hours of sleep a night, I’m lucky. When we have a little more money I will get a new mattress. Won’t kick the dog off the bed, though. I used to take “micro-naps” too but can’t now b/c I had to go back to work. I think I actually slept better when I did. They lasted about 1/2 hour and I was not sound asleep. I also snore like a buzz saw. My mom napped during the day too and denied it because she used to pick on my dad for napping so she couldn’t admit she was as well. Mom could simply be bored, especially with the c**p that’s on daytime television now.
If your mom’s health truly seems to be suffering, ask her PCP about it. Some people swear by Melatonin but it never worked for me. But I can tell you that what she’s experiencing is pretty normal,