Connect
← Return to Top 10 tips for healthy sleep
Newsfeed PostNewsfeed Post in blog Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Top 10 tips for healthy sleep 6 days ago | By Dona Locke (@DrDonaLocke)Comment receiving replies
How does a person know if he/she is getting enough/REM quality sleep? I get into bed at 11:30 PM, and I wake up at 6:30 AM to get up and very slowly walk my 2 dogs for 45 minutes. I do get up one to two times in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, but I go back to sleep within one minute, no kidding. Then I spend a few minutes after the dog walk in front of my computer, but I get sleepy really fast, and by 9:20 AM I am back in bed for an hour's nap. I keep thinking I am not getting enough REM sleep and that is why I need to take that morning nap so badly. I want to stop needing to take that nap. I also think that because at my age, a 78 year old male, I have aches and pains that do not wake me up but take me out of the REM sleep mode. The aches and pains come from back aches (3 bulging disks, slight right-side scoliosis, one fractured vertebrae/healed, 2 sets of vertebrae that are bone on bone), hip joint ache/arthritis, and regular left knee ache from bone-on-bone contact in one silver dollar-sized spot. I have been taking oral HLA for 3 weeks that has helped relieve the pain from the bone-on-bone spot. I had arthroscopic surgery back in April 2025 and it has been slow to heal. I also use a large band aid with Voltaren/diclofenac cream smeared on it and placed under that left kneecap before bedtime to take away the bone-on-bone knee pain. Before I started doing that, I would wake up for an hour or two each night battling that bone pain with diclofenac cream. Am I kidding myself that will ever get to sleep thru the night and avoid that AM nap?
Replies to "How does a person know if he/she is getting enough/REM quality sleep? I get into bed..."
Connect
@laughlin1947 Hello, I have had chronic insomnia for many years; I have a few general suggestions that may help.
1. Try to lessen your water consumption before bed. Those bathroom visits have to impact the quality of your sleep even those you might not think so. Drink large amounts of water when you wake up.
2. I use a free app called “Sleep Cycle”; you can pay for a subscription but I use the basic app which measures my levels of sleep, which I find very helpful. Click the x instead of joining. The app may have changed, but I suggest contacting the app via email to ask about the free version.
3. Is there any chance that you have obstructive sleep apnea? See your primary care doctor for an initial evaluation.
4. I also use the diclofenac nightly, for hip pain for my bursitis.
5. If you feel that your walking stability is unsteady, I would use a walker or at least a cane when you walk your dogs.
6. I’m not sure if knee surgery is a possibility, but have you had a cortisone shot lately?
I am not a doctor, but I do have sleep issues, with knee and hip pain. I have had my total right knee replaced in 2016.
I hope my suggestions may be of help. Exercise is great for the joints, if your walking and balance are steady. Good luck to you.