False Recovery When Waken from Deep Sleep, Explained

I wrote about feeling recovered sometimes when waken in the middle of night after 5 or so hours of sleep. Today, there was an article about cerebral fluid washing away metabolic waste from brain during the deep sleep phase. So I did some search, and this idea has been around for a while. In summary, the blood flow to the brain during deep sleep is reduced because neurons fire synchronously thereby reducing the energy need. That allows the wave of cerebral fluid to rush in and wash away the brain waste.

What if the fatigue is caused by the lactate buildup in the brain? The lactate buildup, along with inflammation, has been reported in CFS, TBI and aging brain. They all suffer from inordinate fatigue.  The lactate could be washed away during deep sleep cycle, and if you get waken up after that cycle, you could feel fatigue-less. The lactate then quickly builds up again in the inflamed brain and the ever-present fatigue returns.

Then there is also worsening of fatigue and ache during the sleep. The body, as well as the brain, is trying to repair itself during the sleep and waves of inflammation washes over the body. The inflammation then causes the quaking fatigue and ache while sleeping. This body washing could be happening in different phases from the brain washing, resulting in alternating fatigue and relief during the sleep.

Healthy people don't feel peaks and valleys of fatigue/ache while sleeping. For CFS folks who are hypersensitive though, the highs and lows are exaggerated.

Happy Days Are Here Again

It's been a struggle of almost 2 months since I hiked Angel Island on 9/3. A mile walk or 3 mile bike ride has been crapping me out the next day. Now I can walk 2 miles and still can take care of ADL the next day. I am back in the steady state.

It wasn't just the 6 mile hiking on 9/3. I tend to do worse in the Fall anyway. When I was suffering from bouts of overtraining syndrome in 2004-2007, the episodes were clustered between September and December. Now with CFS, my exercise ability usually dips in the Fall. And then the flushot in October weakened me further.

The flushot last year did not have an adverse effect. This year, I struggled for a few days. Not quite 2 weeks like in 2015, but still worse than last year. That could be because I was already weakened from the 6 mile hiking.

So, it's been one thing after another and the struggle stretched out for 2 months. I hope it's the blue sky from here on. I should let this be the lesson and rein on compulsion to overdo from now on.

But I'm already feeling cavalier again and bought a season ticket to Sugar Bowl. Midweek pass was on sale for $379 and I couldn't resist. But I'll do my best to stick to bunny slopes. Just in case I make progress though, Sugar Bowl will have plenty more runs than two-chair Soda Springs.

Tomorrow, I'm flying out to NJ. My sister's husband passed away from cancer after nearly 40 years of marrage and I need to keep her company for a while. I'll commute to NYC from there and walk the streets for a week or so.