Husband Sleep Issue

Sounds like narcolepsy to me. You should have him checked out, and if his brother is that way too -- they both need to go get checked out.

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Is he a big snorer or a heavy-set guy? My husband was diagnosed with sleep apnea in the spring and now uses a CPAP machine when he sleeps. Neither one of us can get over what a HUGE difference it makes in his energy level! He can stay awake for much longer now, remembers conversations better, is much better company & just enjoys his life more.

Ask him to talk to his doctor. My husband put off and put off the sleep study, convinced it wouldn't do any good. He was so very glad he finally did it!

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Take him in to a sleep clinic and have him tested for Narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder or dyssomnia, characterized by an excessive urge to sleep at inappropriate times, such as while at work. Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder. It is not caused by mental illness or psychological problems

People with narcolepsy often experience disturbed nocturnal sleep and an abnormal daytime sleep pattern, which often is confused with insomnia. Narcoleptics, when falling asleep, generally experience the REM stage of sleep within 10 minutes; whereas most people do not experience REM sleep until an hour or so later.[citation needed]

Another one of the many problems that some narcoleptics experience is cataplexy, a sudden muscular weakness brought on by strong emotions (though many people experience cataplexy without having an emotional trigger).

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I have sleep apnea. Before I was diagnosed, that kind of thing happened to me. I now sleep with a CPAP machine.

This kind of thing happens to me. I don't generally fall asleep during a conversation, but I have been sitting in my lazy-boy fast forwarding through a commercial and fallen asleep and had to rewind.

He is not trying to be rude or disrespectful. Good luck to you and yours.

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Here's a question, C.. Is he very heavy? The reason I ask is that I had a friend who was very overweight. He would fall asleep at his desk, even on the phone listening to a client. I worried about him and told him so.

He ended up in the hospital with a UTI that turned septic. It was scary. But while he was there, (6 week stay), they addressed his sleep apnea. They also said that because of his weight, he was only using the top of his lungs, and that he wasn't getting enough oxygen. That was why he was falling asleep all day long.

I'd definitely try to get him to the doctor and talk about this.

D.

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If we are in bed and I am talking to my husband he will fall asleep mid conversation. It isn't that he doesn't want to listen it is just that he is tired and falls asleep. Not really a big deal. We don't discuss anything important when we are about to go to sleep anyway. As for being grouchy... that is me. I get kind of mean when someone wakes me up before I am ready to be awake.

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As the night winds down, I tell my wife "if you have anything important to say, don't let my head hit the pillow" literally. It must be a guy thing.

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When my husband is tired or hungry he is not capable of "pushing through the pain" -- he just drops. If he is hungry, he literally cannot focus until the food arrives. He has fallen asleep sitting up with people in our house!
In his defense, he has a VERY physical job, he travels a fair amount and is the kind of guy whose motto is: I'll rest when I'm dead."
If there's an hour of daylight left, you can be sure he's going to mow the lawn....
You might want to encourage your husband to be checked for sleep apnea because that can make someone tired all day. (Mine was checked and it's not sleep apnea.)

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What position is he in when this happens? is it once you are laying in bed?

I do it sometimes as does my hubby if I am very tired which is often. What is his schedule like? Is he a big snorer so maybe he isnt getting good REM sleep? My hubby has told me of some nights where I will start to answer a question then just doze off.....mind you I am already cozy and laying on my pillow in the dark as we talk and I am lucky if I get more than 3 hours uninterupted a night.

Either way, even if it's narcolepsy or some other disorder I would think (unless there is other background here we are missing) that he is not doing it to be rude but hoestly is THAT exhausted and can not help it. I could understand him getting grouchy at that point, he is most likely also frustrated with himself ( I know I am) for being so tired.

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It could be narcolepsy. Or, if he is having trouble breathing at night, and he snorts very loudly then starts to breathe again, then it could be sleep apnea, it often causes sufferers to fall asleep at random times during the day because they are not getting adequate sleep (or oxygen) at night.

So, yes, this is something he should discuss with her Dr. and have a sleep study done.

It could just be plain exhaustion and an inability to cope with stress. Is he working a lot lately, going through a hard time?

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I think all husbands are like this. I have found it easiest to just tell him I will tlk to him later and send him to bed. I will usually stay up an hour or 2 later cleaning up ( this usually happens about 8pm so not too late) then wake him from his nap and then we talk.

(of course my husband works 98 hours a week and is on call on top of that so sleeplessness is due to overwork and pure exhaustion... It could be medical in nature if he is regularly getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night)

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It happened more when my husband worked overtime. He needs to take naps. He cannot handle stress or he will go to sleep. I caught him falling asleep on the toilet before!

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He needs to be tested by a Neurologist for sleep apnea and some other sleep related issues. They can do a sleep study on him and find out what is going on. He could fall asleep driving. My hubby does a c-pap and his license got suspended due to his tests and read outs on the machine being too off, he was not getting enough sleep. He got it back once they adjusted the machine and he started taking some other steps to make sure he was trying to get the right amount of deep sleep.

I don't know ANYONE who falls asleep in mid-conversation. I think he should get that checked out.