Hi. My first time here, wish i had found this board sooner.

For years i've struggled with staying awake in class. Typically 5 minutes after I sit down I'm overwhlemed by drowsiness, and doze off for anywhere from 5 - 20 minutes. I generally get 7-8 hours of sleep every night, so i don't think it's from lack of sleep. I'll be wide awake, walk to class, then bam, i'm out. I haven't been able to overcome it. I want to stay awake, despite the fact that everything thinks I'm just lazy.

I recently had my resting HR and BP taken by a machine. Anyways, my BP is 110/55, and resting HR is 52.

Now, I go to the gym 2-3 days a week and try to go running 2-3 times a week (typically 6 miles at a 8-9mile/min pace). I ran a marathon last year, and consider myself to be in good shape. However, I'm now thinking that maybe b/c my BP is so low, that after I walk to class and sit down, basically doing nothing, my BP drops and my body is triggered to shut down or something.

Does that seem like a logical reason? I know this is more of a sleep related disorder but I just wanted to get opinions on wether the BP could be a factor.

Low blood pressure doesn't normally cause sleepiness. It is more likely to make one lightheaded, dizzy or even cause you to faint.

Do you eat a lot of sweet things, sugars etc? What do you eat for breakfast? Overdoing sugars and not getting enough protein in the A.M. can cause you to "crash" so to speak.

Have you had your blood glucose levels checked? Might be worth a visit to the doctor for a full blood panel.

zuzu xx

I agree with Zuzu, low blood pressure doesn't usually cause sleepiness. This is just a stab in the dark, but do you snore at night? You may have sleep apnea where a person actually stops breathing and awakes many times during the night. This disturbance in sleep causes one to feel very sleepy during the day. My husband is scheduled to go to a sleep lab to determine if he has this condition because he cannot keep his eyes open every afternoon.
Tell your doctor about this problem because sleep apnea can be dangerous.

I don't snore, but I do find myself waking up a few times a night. And that's just times I'm conciious of waking up, I could be waking up more but just not remembering. Thanks for the help guys

Hi

I have this problem too. I cannot remember my exactly bp but is about 110 and my HR is only 53. I am the only one person among my friends that have a very slow heart beat. Yet i want to stress that i am NOT atheletic or do excercises regularly. In fact i did not have a even one day of excercise in a week. at most i had walk a 10mins each morning. and that is all. Why is my heart rate so slow? I feel tired often. And i am NOT lazy. It takes me a great deal to find energy. I have motivations and things i want to do but often i don't find the energy to do. I fall asleep in lessons soon but have a good sleep.

MuEAGLE-

Bharkins has a good point about the possibility of sleep apnea.

But one doesn't necessarily have to be a snorer to have it. There are basically two kinds: "obstructive" and "central".

In obstructive sleep apnea, there is pharyngeal narrowing which results in a complete block to breathing during sleep. This is the kind that causes snoring.

With central sleep apnea, a neurological phenomenon happens where a person may just not take a breath for an unusually long time, then suddenly inhale rapidly. Also, the person may inhale at regular intervals, but exhaling becomes troublesome, again, due to some neurological failure, such as muscles relaxing at that moment, when they should be open.

They would not be aware of this during sleep, and snoring in this case is usually not present.

So if your sleepiness continues, and really starts to interfere with your daily life, a sleep lab study might be a good idea.

zuzu xx