Correlation between Asperger's and sleep disorders?

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Dear Wrong Planet Readers,

In addition to Asperger's (which I've had all my life AFAIK), around the time I became an adult, I began to experience symptoms of a sleep disorder. There are a number of different sleep disorders, but the doctors have not been able to narrow down which one I may have. Even more frustratingly, I've joined a support group on another site for people with sleep disorders, and I've yet to encounter another patient there with the same symptoms I have.

The group has people with idiopathic hypersomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, upper airway resistance, and even more exotic illnesses such as Klein-Levin syndrome. I can't recall anyone on the sleep disorder group saying anything about Asperger's, tho.

As for my sleep disorder, the best way to describe it would be "unrefreshing sleep". I can sleep 8, 9, or even 10 hours at night and still feel exhausted the next day, day-in, day-out, week-in, week-out, month-in, month-out, year-in, year-out. I can see readers groaning here and guessing that what I describe is not possible, but I assure you that it is.

Dr. Barry Krakow, one of America's top sleep doctors (yes, sleep medicine is a real medical specialty) wrote in his book "Sound Sleep Sound Mind" that he's noticed that insomnia patients often are highly intelligent. He suggests that the insomnia can be caused by "thinking too much". He talks about it on his video blog here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCt2PJm ... F5CC561046

Therefore, since many people with Asperger's also are highly intelligent and perhaps "think too much", I was wondering if there could be a connection between my poor sleep and my Asperger's. If there is a connection, what could the practical implications be for me.

I'm sorry, but I'm getting desperate for answers because I had some really mean insomnia last night: in bed at 10:00, asleep at 11:00, and then wide awake for the rest of the night starting at 3:00.

Have you slept for a sleep study? Unrefreshing sleep is a common symptom of sleep disorders, and I lived that way for years before sleeping through three sleep studies (one at home and two in a lab,) where they determined I had idiopathic central sleep apnea.
Something is causing you not to sleep deeply, and I hope you are able to get it figured out and corrected.
Good luck and stay safe.

Insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders seem to be reported pretty commonly here on WrongPlanet, but I've never heard of unrefreshing sleep before.

If you are tired all the time and rest doesn't help, maybe it's something like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome instead?

I've had sleep eccentricities all my life. I'm naturally nocturnal, and unless forced, will literally wake just before dusk and get to sleep just after dawn. It never feels right, though, likely because of social conditioning and the fact that everything else in the human world works during daylight. I also have your issue - I'm asleep for hours, but still tired. I'm hypervigilant about sleeping and can't sleep with anyone near me, I have to be either in a locked room or very well camouflaged. I can't sleep without silicon earplugs in my ears, face down with my head between two pillows. As a baby my mother used to think I was dead. Been on stacks of sleep drugs including temazepam and zolpedim, but that just ends up messy.

I've had nightmares, night terrors, thrashing, sleep-walking, talking / shouting in my sleep, etc. all my life.

I had a similar problem for 35 years. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. However, I think it was a misdiagnosis. No matter how much I slept, I felt unrefreshed. I was diagnosed with Asperger's at 61 years of age. About a year and a half ago, my brother had me try using medical marijuana edibles to help me sleep. It worked pretty well. He also had me try CBD oil and that helped with things I never expected. Therefore, I don't believe it was a placebo effect. The CBD contains no THC, so I can take it during the day without feeling high... Good luck. I think the sleep disorders are part of autism...

I sleep on average 6hrs a night. I am up before 6AM pretty much every day (and usually by 5:30AM), no matter what time I go to bed and regardless of season/daylight hours.

Opposite to unrestful sleep, though, I am wide awake and not tired. I occasionally take naps, but not more than people who sleep longer at night. I wouldn't really call this a sleep disorder, but perhaps it is one reason I have trouble with my weight.

I do know that my brain is almost always *on* even when I am sleeping. A lot of times, I wake up thinking about something (stressed out.) Other times, I wake up with a solution to a problem I've been working on. Sometimes when I play a show, I will be singing songs in my head ALL NIGHT LONG.

Yet, still, when I wake up my body is well-rested even if my mind is not.

I have an excessive amount of energy. I am still learning how to put it to good use.

I developed insomnia when I was 2 and it stayed with me for the rest of my life

I always used to have trouble sleeping because I simply couldnt stop thinking, and likely anxiety played a role.
I dont know if you could put a label on that.
Now I have problems sleeping because I am in a constant state of pain.
I think the other reason is no longer persistent.

I have an unrefreshing sleep problem. The doctor that diagnosed it said there was probably an issue with 3rd stage sleep where I wasn't going through all the phases of sleep properly, leaving me feeling tired and lousy.
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-101

They gave me cyclobenzabrine to take at night. It is a muscle relaxer but it seems to be enough to sedate me just enough so my muscles relax and my mind isn't racing. If I don't take it my muscles are painful and stiff in the morning. I have always been a light sleeper and tend to run problems in my head while asleep.

I frequently wake up in the morning or at 3am with an epiphany about something and try grab the idea to waking memory before it fades.

I can relate to the "unrefreshing sleep", I have a lot of trouble sleeping and even when I do get a "decent" amount of sleep I feel as if I have had a 5 minute nap.

strangely enough despite doctors not believing me, if I have a few drinks (to tipsy) and ensure I am not dehydrated before I go to bed, I will feel as if I have actually gotten some sleep, but I'm hardly going to drink every night.

I've been having problems trying to sleep since I got out of the hospital last week, no thanks to vasculitis and ischemic colitis. The doctor put me on prednisone, which isn't helping my anxiety or my blood sugars. Add to the fact I have a jackass of a roommate, that wanted me to drive him to McDonald's or Hardee's down the street at 10:45 PM. One small problem: those stores closed at 10:00 PM. He got a bit hot with me. Hey, can I help it if Beautiful(?) downtown Red Lion, PA and Beautiful(?) York Township, PA roll up and take in the sidewalks at 8:00 PM?

My sleep patterns are, well, frustrating for people around me to deal with to say the least. I tend to be very avoidant of other people as I find I can't function with other people moving around, making noise, etc, so as a result, I've become pretty much nocturnal. At night, when other people are asleep and it's quiet, I can actually think and function, but this causes all sorts of problems because society expects people to be awake during the day, so this makes it extremely hard for me to run errands uptown, or get anything else productive done because I have to keep quiet to avoid waking up other people.

This is probably the number one thing that has caused issues for me over the last few years, and I seriously think that if I were to become a functioning member of society, I'd have to get my own place and live by myself. The problem with this, is that it's expensive as hell to do so. I hate living with other people, but it's all I can afford.

Children With Autism More Likely to Have Obstructive Sleep Apnea Symptoms