New Research on Autism and Circadian Rhythm Disorders

Post Reply New Topic

Autism and Circadian Rhythm Dysfunction

I'm wondering if there is anyone else on WP who has the horrible problems sleeping that I do.

I have ABSOLUTELY NO circadian rhythms. I NEVER get tired no matter how late it is, and I can NEVER fall asleep naturally without prescribed sleep aids. If I've been up for about 40 hours or more and go lie down, I'll nod off for about 20 minutes or so, but then I'll be up another 40 hours straight, and it's not possible to survive that way, so I guess I'd pretty much drop dead at some point without my meds. When I say "tired" I mean "sleepy". When I'm severely sleep deprived I start to not feel well, my muscles ache and I get a splitting headache. But I still can't fall asleep.

I've always had trouble sleeping, but it's gotten worse over the last couple years. My physician and I are working on the most effective and safest drug therapy, it's troublesome because I've developed a tolerance for what I've been taking. I'm male, 5'5" and weigh 112 pounds. I can never get anyone to understand what it feels like, they just deride me as a pill-popper. They don't understand that basic biorhythms that most people have, even ones who have trouble sleeping once in a while, are simply not a part of me at all, and this could be the case with many people with an ASD as indicated by this new research.

Is anyone else this bad, or do they know anyone who is, and what has been an effective way to manage it? What are your thoughts on this research?

Since Wikipedia's article on circadian rhythms says that they are observed in all organisms, I'm guessing I'm in quite the minority.

I am pretty sure it's impossible for you not to have a circadian rhythm.

I often get my days and nights mixed up, especially during breaks from school. I'll stay up all night and sleep until afternoon.

My day is an hour or two longer than the real day.

I use alcohol instead. Its cheaper than a prescription and I don't have to worry about driving around or overeating in my sleep.


But yes, I have the same problem. If I didn't self-medicate I'd never get a full night's sleep - I'd just stay up until I had a psychotic break. My internal monologue never shuts up - even when I'm not talking to myself out loud, the voice in my head prattles on and on and on...

Well I suppose so, but I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I never get sleepy. Never.

I use it too sometimes. I have to be careful because I live with my parents and they would totally flip. I actually feel better after a drunken sleep than with the 20-minute "naps" I described in my original post (also contradictory to mainstream medical research), which is downright scary, because alcohol is VERY bad for you.

Yes, I have circadian rhythm sleep disorder on-and-off. I use melatonin to help tell my body when it's time to go to bed; and I use a lot of mental tricks (relaxation exercises, etc.) and sleep-hygiene tactics. Even with all that, it's still difficult to stay on a regular schedule. I also sleep very lightly, so that I have regular lucid dreams.

Sleep Disorders are extremely common with AS. I have had insomnia on and off my whole life. I've never really found a way to treat it, I just try to use the extra time to do things I enjoy and to catch up on reading.

I have only heard of one case where the circadian rythm was entirely absent and that was due to significant brain injury after head trauma.

Zen

like Bluefins i naturally revert to something like a 25 hr clock. i have lots of trouble sleeping, but nothing like you're describing (OP). i wake up many times throughout the night. i don't wake up at any predictable time of morning - sometimes five hours of sleep is enough, other nights i need twelve.

i used to lie in bed for several hours before falling asleep, virtually every night, or wake up middle of night and sit there awake for 2 or more hours. but since going off gluten that doesn't happen anymore. now i sometimes actually fall asleep sitting up, while reading or typing or something.

I have terrible trouble sleeping and not much of any discernible circadian rhythm, but not as bad as the OP. I have no choice over when I sleep: sometimes it's during the day, sometimes at night. Sometimes I stay awake for over 30 hours. Falling asleep always takes me a few hours, unless I've been up for a very long time, like 30 hours or more, and sometimes I can't fall asleep even then.

I do tend to develop some slight pattern that lasts for a few days or even weeks at times, but it's always sliding, usually getting later and later. I'm pretty good at staying asleep once I do fall asleep, though if something wakes me up I usually can't go back to sleep.

Since I don't have a job, I don't have to be up at a particular time, and if I had to do it I wouldn't be able to. If I have an appointment to get to and I have to pull myself out of bed after just a few hours of sleep, or no sleep at all, it's crushingly hard to get through the rest of the day.

I have never been able to take naps, because it's so difficult for me to fall asleep, and i have never fallen asleep unintentionally, like on a car ride or a boring lecture.

I have the same problem, have had it all my life although now I self-medicate and have more regular sleep patterns. You have to do what you can to get some rest. When I was growing up it was not unusual for me to be up for a few days straight. My parents would tell me to just lie down and close my eyes and I would fall asleep, but that never happened. Not only that, but I would even seem to perk up when the sun went down. My mother used to say i was nocturnal

As an adult, I have sometimes been up for two or three days with only a couple of hours of sleep. I simply cannot shut off the flow of thoughts and my mind just goes and goes and goes ...

I have the same problem, have had it all my life although now I self-medicate and have more regular sleep patterns. You have to do what you can to get some rest. When I was growing up it was not unusual for me to be up for a few days straight. My parents would tell me to just lie down and close my eyes and I would fall asleep, but that never happened. Not only that, but I would even seem to perk up when the sun went down. My mother used to say i was nocturnal

As an adult, I have sometimes been up for two or three days with only a couple of hours of sleep. I simply cannot shut off the flow of thoughts and my mind just goes and goes and goes ...

yep I go to bed at 6am wake up at 3.

If I don't smoke weed I it jsut moves forwarda and my days feel like they need to be 26-28hrs long.

This has ruined my life almost as much as AS. Doctors won't even prescribe me meds, hence I use weed.

Since I was a kid, I've always had trouble sleeping at night and getting up in the morning. High School was especially bad because I had to get up much earlier than I did for elementary and middle (junior high) school.

I developed narcoleptic-like symptoms. I still get these symptoms if sleep has to occur between 10 and 6 am. I'll fall asleep anywhere, and have done so standing up, or if I don't, I'm barely functioning (although I have been known to skip sleep for 36+ hours and still not be able to sleep). But if I can sleep when my body seems to want it (between 6 am and 12 noon), I get the best sleeps without the drowsiness and "seizures" while I'm awake. I've always been more alert and creative at night. I wish it wasn't the case, however, the night time is when it's quiet and no one's around, so it's got that going for it.

Interesting, I don't actually have a "voice" in the head but simply echoes. Sound is captured and repeats, even sound I don't like. I try to keep "pleasurable" music nearby such that I can reset the echoes to something that isn't irritating when needed.

Recently. this has been more "obtuse" and has kept me awake for long hours in bed, even though I was physically exhausted. After a bit it seemed delirium was simply setting in as my mind blinked in and out of hypnagogic states but never proceeded through the sleep cycles.

I recall in childhood I could not sleep whatsoever without listening to a story on tape or music.


In the past I'd have the opposite issue, sudden intense loss of concentration and mind fatigue, the urge to go to sleep, eyelids trying to shut.... I never had an actual narcoleptic attack, but got extremely close, very often. I'd usually try to remedy it by immediately getting up and moving, and getting some water to drink