Sleep Clock Problems

Post Reply New Topic

I have always had sleep problems but this is getting out of control. My sensory issues causes me to be tired, and when night time comes, I can't sleep because my brain in going haywire. I just can't relax.

I've used Melatonin, Unisom and Trazodone. Melatonin and Unisom don't do anything to me. Trazodone does put me to sleep but I wake up feeling tired, dizzy and not refreshed. I also use a weighted blanket but it doesn't really help me sleep, it just helps when I'm on the verge of a sensory overload.

It gets to the point to where I'm sleeping at 11am and waking up at 8pm. I've tried staying up all day, with taking a two hour nap, but I always fall asleep at 6pm, causing me to wake up at 11pm and staying up all night because I got 7 hours of sleep, which is enough to hold me off.

Any advice would help. Thank you.

I am nocturnal too. It's a chronic circadian sleep disorder and it sucks.
I find some functionality in keeping a rigid schedule of wake time. This is impossible unless you have something for which you must get up - a job, a class, etc. If you consistently have to be up early and are aware of that at night, I do see some shifting, though it goes immediately back to nocturnalism if there is no impetuous to be up.
That noted though, I find this does lead to sleep debt. As such, you do have to allow yourself at least one day a week where you can sleep all day and catch up.
I am also starting CBT to see if this acts on this problem soon, so I can let you know if it works if you like.
I'm not particularly hopeful - a few years ago I even did hypnotherapy in an effort to shift it, and I'm still nocturnal. But you never know. People have had success with CBT for other problems.
I too have tried all the drugs - temazepam, stilnox, antidepressants, high dose melatonin, valerian, etc. It doesn't work.
It may not be helpful for you ut with the mind racing issue, I have found trying to get to sleep less stressful if you deliberately build yourself a dream world, and focus on that when trying to sleep, not (if you're anything like me) obsessing about your own issues and freaking yourself out. Some pleasant, creative space to engage the mind in to slip across that border helps.

Sorry to hear that. If it were me, before my chosen sleep time I'd probably try a large dose of physical exercise and/or try to discipline my mind away from intellectual labour by doing something artistic.

These days there's little or no pressure on me to follow conventional sleep times. I usually sleep well enough but if I don't watch myself my bedtime and getting up time drift later and later.

Similar thing here. My natural cycle seems to be 8 hrs sleep + 17/18 hours awake, therefore a '25/26 hour day'. This obviously results in getting up time being pushed forward on average by an hour or two per day. Difference is that I don't discipline myself or 'watch my bedtime', therefore am quite likely to be asleep in mid/late afternoon or awake throughout the night on numerous occasions practically every month. Have given up trying to solve this problem, except perhaps by no longer treating it as a 'problem', if that makes sense....