Sleeping

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I am going insane due to lack of sleep. I have always had a problem sleeping but sometimes the lack of sleep becomes chronic and I find it difficult to cope. I have tried lots of things, trying to ‘relax’, melatonin, but my mind can not empty and my body not let go. The only thing that has worked was when I was once prescribed drugs which knocked me out but it was extremely difficult to convince my doctor on how bad my sleeping problem was and they always say the same thing not realising even though I told them its near impossible for me to actually relax and not think. I just want to scream at them ‘give me the drugs, give me the drugs’, but I think that will give the wrong impression.

My son goes for days with little sleep sometimes, he is only 5. Neurologist told me he isnt sleep deprived and that people on the spectrum often don't produce typical amounts of melotonin so he simply does not need as much sleep. Do you feel sleep deprived all day the next day or are you frustrated you can't sleep because you think you are supposed to? I'm asking out of my own curiosity since my 5 yr old can't tell me.
Have you tried all the over the counter stuff like tylenol PM? Milk and peanut butter asre supposed to help as well. Id eat lots of trytophan rich foods as well a simple search should net you a good list. For insomnia I find that meditating right before bed for a little while in conjunction with some simple slow stretching exersizes and head rolls really reallly helps. Don't forget deep breathing afterwards to maximize oxygen. Make sure it is just stretching because cardiovascular and weight bearing exersize before bed time will make it worse. Think sloooow...caaaalm.....relax!

Have you ever read much on Bipolar Disorder? I wonder if you could be experiencing hypomania or mania?

im haveing problems sleeping aswell. normally i sleep great but lately its been a a major problem. this only happens when im in a bad mood so hopefully my mood will get better. my sleeping with my lights on is also back in the picture.

taking NightNurse syrup helps me to sleep, previously I used to have a small tot of sherry in a glass of milk but stopped as I didn't want to become an 'alcoholic'.
I have had sleeping pills but find that it makes it worse long term, also the quality of the sleep is not so good and I feel rubbish the next day.
sex is also a good sleep aid if you can find some

What I'd add to this is that sleep deprivation can induce a bipolar state and even hallucinations in the healthiest of individuals. So don't let anybody diagnose you with anything in that state.

It’s a mixture of both. If I only get a couple of hours for a number of nights then yes I feel sleep deprived, however after only 5 hours sleep I can function quite well and then its manly due to the frustration of not being a able to sleep because I know I should. It don't help that my partner needs his sleep and I have to end up getting up not to keep him awake. I’ve always not been able to sleep much (since I was a baby), it only bothered me when I was having to use my brain more (A levels +) as I was more tired but my sleep did not improve. Before then it never seem to effect me, so no one worried about it.

Last edited by hattie on 05 Aug 2007, 5:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

It is possible that your sleep is disturbed by the presence of your partner in the room. Do not forget we are extremely sensitive to sounds and changes in air pressure, so the lightest move he makes can 'wake you up' even if you don'trealizeit at first because by the time you are awake wat woke yo up is gone.

I had that problem and I decided to have an extra bed in another room (guest room or couch that opens up in a bed) so that I could go lie there and 'nap' if my partner was still asleep. It turned out that I could sleep MUCH better. When that happened I decided to get us separate beds and that helped too. A year later we sleeping in separate rooms and I was sleeping MUCH MUCH better! LOL

I know this is extreme but it is your sleep, and you need to set your priorities.

Star

I have a bad sleep schedule. I'll usually stay up 16-18 hours then sleep anywhere between 6 and sometimes even up to 14 hours. So you could see how that would mess things up. I just can't go to sleep unless I'm really tired.

I have had chronic insomnia for about the past two decades -- I do not remember what it is like not to be tired all of the time. Mostly my insomnia manifests itself in the form of difficulty falling to sleep at night. I am not sure if it has become worse with age, or if my ability to tolerate it has declined. It leaves me tired all of the time, sometimes bordering on narcoleptic. That is to say that I have difficulty falling asleep at night, and difficulty staying awake during the day. I have tried many different things over the years, with little success, but for what it is worth, here they are:

(1) Non-pharmacological methods. These include various cognitive-behavioral techniques, light-therapy, etc. You can find information about these all over the internet; e.g.,
BBC: Science & Nature - How to sleep better
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/sleep/

(2) Pharmacological methods: Non-prescription. There are a variety of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs you can try. Roughly, these fall into two categories: (i) "natural"/ herbal remedies and (ii) others. In the "natural"/ herbal category, Melatonin and Calms Forte are worth trying. Most of the other types of OTC drugs contain antihistamines. Before purchasing any of those, take a look at the OTC allergy medications for sale because it is often cheaper to buy antihistamines (e.g., diphenhydramine) in allergy medication than in sleeping tablets.
Also, this is an entertaining piece about some of these drugs
To Sleep: Perchance To Take Lots of Pills. Testing over-the-counter sleep aids, herbal and non.
By Seth Stevenson
http://www.slate.com/id/2062791/

(3) Pharmacological methods: Prescription. Speak to your doctor about these.

A few additional things about drugs/ medications/ sleeping pills in general.
- All drugs have side effects (including tolerance and "rebound insomnia").
- I recommend starting with a small dose, and then increase it as needed. You will find that as you increase the dose, the effectiveness of the drug(s) increases, but so do the side effects.
- For chronic insomnia, I recommend *not* taking the same drugs two nights in a row. I find that varying the drugs varies the side effects, and reduces the amount of tolerance. Also, try to limit the more addictive drugs to only one or two nights per week.

Sweet dreams.

Children's liquid Benadryl...the only thing I've found that works and doesn't leave me feeling crappy in the morning...I take a very small dose and it makes me drowsy enough that I can fall asleep most of the time. I've had insomnia since I was a child. I've tried a ton of things and they either don't work, or knock me out and I feel like crud in the morning.

I try to only use it when I'm really desperate and absolutely have to get some sleep...as your body will develop a resistance to it over time and it will become not as effective. Most of the time I go with the flow...I'm more of a night person anyways.

I've had off and on sleep problems since I was a teenager. It's usually worse during my peak allergy seasons (April-May; Late August-October) and at the end of winter. However, it's not the only factor. In fact last Tuesday I couldn't sleep. Over the years I've developed some strategies that has reduced my incidents of insomnia. I never watch TV or read in bed, especially the news. I don't think of anything, but just go to bed. I keep some kind of fan going to help block out street noises. Sleep time is just for sleep time. There's only one other activity I'll do in bed during my sleep time, and it's not by myself. I sort of do a meditation thing. I try to stick to the same wake times and bed times. I also limit the amount of caffeine; this is very difficult. Once I drink three cups of coffee, that's it, no more caffeine. I might have extra caffeine if I know the next day is a day off of work and it doesn't matter if I sleep or not. Plus, I keep the dishes clean. Sometimes I won't sleep if there are dirty dishes that I forgot. This helps me. Of course, if I'm coming down with a cold or some other illness, I'll have difficulty sleeping.

When I have a sleepness night, usually two Advils or Motrin helps to put me to sleep. Advil makes me drowsy at higher doses. Well, this is what works for me. Insomnia drives me and my wife crazy.

I was a lot like that. Falling asleep was the bane of my existence. It was a miserable experience, lying in bed wide awake and bored out of my mind, every single day. (The average time it took me to fall asleep was 2 hours.) My parents would always make me go to bed at 9:00pm, my bedtime as a kid. When they came in to check in me at 10:00pm on some days, they'd still find me lying in bed awake, with a bored look on my face. Luckily, I didn't get punished for not falling asleep, other than a quick yelling. So until the age of 13 or 14, I had a firm association in my mind: sleep = boredom. What made things worse is that my parents were firm supporters of doing things the natural way. That mean no medication whatsoever to help me with sleeping, because "it's not natural". Now (at age 24), I can fall asleep in 30 minutes or less, but whenever the slightest sign of a problem comes up, I solve it by chemical means: either a doze of melatonin or two shots of vodka, the luxury I didn't have as a kid.

(As I type this, I can't help but think how much I love being an adult, and wouldn't go back to childhood for anything.)

Last edited by Aspie1 on 05 Aug 2007, 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

My brother and I never slept much according to my mom, even as babies. We never really napped or anything either. We've basically had some kind of insomnia our entire lives. Ever since we can remember, we've had tremendous trouble getting to sleep. Interestingly, as children, we both had very mild cataplexy (we'd lose muscle strength in our hands after laughing and not be able to grip anything), which is related to narcolepsy. I'm investing in a weighted blanket, to see if that helps me get to sleep.

I have always wondered why I wake up very early in the mornings it can be annoying because there is usually nothing to do I woke up a 5.00am this morning 4.00am yesterday morning most days I get up around 6.30am but it is only because it is really hot that I have been waking up earlier. What I do if I wake up really early I usually check out WP and to see if there were any replies to any of my threads overnight and look to see if there are any interesting subjects.

I've had my days and nights mixed up for about the last 29 years. If it wasn't for my families schedule, it would stay completely reversed. I sleep too much off and on through the day, too.