Compulsive Insomnia

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Does anyone else have the problem I have, which seems to be a sort of compulsion that forces you to stay up and alert and not sleep, even when you know you need it?

I have it now; it's nearly midnight, and I have to be up at 8:40 tomorrow. It feels like my mind is perfectly active, and my body does not seem at all tired, yet my eyes feel sleepy and I know I need rest. But it also feels as though I don't want to/can't intiatiate, the undressing and climbing into bed phase that would normally be instinctive. Nor can I change the lighting, and I feel like I have to wonder around all over the place. I also keep thinking of good things to do.

I used to call it 'getting stuck' and right up until seventeen years old, my Mum would have to come and check I was able to tuck down and not 'stuck' doing something. It is the most horrible feeling; to not be able to sleep but to be tired at the same time - and to be hoping someone stumbles upon you and helps you get ready for bed and guides you into bed.

My partner has asked me via IM to try and get a good sleep tonight, as I am seeing her tomorrow, and she says it would put her mind at rest. I said I would, and I don't want to be a liar or break my word, but I can't seem to initiate the winding down stage.

Anyone else have this as well? If so, any tips? Hope I've made it clear.

I am a chronic insomniac. What I did to get myself to a "proper" schedule was to force myself to stay awake until I fell asleep at a proper time, and to remind others to wake me up at a certain time.

Lately, I've been sleeping too much. Strange. I go to bed at 8-10 pm and wake up at 7-8. Yesterday I went to bed at around 5 and didn't wake up until 7:30.

I'm currently taking melatonin-for about a week now-and it does have side effects. I've taken in later (when I normally go to bed, around midnight) and early (9-ish when I should go to bed) and either way, I have very lucid dreams. I'm dull in the morning and I miss my dreams. I don't normally have that. It's making the daytime coffee ineffectual as well.

I'm going to keep trying it to see if it helps the anxiety and the really late nights. But I have stayed up with it (til 1 or 2) and it just makes me stoned. Which isn't so bad at the moment.

In reply to the OP, yes, I have this compulsive night owl cycle, no matter how early I need to be up. I don't take naps, except sometimes on the weekends. Naps will make it worse. Perhaps you're just night owl?

I have that exact problem. It seems to only get worse as I get older. At some point, I start getting really hungry, as if I'm ready to stay up long enough to extend the day to where I need another meal. Right now I've just opened a bag of chips.

My experince with melatonin was not satisfactory. I would be able to get to sleep, but would wake up after a few hours. It is better to adjust my sleep cycle, otherwise it's like taking a late-night nap.

i find it hard to shut my mind off to go to sleep, and i find that when i lie down unless completely exhausted the thoughts of the day or of certain situations all flood in, then i end up over analyzing them and being up just as late but becoming more frustrated. so i just find stuff to do untill i'm almost falling asleep then just crash.
not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about or not, but i'm NT, so it might not be the same or to the same degree but i thought it kind of sounded like that.

I go back and forth, sometimes I'm Like you and when I lay down and go to sleep I just can't seem to shut my brain off and I only get sleep when I'm exhausted. Other times I can't seem to get enough sleep and am chronically fatigued even though I'm getting 10 hours of sleep.

I also have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar settings, when I moved into my current apartment it took me about a month before I was able to get any decent sleep.

That used to happen to me. My body needs lots of sleep, so it wasn't great. Some things that would help me go to sleep were reading hard books, drinking tea, or watching movies in the dark. I also try to not be on the computer right before bed; the light keeps you up. But now I take medication that makes me fall asleep by 11pm every night.

Ah, yes, right now...day 4 or so of going to bed super late...it's 242AM...I am a bit tired, I should sleep...but I can't...I want to keep reading, finding information, I can't stop...

Has happened all my life...I remember being about 12 and not being able to sleep...my mind racing...always...

Yep. I'm usually up until 3-ish and have to wake up at 7:50.

I have that problem to a milder degree.

One thing that helps is playing Nintendo DS. Like someone here said, being on the computer keeps me up. Hours disappear while I'm clickety-clicking away. But getting on the DS and playing will just make my eyes drop in about 20 minutes. I can't play in bed though because it disturbs my husband (the flashing). But if I"m really having a bad night, I'll play it.

I have taken to totally overdoing it in the gym because it's the one thing that makes me feel tired before midnight. I don't sleep more than 5 hours a night in the normal run of things. It feels like wasted time, when I wake up I'll have to go to work again, so I can't waste the time between now and then sleeping.