Can Sleep be a form of Stemming?

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I've often wondered if this was a form of stemming for me. Then again maybe it's the pillow or both. I've been a sleeper all my life. My parents use to complain about it to my doctors who then didn't diagnose me or even know I had aspergers. I also have a pillow I hug when I'm asleep or awake. I've had this pillow since I was little that given to me by my grandmother. It's made out of downy feathers. I never told this to anyone not even WP because I find it a little embararassing. Now I wonder if it is part of my stemming or ways of coping with the physical and emotional discomforts.

Just curious if anyone else has this problem or uses sleep as a way to cope.

It can't be a stim, because it's neither voluntary, repetitive, nor meaningless.

However... Many Aspergians hug their pillows when they sleep, including me.

I have used sleep as a coping method for large parts of my life. Before I moved out of my parent's house, Id sleep up to 16 hours a day (My parent and I didn't get along at all for the later years of my life there). I still have issues sleeping, and its not uncommon for me to get up to 10 hours of sleep. There are things that affect this directly that Im aware of, such as having a Late Evening/Night Job (I do atm anyway, but even when Ive had day jobs I can still sleep this much, it just doesn't occur as often). Since learning about Asperger's and more importantly in this issue, Perseverance, it makes sense to me that that some of my problems might have to do with Perseverance. Its definitely present in other parts of my life, and it would explain alot in this area as well.

Was just having this discussion with my wife actually, lol.

Sorry my post is essentially anecdotal, but yes, I think I do have a similar issue.

Cool. I also have trouble with fatigue. That may be another reason why it's "obsessive". This need to sleep has always been an issue for me. The pillow or anything soft to put in my arms has always been a comfort thing.

What is ''stemming''?

Excessive sleep is usually associated with depression.

I could easily sleep a good 12 hours or more if I could - as a kid, in the summer, I did. Lots of times it was because after an initial waking, when I let myself go back to sleep I could lucid dream. That was pretty damn attractive. When I'm 'out of juice' or have had a bad emotional upset - I have to sleep.

Sleep is my friend. It can definitely be a soothing method for those overtaxed minds.

you are not alone!! When my husband and I first started seeing each other, I found it curious that he slept hugging a body pillow. My thing is being completley covered in blankets (no matter how God awful hot it gets) Turns out he has AS too. He hugs pillows, I tunnel in a fetal position.....it works

LOL I also need a lot of blankets, thick blankets! My family use to worry about me being anemic or something. I don't know what it is about blankets but it's another form of "security" for me.

I have this but now on meds. Many times I myself have very lucid dreams. Some of them are very pleasant and almost addictive. As soon as I go back to sleep depending on the timing, I'm back in my little world.

Same here. I have always needed to be underneath a blanket to go to sleep. Even in the middle of a Phoenix summer.

Here you go.



I do this as well, I do it reduce pain in my shoulder.

it's also a sign of numerous other health problems not related to your mentality. deficiencies, thyroid and adrenal problems are some of them.


here's some more info.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-h ... 50098.html

7 Steps to Treat Depression without Drugs

1. Try an anti-inflammatory elimination diet that gets rid of common food allergens. As I mentioned above, food allergies and the resultant inflammation have been connected with depression and other mood disorders.

2. Check for hypothyroidism. This unrecognized epidemic is a leading cause of depression. Make sure to have thorough thyroid exam if you are depressed.

3. Take vitamin D. Deficiency in this essential vitamin can lead to depression. Supplement with at least 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day.

4. Take omega-3 fats. Your brain is made of up this fat, and deficiency can lead to a host of problems. Supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 mg of purified fish oil a day.

5. Take adequate B12 (1,000 micrograms, or mcg, a day), B6 (25 mg) and folic acid (800 mcg). These vitamins are critical for metabolizing homocysteine, which can play a factor in depression.

6. Get checked for mercury. Heavy metal toxicity has been correlated with depression and other mood and neurological problems.

7. Exercise vigorously five times a week for 30 minutes. This increases levels of BDNF, a natural antidepressant in your brain.

Overcoming depression is an important step toward lifelong vibrant health. These are just of few of the easiest and most effective things you can do to treat depression. But there are even more, which you can address by simply working through the 7 Keys to UltraWellness.

Now I'd like to hear from you...

Have you been diagnosed with depression?

How have antidepressants worked for you?

Do you plan to try any of the approaches mentioned here?

Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

OH this is so weird. i keep realizeing that more and more things about me may be AS related, when i only began suspecting it based on my childhood whisper repitition and inability to form relationships! Now i'm learing all these things like apathy and little weird habits aren't just character flaws and me living wrong! Learning about Asperger's has truly altered how I feel about myself...in a very positive way.
So last year i went to several doctors bc i'd sleep all day and still be exhausted. well i was terribly depressed due to an overwhelming loneliness and painful childhood all sort of crashing down on me, but never fessed up to being depressed because it was too emotionally exposing for me to handle (oy....it's a vicious cycle) so no one ever learned about it, but these days i sleep all the time for other reasons.
i'm more easily exhausted in general, even though my depression has gotten better as i learn more and more about asperger's and (though i'm not diagnosed...sort of the same situation as with the depression) in reality myself (i'm quite sure i have it, but i'm having trouble seeking diagnosis due to a family that wouldn't understand). I realized yesterday, in fact, that i sometimes use sleep as my escape from my senses.
I woke up from a brief nap and went to the kitchen, but everything was so loud and intrusive (okay, not the word i want, but i can't think of a more accurate description)! I seem much more sensitive to sound and smell when waking from rest. so I went back to sleep. It's quiet enough, and i don't have to deal with little things irritating me and putting me in a foul mood. i awoke later and tried to give it another go, but everything was still too loud for me. so i ended up sleeping all afternoon and night haha. I'm okay with it, i would rather not leave my room for 24 horus than to be in a bad mood by too much sound or my mom constantly talking at me and just making me go off at someone and "hurting their feelings".

the only down side is in the past i've slept through parties and events (not that i would really enjoy myself or anything), but still....people ask where you were...i don't usually believe in lying about petty things like that...people give me strange looks when i tell them i slept through a classmate's sweet sixteen with a free concert by a popular rap artist...

but yeah, i think for me it's really about being alone and calm and worry-free.

I too sleep with a body pillow! I have since childhood! Is that seriously a common thing among aspies?!?

I don't know RikkiK but it does sound a lot of what I've experienced....especially sleeping through parties and such.


@oldmantime I will have to check some of this out. For many years though I have had trouble getting a good doctor. None of them specialize in Aspergers and none of them have ever been able to find what the "culprit" was. I was diagnosed with depression and treated. But it is still an issue given my circumstances.


I thought of completely eliminating bread/processed sugars in my diet but live on a budget. It's almost impossible to be on that kind of a diet unless you're in the ubber middle class. But I am taking food in general very cautious. Most people don't understand it's not so much that I'm on a "diet" or for the better word avoiding food with a lot of sugar but trying to feel better. This feeling of exhaustion has been a problem since childhood. I thought perhaps it was the meds but when I got off of those it only got worse.

I used to sleep a lot, especially when I was a boy/teenager.
I usually sleep up to 10 hours a night, now. I usually use a CPAP machine and medicine to help me get a good nights' sleep, anymore.
Just my 10 cents' worth.

I think the OP means stimming. Do a search for it on WP and you will come up with a gazillion hits.

Regarding the main topic itself, I was under the impression that sleep deficiency was more associated with AS than sleeping too much. I have terrible sleep problems due to those racing thoughts that cannot be turned off as is the case with many Aspies. I used to sleep too much, but that was probably a result of developing diabetes that is now very much under control.