How many of you fellow aspies suffer from insomnia?

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It's driving me crazy. Ever since I can remember, age six or five, I had trouble falling asleep, and my sleep was light. Now I wake up every hour or two as well. Sometimes I stay up all night.

I have permanent blue bags under my eyes, and I refer to it as the latest fashion in autistic makeup. I feel like a zombie.

Yeah, but I solve the problem by just staying awake until I'm exhausted, and can't stay awake any longer. Then I sleep as long as I can, and repeat again.

Ugh. While I don't know how to "grade" it, I have always had trouble sleeping (and difficulty waking up). It's especially bad when I am in a foreign bed (like in a hotel) or I am sharing the bed with my partner (can only do it twice a week for that reason). It once got so bad I went to the emergency room because I went three days with only 1-2 hours sleep max.

My mother has severe insomnia so I sure hope I don't go down THAT path.

I have had insomnia my entire life as well. I also used to sleep walk when I was able to drift off but seem to have outgrown that. I take melatonin and it's a life saver. Though on rare occasion it takes more than 1.

I did sometimes when I was obsessed with things or when I was depressed. I also occasionally suffered from other sleep disorders & worrying about that caused me to have some insomnia.

Do you use an electronic device during the night? What do you do in the hour before you plan on trying to sleep? One method that has worked really well for me is picking up one of the most complex books I have, like something on propositional calculus or learning a new language, and I concentrate hard on it until I am just too mentally exhausted to even keep my eyes open and read one more paragraph.

But other than that you may want to try turning off anything with a screen on it an hour before you sleep, and using the sleep breathing cycle (a number of sleep experts recommend breathing like this): count as you inhale deeply for seven seconds and then exhale for ten seconds, concentrating on that alone.

I've never slept well, from baby to now. I think the best sleep I ever got was when I was a teenager on the days I was allowed to sleep in to whenever. Falling asleep though? I hate that I need meds. Mostly I take Tylenol PM because it doubles as my anti-histamine as well, but I have a prescription of Trazodone as well, and occasionally Norco (only when the pain is keeping me up and nothing else works).

I take Trazodone but it's because I went through a phase where I was having a minor depression & hard time falling asleep partly due to environmental stuff. Trazodone helped & I don't think I need it for sleep anymore but my girlfriend was saying I was acting depressed awhile before the sleep problem started & she quit saying it after I started Trazodone so I'm on it for minor depression.

I had insomnia for about a year or so a few years ago when I had a bad depression/anxiety problem. I don't even know if I could call it insomnia because I did sleep a lot once I fell asleep, but falling asleep was very difficult as I never felt sleepy at all. Now I'm back to normal and could call myself a professional sleeper but I know how horrible insomnia is because of that experience.

I have severe insomnia. My brain just won't relax, and very few things I do seem to influence it. I read for one or two hours before bed, I meditate, I open windows to cool off, I've got a chain quilt weighing 10 kg for a snug, comfy cover. The only medication I take that rleates to autism are strong sleeping pills, but I can't take those on weekdays since they in turn put a "damper" on my brain, and it takes a day to recover. Not to mention the metallic taste they leave in my mouth. blegh.

Also, I have the ability to get "over-tired". I can be mentally and physically exhausted, but still be unable to sleep because I'm too tired, and my body and brain have gone into some sort of emergency power mode and just won't come down from it. My personal best is having been awake and aware for 72 hours straight. You're not quite yourself at the end of that...

Yeah

I can't sleep without meds (Seroquel, which also treats some other stuff).

i want to tell you all about a book i read a few months ago that has changed my life regarding sleep. it is called the effortless sleep method. i found it to be very helpful because she illustrates mistakes that we make that can make sleep worse. i also found it very empowering to read, and i believe it has helped me with life in general. the best part is that she lays out rules on how to get your sleep back on track. it's like a map that is easy to follow. i would suggest anyone who has issues regarding sleep to read this book.

I tend to get small bouts of insomnia over the course of a few months at a time. I had to go on some sleeping tablets for a while a couple of months ago because I didn't sleep for three days straight, and finally my body figured out how to sleep again. I do still take Seroquel at night though, just to calm my mind down, but my psychiatrist is looking at lowering my dosage on my next visit.
Honestly, I really just hope that one day I can get a good sleep without the need for any medication at all.

Oh yes, horrible.
I know that I had some problems with it when I was very young, but I seem to recall one night, when I was ten years old, that seemed to be the start of a particularly bad childhood cycle that lasted for months. Like some of you, I've now reached the point where I will just get up and try to find something to do until I am exhausted. Many times, I've seen the sunrise following this path, but what was I suppose to do?
Ironically, had a bout last night as well (physical sensation related; sometimes, I just seem to not fit well into my own skin). Finally nodded off after 2 AM.

Yeah, sleep has been an issue for me, and insufficient sleep can make my AS symptoms much worse.

I have had to study and apply various sleep skills and hygiene practices along the lines of those Lukecash mentions.

FYI, I recently stumbled upon an article about a gene study that found correlations between mutations that cause abnormal circadian rhythms and autism.

I don't get along well with sleep... Fortunately, I'm very sensitive to any kind of supplement, so if I really need to sleep, I can take a tiny dose of 5-HTP or 1 Tylenol (regular strength!).