Insomnia / Sleep Disorders

[Raidx]

Hello all. For the past year or so I've been having some pretty bad sleeping habits and after doing some research on the matter, I concluded that I have insomnia. Not officially though, since i haven't seen a doctor about it because I'm dumb so there's no true diagnosis yet, but the symptoms do match. Because of this, my sleep schedule is completely out of wack; pretty much nonexistent. For example, I'll go to sleep at like 5 or 6AM, wake up at like 12 or 1PM, end up taking a nap at around 7 or 8, wake up at like around 10ish and then be up for the rest of the night. Any one else suffer from insomnia or any other sleep disorders? Feel free to share your story(ies)!

 

[Garou]

I got addicted to coffee and that seriously fucked my sleep schedule for a month or so but apart from that I've been good. I don't know if i felt terrible because of my constant attempts to quit caffeine or because of insomnia but either way it was not fun :[

 

[Raidx]

I got addicted to coffee and that seriously fucked my sleep schedule for a month or so but apart from that I've been good. I don't know if i felt terrible because of my constant attempts to quit caffeine or because of insomnia but either way it was not fun :[

Oh I can definitely relate. I drink A LOT of soda and apparently caffeine in large quantities over time puts a toll on your body and can mess up your sleep schedule as well :(

 

[Soul Fly]

My sleep cycle is shitty. But I'm trying to pound out a dissertation while dealing with a myriad of problems in life so idk.

 

[Cimix]

Yeah, I suffer from Insomnia, shit sucks tbh. Always end up falling asleep during the day but whenever night comes around just can't fall asleep. Sleeping pills/medication doesn't help either. fml :'c

 

[AM]

Oh I can definitely relate. I drink A LOT of soda and apparently caffeine in large quantities over time puts a toll on your body and can mess up your sleep schedule as well :(

Cutting the soda would be a good start.

 

[Jellicent]

Sounds like you're getting a healthy amount of sleep, just at bad times (more nocturnal than insomniac). You probably just need to readjust your sleep schedule / habits. When mine would get wonky like that, I'd just stay up for >24 hours and go to bed at whatever time I wanted to switch to. So, instead of crashing around 5 or 6 AM, just keep pushing until say 10 PM or whatever. You'll probably be pretty wiped by then and shouldn't have much trouble sleeping at that point. Try to do it on a day you have off, cuz a sleepless day at work or school sucks. Those late-night naps are not helping you any, either.

Insomnia's more of an inability to sleep in general. I get it sometimes when I'm super stressed, brain just doesn't want to shut off for the night. Usually I can still squeeze an hour or two in, though. Withdrawing from booze is another story. After a bender, I'd be awake for 72+ hours on end (believe my record was 104 before I popped some Ambien, hallucinated magnificently, and passed out, haha). As utterly exhausted as I'd feel, my body would simply be unable to fall asleep. Tachycardia's another part of withdrawal and probably related to why; it's hard to sleep when your heart rate's through the roof :P

For the withdrawal, I just try not to bender anymore (it's pretty rare I drink these days, usually just stick to weed.) As for the stress part... well, weed helps with that, too~

 

[Nova]

Never heard of someone with insomnia who gets 8 hours of sleep a day

 

[earl]

I've had a summer where I suffered from a form of insomnia in which I would wake up around 3ish in the morning and be unable to fall asleep/take at least 2 hours to do so, really screwed up my sleep schedule but got over it after a while. You should probably just try to force an 11 PM bedtime instead of the awkward hours you have now, but don't cut the nap. Naps are great and it really sucks that it was fazed out of the general culture

 

[Raidx]

Never heard of someone with insomnia who gets 8 hours of sleep a day

I did say it wasn't an official diagnosis, just something I concluded on my own, so if I'm wrong then that shouldn't be a surprise + those times are just an example and aren't completely accurate. The point is insomnia or not I definitely have some sort of sleeping issue.

 

[Raidx]

Sounds like you're getting a healthy amount of sleep, just at bad times (more nocturnal than insomniac). You probably just need to readjust your sleep schedule / habits. When mine would get wonky like that, I'd just stay up for >24 hours and go to bed at whatever time I wanted to switch to. So, instead of crashing around 5 or 6 AM, just keep pushing until say 10 PM or whatever. You'll probably be pretty wiped by then and shouldn't have much trouble sleeping at that point. Try to do it on a day you have off, cuz a sleepless day at work or school sucks. Those late-night naps are not helping you any, either.

Insomnia's more of an inability to sleep in general. I get it sometimes when I'm super stressed, brain just doesn't want to shut off for the night. Usually I can still squeeze an hour or two in, though. Withdrawing from booze is another story. After a bender, I'd be awake for 72+ hours on end (believe my record was 104 before I popped some Ambien, hallucinated magnificently, and passed out, haha). As utterly exhausted as I'd feel, my body would simply be unable to fall asleep. Tachycardia's another part of withdrawal and probably related to why; it's hard to sleep when your heart rate's through the roof :P

For the withdrawal, I just try not to bender anymore (it's pretty rare I drink these days, usually just stick to weed.) As for the stress part... well, weed helps with that, too~

The nocturnal bit makes sense. Though the reason I assumed I have insomnia is because I just can't sleep at all until I get tired, which doesn't happen till 5-6, sometimes later than that. It's prob from all the soda (dat caffeine) I drink or something lol idk I ain't a doctor. I'm gotta try that 24 hour trick bcus a lot of ppl have been telling me that it works. Also 104 hours wtf :o Jesus Christ that's like 4 and half days!

 

[reyscarface]

Okay lets get this out of the way, you very likely do not have insomnia.

What you have is terrible sleep hygiene. There is no reason you should be having a nap at 10 PM when you had 7-8 hours of sleep previously. Im willing to bet you spend plenty of time on electronic devices, as well as browse whichever website you enjoy while you're in bed about to go to sleep. You refer caffeinated drink consumption, this also exacerbates the issue. Adding to this, you probably have your lights on right before you go to bed, there might be noises, you might work out very late at night, yada yada. This is all fixable with the right mindset, so thats the good news. Ill let you google "Sleep Hygiene" in order to get a better idea of what you should be doing.

Sleep disorders in general are pretty hard to diagnose, and they might be secundary, a symptom of something else. For example: Depression, ADHD, and other entities can run their course with sleep disturbances. That said, you might be a bearer of delayed sleep phase disorder, which is basically your circadian rhythm is all fucked up. These are the people we know as "night owls". They stay up very late and wake up very late if they dont have school / work. If they sleep at the correct time for them, they have no issue going to sleep / having good sleep / completing their sleep, which is very like you (sleeping 8 hours straight). Something important: THIS IS NOT A DIAGNOSIS. It sounds similar but this cannot be confirmed until you go to a doctor.

Seriously go to a doctor.

I am making such big emphasis because self diagnosing anything is a mistake, but doing it with sleep disorders is really bad. This is because the kind of people to self diagnose them are the kind of people to use a shortcut on the management of the problem. Basically, they skip fixing their sleep hygiene and instead go right to the easy part, taking meds. They read online about how much Xanax to pop a night and since it usually works, they just stay with that. The issue is the kind of medication given for sleep disorders is for short termuse , benzos and company are dangerous if not used right because they can cause addiction and dependence. Suddenly your "insomnia" became a full blown addiction and now youre fucked. There are other issues with self diagnosing but I wont get too indepth.

So yeah, you probably dont have what you self diagnosed yourself with, but GO SEE A DOCTOR IF ITS IMPACTING YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE. They will be able to start a diagnostic algorithm and hopefully reach an answer so you can receive the treatment and management you need.

 

[Raidx]

Each person is different. But what has been shown to help is to turn off the cell phones and computers an hour or two before bedtime. The emitted blue light disrupts sleep. A bath or shower relaxes muscles that may be sore from work or exercise. Do not drink alcohol and stop caffeine consumption at least 4 hours before bed. Try to maintain a steady sllep schedule. Keep the windows open, so as to feel the slow wind. To avoid the noise, put a soft pair of good ear plugs so that your sleep don’t get disturbed. Invest in a nice, soft comfy pillow and mattress (here are some useful reviews https://sleepissimple.co.uk/ – find the best one)Turning down, or off, lights helps your circadian rythym adjust and kick in the melatonin. Bedrooms are for sleeping, and occassionly getting lucky; no TVs, cell phones, or computers!

That's some good ass advice tbh. Also, I'm guilty of using electronic devices in bed (I get super bored man), but even the times I don't use it I still can't fall alseep lol. I'd say the major factors are my caffeine consumption and the electronics in bed.