This is common in people who have adrenal insufficiency/adrenal dysfunction. There are tests your doctor can do to evaluate your adrenal function. If low, you can be helped with cortisol/cortisone and/or prednisone type drugs.

I recommend the book, Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome.

It helped me!

Hi ToriB and welcome.My cfs symptoms are better in the evening.-Jen

I KNOW WHAT THAT IS ALL ABOUT-- SLEEPING HABITS... WELL THAT GOES ALONG WITH MANY DISEASES. I WAS JUST READING IN THE *READERS DIGST*.. ABOUT SLEEPING HABITS.. THEY SAY YOU SHOULD TRY TO DRINK MILK( WHICH HAS TRIPTOPHAN IN IT)*& HAVE A LITTLE COOKIE( CARBS) MAKE YOU TIRED TOO!! BEFORE YOU GO TO LAY DOWN THAT WILL MAKE YOU SLEEPY...
JUST A LITTLE INFOMATION.. HOPE IT WORKS .. I AM GOING TO TRY IT MYSELF..
GOOD LUCK..

Very common in CFS to have energy at night. Dr Teitlebaum (sp?) talks about this in his book 'from fatigued to fantastic'. Can be quite frustrating when you wish to sleep you have the most energy. ugggh! I feel best (least pain) in the late afternoon / early evening and then energetic at night. Mornings are tough.
CB

Yes, I've read time and again that others feel the same way. I've been sick for so long that it's hard for me to remember what it's like to be awake and alert in the mornings. Sometimes I think about how people call New York City "the city that never sleeps" and wish some daytime services were provided at night everywhere...(ok even if NYC doesn't have all of them but still...)
I feel WAY way way better at night.

Does anyone know why this happens?

Sleepershedreams, yes, we're all vampires! :D

I have the same problem, spend most of my day in bed/on sofa, and then come 10pm i get the most energy i've had all day, i generally choose to shower then if i can. Sometimes put some clothes away, tidy a little, have a conversation with mum.

Sleep hygiene plays a huge part in actually getting to sleep at night, having a routine, getting to bed at the same time, signalling to your body that it's time to go to sleep now, maybe having a bath if you can manage that?

Also it's recommended you try not to link your bed to activity- like watching tv, reading, working. Though i break all of these... ha! It's not very practical really! Though maybe even resting/working up the other end of your bed to where you sleep, or spare room if you have one.

Other things you could try are Kalms or Valerian tablets, or melatonin which is a naturally occuring hormone which signals it's time to sleep! Amitryptaline is also in small doses used to help sleeping, and pain.

It's a very common problem with CFS/ME, and most annoying!! x

Lately I've been going to bed at 4 in the morning and getting 5-7 hours of broken sleep. :(

I just can't sleep - I feel terrible all day...I'm not bed bound, but really low on energy and running mild fevers most of the time. Sometimes I have to nap later on in the day. Then I perk up at night time.

Very common, this. Poor hubby doesn't understand it - 'you were doing well when you made yourself go to bed early, I'm sure you were.'

That was when I COULD sleep in the night, and I was doing well in general. Having a bad patch I think. I suppose I could lie in bed for 5 hours staring at the ceiling...

I have sleep problems associated with CFS.

It's funny, I feel more guilty about it now, with the kids grown and gone, then I did when I absolutely had to get up and move and function as a parent.

Move, deal, DO, DO, DO!

Sleepersh... said "for now its sominex or its equivalent (Diphenhydramine HCl) that I found in bed Bath cheaper cant recall the name tho. "

Just thought I'd throw it out there that the other name for it is Benadryl. Benadryl is not only good for sleeping, but also for nausea/vomiting. I use it when my stomach aches/swells from I.C. and endo, and it helps me personally for that.

I use soma to sleep now - as well as for pain, used to use flexeril but they gave me pill hangovers the next day.

I don't like taking stuff to sleep unless the sun is about to rise. My energy just isn't available for me to use during the day so if I have it at night, I want to use it.

welcome to DS.............I Have been this way (feeling better at night) since 1991........... 6 months after a bad car accident. I used to ge tup at 5 am and now I can stay up until 5 am.It is terrible. I tried over the years to switch back and did succeed only to fall back into what seems normal for us
We all need to be checked for adrenal fatigue-exhaustion

I think it was Severn? Who said they get to sleep at 5am? How about still going to bed, but listening to music/reading whatever, but making sure you're lying down means your heart rate is lowered and your resting more than if you were sat up. I never get to sleep before 1.30am, it's normally 2-4am, and go to bed at 10/11pm. I read if i can, or listen to some music, try to do calming things. It doesn't always work, and after a while quite often i watch tv/dvd in bed instead. Very frustrating! Have you tried any sleep hypnosis CD's? Or any of the herbal sleep aids?

I meant to say, it's sooo important to TRY not to let your sleep reverse totally, or when ability improves and you want to be able to do things, it's the middle of the night and there's not much open and no one around.

I know it's not easy, and i have a mother who's always enforced it for me :P - i have to be awake at 10.30am every day no matter what time i've gone to sleep. Sounds late, doesn't seem it when you've not slept till 7am! I can nap in the day before 3pm if i need to, for 45 minutes. (it all sounds very regimented :P) most of the time i can't sleep in the day much either, and always feel worse after so try not to!

I know how you all feel with the sleep problems. I know we are all different, but two months ago I talked my doctor into giving me a perscription for Klonopin. It helped lots although I had to take the generic form. Dr. Paul Cheney, a leading doctor for CFS had an artical posted on this sight a while back and that is where I heard about it. I'm no longer laying in bed for hour on end, I'm sleeping! It's also got rid of the trembling that was so awful. I can also take a nap in the afternoon which I couldn't before. Hope this helps some of you.
This artical was posted by Ali5tair on Nov. 28, 2008. Maybe you can look back for it. It has been the most helpful information for me. Maemee

Yes I have far more energy at night.
Its a Interlukin 6, TNF-a, Melatonin thing. I cant sleep but I have a lot more energy than the day.
I've had adrenal insufficiency/adrenal dysfunction checked out by a CFS specialist and he said I dont suffer from either.

Al