Insomnia Support Group
Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...
Long story short: I was sleeping from 5 a.m. up till 12 p.m if I took a nap, but usually just 5-9. I wanted it to be from 12:00 A.M. till 9 a.m. 5 days ago I woke up at 9 A.M after going to bed at 5 and was tired but told myself I maybe could have myself cured in 2 weeks if I didn't take a nap that day. So I stayed up with no naps and fell asleep almost right away after laying down at 2:40 A.M. The next day I woke up at 9 A.M and actually didn't feel bad. Since then my sleep has gotten worse and worse. I've made a few mistakes but don't know what to do about them and don't feel they justify the horrid sleep. Feel so tired and look horrible. I'm 19 years old and I have blood shot eyes and huge dark spots under my eyes....
I've slept good 1/4 nights, which is 32% and that is pathetic. I don't have time for this...it's not like I was sleeping great before this! I have kept a sleep log and day log and there is some mistakes I've made but not tons. The last 3 days have been poor sleep and here's a summary of key not so perfects that have happened
Sunday: I didn't drink a lot of water early in the day, Was on the computer 2 hours before bed time, ate late at 11:30 P.M., and didn't really keep myself busy up untill my hour or so sleeping ritual. This night I definitely made some mistakes but I don''t see why every1 else seems to do fine doing them but I don't.
With the water mistake, I felt thirsty up untill bed time and had to drink tons of water before bed and this resulted in me waking up having to use the bathroom. The computer 2 hours before bed came mostly cause I didn't think of anything to do for a 2-3 hours before bed(the good sleep night I cleaned right up untill my sleeping ritual), and honestly I don't know if 2 hours before bed time is close enough to effect my sleep that night.
The eating at 11:30 P.M. is probably to blame the most but it's my most challenging problem. I barely keep my weight at 145-150 Lbs and eat probably over 4,000 calories per day. I ended up extremely hungry around 11:30 and couldn't just say no to food.
Regarding being busy, I didn't really do anything untill my sleeping ritual. The night before I cleaned but tonight there simply wasn't anything like that that needed to be done and frankly i'm not a big fan of reading. I can only make myself do some much of it. Perhaps it's because of when I grew up in but at night time hours typically I only know 3 things to do: go on the computer, watch tv, or play video games(but I didn't allow myself to do any of these because of them not being good for sleep).
This night I fell asleep in about 20-30 mins and I suspect I slept(but very lightly) 4 of the 6 hours I was in bed. I was supposed to get up at 9 but everyone else waking up made me wake up and I couldn't fall back asleep so I just got up at 8. I rated my tiredness the next morning a 6.5 out of 10.
Monday: I took a HUGE nap, wasn't done exercising untill 8 and ate at 9 or 10(forgot exactly), and wasn't busy.
The nap was intentionally taken but it went wrong. I wanted a 2 hour nap because I was feeling really tired that morning, but it ended up being a little over 4 hours. I took the nap at 10:30 and wanted to sleep till about 12:45. I set an alarm for what I thought was 12:45 but when I woke up it was 2:45ish and apparently I was so tired my alarm I set was accidentally set for 12:45 A.M, not P.m. This Nap was the deep sleep I've been looking for but at the correct time, Darn it!
I finished exercising around 7:45 and got home around 8 and I don't think this is to late however I thought I'd mention it at least.
With the eating late, I did a little better job tonight although it's still late and once again, this is my hardest problem.
I also wasn't busy and couldn't think of anything to keep myself busy with untill winddown time.
That night I was in bed for 7 hours and 20 minutes but took over an hour(probably more) to fall asleep, and when I did it was really light. I think I only slept 3 hours or less of the 7 hours and 20 minutes. I rated my tiredness a 9 of 10 the next morning.
Tuesday: I took a nap and had a small snack around 11 p.m
I was a 9/10 for tiredness when I woke up, so I took a nap. I forgot what time but it was for 2 hours and it ended before 2 p.m.
My biggest challenge once again is finding other time to eat. I did eat at 11 P.M but it was a lot smaller than normally.
I was in bed for 8 hours and 40 minutes. I'm guessing that I slept 3-4 hours(hard to say) of this. I fell asleep in 20-30 mins but I don't think it was deep sleep (i'm basing this on what i'm about to tell you what happened). This night my dog slept with me and around 4:45 A.M, she had to go outside and I didn't seem way surprised when I got up to let her go upstairs(she didn't sleep with me the rest of the night). After I let her go, my sleep was miserable. I highly doubt I fell asleep again but if I did it was light and pointless. I heard dogs barking, our other dog having to get let outside and people getting ready for work. I should have got up at 9 but I was really tired so I turned off my alarm and laid in bed untill 9:40. It felt like light sleep but I woke up and it appears I had a bizarre dream perhaps about one of my anxiety things. I rate my tiredness a 7 out of 10 today. I'm not going to take a nap today though.
When talking about these experiences, I'm referring to night. So this Tuesday entry was written on wednesday morning/afternoon which is today.
It's just been really hard cause things were looking like the were going to go smoothly but now they aren't. I'm starting to feel more stressed and depressed every day. I believe the stress is a product of the poor sleep. They honestly aren't things I should be stressing about but I believe the poor sleep is causing me to feel more stressed. Also, my neck feels very tense and cracks pretty much every time I roll my head in a circle which pretty much confirms this.
I'm starting to show some signs of depression as well like loss of motivation and interest in doing various things like exercising, trying to find a job, etc.
Don't know how much longer I can go on.
I've slept good 1/4 nights, which is 32% and that is pathetic. I don't have time for this...it's not like I was sleeping great before this! I have kept a sleep log and day log and there is some mistakes I've made but not tons. The last 3 days have been poor sleep and here's a summary of key not so perfects that have happened
Sunday: I didn't drink a lot of water early in the day, Was on the computer 2 hours before bed time, ate late at 11:30 P.M., and didn't really keep myself busy up untill my hour or so sleeping ritual. This night I definitely made some mistakes but I don''t see why every1 else seems to do fine doing them but I don't.
With the water mistake, I felt thirsty up untill bed time and had to drink tons of water before bed and this resulted in me waking up having to use the bathroom. The computer 2 hours before bed came mostly cause I didn't think of anything to do for a 2-3 hours before bed(the good sleep night I cleaned right up untill my sleeping ritual), and honestly I don't know if 2 hours before bed time is close enough to effect my sleep that night.
The eating at 11:30 P.M. is probably to blame the most but it's my most challenging problem. I barely keep my weight at 145-150 Lbs and eat probably over 4,000 calories per day. I ended up extremely hungry around 11:30 and couldn't just say no to food.
Regarding being busy, I didn't really do anything untill my sleeping ritual. The night before I cleaned but tonight there simply wasn't anything like that that needed to be done and frankly i'm not a big fan of reading. I can only make myself do some much of it. Perhaps it's because of when I grew up in but at night time hours typically I only know 3 things to do: go on the computer, watch tv, or play video games(but I didn't allow myself to do any of these because of them not being good for sleep).
This night I fell asleep in about 20-30 mins and I suspect I slept(but very lightly) 4 of the 6 hours I was in bed. I was supposed to get up at 9 but everyone else waking up made me wake up and I couldn't fall back asleep so I just got up at 8. I rated my tiredness the next morning a 6.5 out of 10.
Monday: I took a HUGE nap, wasn't done exercising untill 8 and ate at 9 or 10(forgot exactly), and wasn't busy.
The nap was intentionally taken but it went wrong. I wanted a 2 hour nap because I was feeling really tired that morning, but it ended up being a little over 4 hours. I took the nap at 10:30 and wanted to sleep till about 12:45. I set an alarm for what I thought was 12:45 but when I woke up it was 2:45ish and apparently I was so tired my alarm I set was accidentally set for 12:45 A.M, not P.m. This Nap was the deep sleep I've been looking for but at the correct time, Darn it!
I finished exercising around 7:45 and got home around 8 and I don't think this is to late however I thought I'd mention it at least.
With the eating late, I did a little better job tonight although it's still late and once again, this is my hardest problem.
I also wasn't busy and couldn't think of anything to keep myself busy with untill winddown time.
That night I was in bed for 7 hours and 20 minutes but took over an hour(probably more) to fall asleep, and when I did it was really light. I think I only slept 3 hours or less of the 7 hours and 20 minutes. I rated my tiredness a 9 of 10 the next morning.
Tuesday: I took a nap and had a small snack around 11 p.m
I was a 9/10 for tiredness when I woke up, so I took a nap. I forgot what time but it was for 2 hours and it ended before 2 p.m.
My biggest challenge once again is finding other time to eat. I did eat at 11 P.M but it was a lot smaller than normally.
I was in bed for 8 hours and 40 minutes. I'm guessing that I slept 3-4 hours(hard to say) of this. I fell asleep in 20-30 mins but I don't think it was deep sleep (i'm basing this on what i'm about to tell you what happened). This night my dog slept with me and around 4:45 A.M, she had to go outside and I didn't seem way surprised when I got up to let her go upstairs(she didn't sleep with me the rest of the night). After I let her go, my sleep was miserable. I highly doubt I fell asleep again but if I did it was light and pointless. I heard dogs barking, our other dog having to get let outside and people getting ready for work. I should have got up at 9 but I was really tired so I turned off my alarm and laid in bed untill 9:40. It felt like light sleep but I woke up and it appears I had a bizarre dream perhaps about one of my anxiety things. I rate my tiredness a 7 out of 10 today. I'm not going to take a nap today though.
When talking about these experiences, I'm referring to night. So this Tuesday entry was written on wednesday morning/afternoon which is today.
It's just been really hard cause things were looking like the were going to go smoothly but now they aren't. I'm starting to feel more stressed and depressed every day. I believe the stress is a product of the poor sleep. They honestly aren't things I should be stressing about but I believe the poor sleep is causing me to feel more stressed. Also, my neck feels very tense and cracks pretty much every time I roll my head in a circle which pretty much confirms this.
I'm starting to show some signs of depression as well like loss of motivation and interest in doing various things like exercising, trying to find a job, etc.
Don't know how much longer I can go on.
Nothing you've described sounds like an unsolvable problem. I think you should be confident you can make this better, step by step, day by day. Just take it one day at a time for now.
You sound like you do have a pretty good understanding of sleep, and of how what you do and think during your waking hours affects your sleep. That's very good.
No surprise that the extended nap affected your sleep that night. Your sleep drive was significantly reduced, making it much more difficult to get a good night's sleep.
A couple of suggestions. You've heard these before from me, but worth repeating.
First, try to keep a disciplined sleep schedule. Getting up at the same time every day will help resynchronize your sleep drive and circadian rhythm. A consistent wake time every day, 7 days a week, may be the single most important thing you can do to help yourself sleep better.
Second, limit yourself to no more than about 20 to 30 minutes of nap time. Nap longer and you will likely pay the price that night, and it's probably not worth it.
Third, try to let stress go a little before bed. You've got your pre-bed ritual which is good, but maybe you can find something relaxing that you enjoy doing before bed. Maybe a hobby working with your hands if not reading.
Fourth, sounds like a proper pre-bed snack may help you sleep better through the night. You might experiment a bit with this and see what works. Something nutrient-dense will stay with you longer. A couple of good choices might be peanut butter on a cracker or toast, or yogurt and toast.
Fifth, it's OK to let go the worry about sleep a little. You should be confident if you sleep bad one night the chances are you'll sleep better the following night, and your daytime performance will likely not be significantly affected. You'll be OK.
Fact is, your physiological requirement for sleep is stronger than your insomnia. You will get the sleep you need.
And instead of tossing and turning for hours, try getting up and out of bed when you can't sleep, and do something relaxing under low light until you feel drowsy again. Eventually you will feel drowsy again, and you will sleep. And then you will associate your bed and bedroom with sleep, which will help you in the long run.
If you are still having trouble after doing these kinds of simple things to help yourself, and if you ever feel overwhelmed, by all means do not hesitate to ask for professional help. We can only do so much here in this online support group. Professional help is there and available to you and anyone who needs it. Let us know if you need any advice about how to find help.
Keep posting, we care and want to hear how you're doing.
If not then I'm going to my doctor and maybe going to get the anxiety medication I was on last year for the same summer season that I couldn't sleep. I really hope I start feeling better cause I've been starting to feel pretty crappy every day. Pretty bad headaches and today I felt like I had a fever at one point.
Don't try, just let it happen.
At about 4 P.M. while watching T.v waiting for my brother to come over in 30 minutes, I was watching TV and the next thing I know, he was talking to me and it took several minutes to get the strength to get up so we could leave.
We go to a family dinner, and I get back to my house at 10:20 and lie down for a few minutes just to relax and then attempt to go to sleep. After that, I tried going to bed and think I did within 10 minutes but it was stupid light sleep! Time didn't even go by fast. I woke up and to my disappointment, it was only like 12:30. I went to the bathroom and some reason had some thoughts buzzing in my head(I didn't when I initially tried going to bed) so I stayed up about 30 minutes and read. I then went back to bed about 1 or maybe slightly after and then woke up at 5:59 A.M. after another light sleeping session. I was going to try to go back to bed but unfortunately every1 was up starting to get ready for work so I just got up and plan on staying up.
But I'm seriously really so close to just quitting trying to sleep normal people hours. I almost have 100% confidence that I would and could sleep and do so deeply all day during the day time if I tried to.
I'm going to call my doctor today and tell him about this insomnia problem and we'll see what he says. He'll probably perscribe that anxiety medication that I got last year. I really don't know what to say if I start sleeping good after taking it. I don't know if that would be simply because of something in the pill that makes you sleep or if it would mean that I actually had anxiety. I just don't feel like I have much if any anxiety at this time and I'm not in denial! I also could see a counselor through my mom's work although I don't want to make that a part of my life.
Manage those root causes long term and you have a permanent solution.
Ask your doc about identifying treating the root causes, which is not sleep. If it's anxiety, you may benefit by asking for a referral to a doc that specializes in sleep medicine.
Everyone has some anxiety, that's normal. But if you are experiencing excessive anxiety that you need help controlling then medication combined with counseling to identify, reduce and manage the underlying negative thought patterns will help you.
The kind of CBT solutions that I suggest, and the methods that well for so many people, include potent anxiety and stress management components. Many of us need help with that. No shame in that, in fact it is a positive sign of strength and determination that you want to help yourself.
Keep us posted.