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...
There are a few of us that have been on here and are on here that don't ever really feel tired and I don't think we have been taken the most seriously. We've been told things like we just don't recognize signs of being tired. There are no signs . I never really yawn and I know that is a definite sign. There are lucky people who are tired all the time and others believe them. Since there are people who are lucky that are tired all the time can't there be people who on the opposite end of the spectrum and aren't ever tired also? I realize never feeling tired sounds impossible and is extremely rare, but just because it's rare doesn't mean that it's not possible. Believe me I wish it was impossible, but it's not and I am proof of it. My own former doctor didn't even take me seriously I feel like. I gave her a call and was wanting to see if I could get my cortisol levels checked. All she did was to tell me to go see a psychiatrist, which I was already seeing and I don't feel like helps any. I rather be tired all the time, like so many people are, than be like I am. I don't know why this this has happened. I wish I knew, but I was and still am under a lot of stress when this all started so perhaps that is why. Being like this further stresses me out. I'm confused though because a lot of people are anxious and stressed out and they never have this happen to them. There are people that are like us who are supposed to be sleepless. Sleep aids aren't even supposed to help them. I'm sure we might just get the response that's it's not true and they just have sleep state misperception. There is even one guy who could never sleep again and nothing helped him to sleep after he got hurt in one of the wars. How can you explain that?
First of all, we care. And we do take you seriously. This is a support group. The people who are on here care about what you are going through. We may not know exactly what you are experiencing, but we all have experienced insomnia in our own way. It's not a pleasant experience in any form, this we know and appreciate.
So my response, with the intent of supporting better sleep, which is after all, why we're all here, is ... why bother with any of that?
If focusing on the negative only makes you more worried, more tense, more stressed, and only worsens insomnia, why do it? If the energy you're putting into worry is not helping, why not give yourself a break?
Why not try something like giving yourself a break from all the worry for say 24 hours, and see what happens. Every time a negative thought or worry comes up, for instance about why you're not tired, what would happen if you just let it go?
And what would happen if you instead put your energy and intent on doing everything you can to help make it better? Such as getting regular exercise, keeping a consistent wake-up time, working on reducing stress and managing anxiety?
You can do this, if you want. You can choose to take the pressure off yourself. It is a choice that you make and can control.
I know what you mean about being tired yet unable to sleep.
Caffeine too late in the day will do that to me. I find that one of the worst aspects of insomnia.
It's not unusual to feel tired but not sleepy if you are experiencing chronic stress and/or heightened anxiety. That can lead to excessive levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the bloodstream, which can put you in a hyperaroused state.
Hyperaroused could manifest as tired but not sleepy.
Would be helpful to substitute the word "sleepy" instead of "tired"? The two are often used as one and the same, but they are definitely different and distinguishable.
So yes, you can be tired but not sleepy. When that happens maybe the best thing to do is just accept rest for the time being, even if it isn't sleep. And try bed when sleepy.
This difference is important when using stimulus control methods to counter insomnia. So it's not a good idea to lie awake in bed hour after frustrating hour, beating yourself up over how you can't sleep. That can lead to an inadvertent conditioned negative response to your bed and bedroom, which for many insomniacs is a big part of the problem.
Stimulus control methods are used to help undo that negative association. Stimulus control methods suggest trying sleep only when you feel sleepy. This would be qualitatively different than tired but awake.
If you try to force sleep when tired but not sleepy, you are more likely to lie awake in bed frustrated and tense, unable to sleep. That's the time to take back control, get up and out of bed, and do something relaxing under subdued lighting, until you feel sleepy.
Sooner or later you will feel sleepy, and the signs are obvious. They include dropping eyelids, involuntary head nodding, and yawning. Tired but not sleepy would not necessarily include those behaviors.