Oh dear, this sounds so much like what I'm going through. Keep telling yourself things WILL improve eventually.

Yes frogturtle that's it I can tell myself at this point. I'm pretty much so tired and groggy that yeah I'm "there" but don't participate or necessarily remember what was going on or what we talked about or what happened. It really is so hard to do the billions of little things normal people who aren't fatigued do instantly on such poor sleep.

I understand 100+%. It is very difficult to live this way. I don't know if you will find this comforting, but I will pray for you slayer. Have you ever had a blood test that checked all your nutrient levels? I don't mean a regular blood test but one that is called micronutrient testing? My neurologist suggested I do this (and I plan to get the blood work done this week) in order to see at the cellular level what I'm lacking in. It tests for 12 vitamins, 5 minerals, 3 amino acids, 6 anixodiants, carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acids, and metabolite. I've never heard of this kind of test before but it came up because I told him I was taking supplements and he made a comment that I spend a lot of money on things I may not even need. Another thing he wanted to do was have me try Seroquel because of the severity of my problem. I took it one night, it zonked me out so bad but I felt HORRIBLE all day and I know that even if I did get deep sleep, it still wasn't a natural feeling at all. I also had charlie horses which was strange. I know this drug is very very strong and not without risks. So I'm so bad they want to give me this power medication but as usual I resist because I'm scared to go on any medication for sleep. I also also know with chronic sleep loss, the adrenal glands take a beating and can become low in DHEA and cortisol thereby causing insomnia. I'm in that state now but I didn't want to spend the money on the supplements my doctor recommended mainly because he would be messing with my hormones. It feels like a no win but I do believe in the body naturally helping itself. Hang in there!

I feel your pain. Been there many times, there now. Haven't slept in days.

Good video Helen, thank you for sharing! I have just been trying to sleep 8 hours and its really frustrating, I'll show signs that I'm going to start sleeping better but then it all goes away. After 2 nights in a row of good sleep I think I slept lightly for most of the night. I remember at least dream but didn't feel that rested so I feel like the bulk of my seep must have been light. But anyway, I'm on spring break off of school untill next monday. I'm going to be trying this sleep restriction thing you talked about in addition to light therapy.

I suspect I have delayed sleep phase syndrome so the only thing I'm going to do different is to set my wake up time earlier than I need to and let myself sleep in later by 15 minutes when I have good efficiency. Cause honestly I think I think its harder to go to bed earlier than get up earlier and in my case it definitely is!

The plan is to originally sleep from midnight to 6 a.m. After the first week, I can sleep in more by a little bit. The sad thing is that my schedule isn't permanent and will be over by the end of April and then I'll be looking for a new job or internship and likely have to wake up earlier. Oh well, if things go well and my sleep efficiency improves then I will be confident that I'll just have to do the same thing but with different hours.

not easier to get up earlier,.... **easier to get up later