Lack of sleep

[Nem]

For the longest time I've just been getting between 2-4 hours of sleep a night and it's really starting to affect me in a negative way. I'm having severe troubles functioning and my memory is getting bad. Does anyone else deal with lack of sleep to the point that it's driving them up the wall?
Peace/hugs

 

[L-L]

Hi @Nem. I studied this a little bit when I was in university, and I've done a fair bit of reading about it since I graduated and started teaching.

I'm trying to find a sensitive way to ask about your sleep habits and your life in general so I can help, but I can't find a way to ask it without looking like a dullard with no tact...

How do you try to get to sleep? What do you do prior to trying and how do you set up your room etc? I can try to help if you would like. If not I shan't be offended and hope you find some sweet sleep.

 

[Dead beat dad]

For the longest time I've just been getting between 2-4 hours of sleep a night and it's really starting to affect me in a negative way. I'm having severe troubles functioning and my memory is getting bad. Does anyone else deal with lack of sleep to the point that it's driving them up the wall?
Peace/hugs

Hey friend I feel your pain. I've suffered with insomnia and other sleep problem for most of my adult life and heaven knows it can drive you to madness.
The thing that gave me the most improvement was diet, I just ate less but slight better stuff and that helped, but there is a myriad of things can interfere with your sleep, so it might be worth getting checking out some proper sleep studies etc.
Good luck brother
DBD

 

[Quarky00]

My insomnia is getting a bit better recently , but yeah been in that position many times . It really destroys your mind and body . It brings about exhaustion , anxiety , hormonal changes , cognitive imparments -- and even problems balancing . I had to write down what I eat or the pills I took because I couldn't remember if I did (few hours before)

 

[Nem]

Hi @Nem. I studied this a little bit when I was in university, and I've done a fair bit of reading about it since I graduated and started teaching.

I'm trying to find a sensitive way to ask about your sleep habits and your life in general so I can help, but I can't find a way to ask it without looking like a dullard with no tact...

How do you try to get to sleep? What do you do prior to trying and how do you set up your room etc? I can try to help if you would like. If not I shan't be offended and hope you find some sweet sleep.

Hi and thanks! I can fall asleep but I'm only able to sleep for a short time, usually around three hours. Once I wake up it's near impossible to get back to sleep. I keep my room on the cool side and my room has become a little untidy due to lack of motivation to do anything besides work. I had an appointment for a sleep study awhile back and it was rescheduled and I couldn't make it. At this point I wonder if a sleep study would even help at all, I do wish I could've gotten the sleep study done and they might've had an idea as to why things are so bad. I had a severe reaction to meds a few years ago and the sleep problems started immediately after it happened. Part of the problem could've been caused by severe withdrawals from benzos and I do wonder if it has carried over all this time.
When the depression starts to lift my sleep improves but during the depression it instantly goes back to insomnia
Peace/hugs

 

[L-L]

Hi and thanks! I can fall asleep but I'm only able to sleep for a short time, usually around three hours. Once I wake up it's near impossible to get back to sleep. I keep my room on the cool side and my room has become a little untidy due to lack of motivation to do anything besides work. I had an appointment for a sleep study awhile back and it was rescheduled and I couldn't make it. At this point I wonder if a sleep study would even help at all, I do wish I could've gotten the sleep study done and they might've had an idea as to why things are so bad. I had a severe reaction to meds a few years ago and the sleep problems started immediately after it happened. Part of the problem could've been caused by severe withdrawals from benzos and I do wonder if it has carried over all this time.
When the depression starts to lift my sleep improves but during the depression it instantly goes back to insomnia
Peace/hugs

Unlucky for not being able to pay for the sleep study. I do know that there are a couple of Universities that have sleep labs as well as a few hospitals. I'm sure you've already tried to access the appropriate care but there may be some options you've not thought of down that alley.

There are other things that you can do that may help. Things like making sure it's as dark as possible at night and in the morning try to ensure that it's as bright as possible and don't drink coffee etc in the morning because your body doesn't produce as much cortisol as a result of stimulants in the morning.

Also things such as limiting any light whatsoever before bed, especially blue light from screens and stuff. Exercise, diet and hydration can always help, but I don't want to tell you stuff you've already heard.

 

[Nem]

Unlucky for not being able to pay for the sleep study. I do know that there are a couple of Universities that have sleep labs as well as a few hospitals. I'm sure you've already tried to access the appropriate care but there may be some options you've not thought of down that alley.

There are other things that you can do that may help. Things like making sure it's as dark as possible at night and in the morning try to ensure that it's as bright as possible and don't drink coffee etc in the morning because your body doesn't produce as much cortisol as a result of stimulants in the morning.

Also things such as limiting any light whatsoever before bed, especially blue light from screens and stuff. Exercise, diet and hydration can always help, but I don't want to tell you stuff you've already heard.

Thanks! I do drink coffee in the morning and I'm slowly replacing it with green tea. It still has caffeine but less, the coffee I drink is not strong but today I noticed after the coffee I started getting an anxiety spike and started sweating...it was quite uncomfortable
Peace/hugs

 

[your pathologist]

My insomnia always seems to revolve around my antidepressant doses, but it takes weeks for things to change and ive been experiencing what seems to me like less than an hour of restful sleep for the past month or so.
This affects my ability to concentrate, remember, read, write,
I spend most of my day in bed tossing, chasing after just a few sweet moments of rest that are over before i have a chance to benefit...

 

[Deleted member 1465]

For the longest time I've just been getting between 2-4 hours of sleep a night and it's really starting to affect me in a negative way. I'm having severe troubles functioning and my memory is getting bad. Does anyone else deal with lack of sleep to the point that it's driving them up the wall?
Peace/hugs

Yeah, Nem. I've been getting around 2 hours a night for the past year at least, and that not all in one go. I'm actually surprised I'm not utterly loopy with it tbh.
There are specific medical reasons for me and sedation is not appropriate in my case as it would cause more problems.
I've found that my exhausted body forces me to sleep eventually. Recently, I've actually been getting a little more sleep because of utter exhaustion.
I've also found I have kind of adapted to a lower functionality. Physical uncertainty, lack of coordination, extreme tiredness are what I've come to expect as the norm. My memory is suffering but strangely, I feel my mind opening up to things. I kind of feel cleverer, but less capable of doing anything about it. It's very odd and quite difficult to deal with.
I can really sympathise with anyone who doesn't sleep for whatever reason. We need to cycle through those brainwave patterns for good physiological reasons and going without can impact every aspect of life, which ofc then feeds back to impact sleep even more.

 

[voyager]

Me too. First off, I haven't had a proper night's sleep in 26 years, since the mhi began. Just don't feel rejuvenated and always exhausted. Doesn't matter how long or how little I sleep. Have even noticed these past few months, that I'm more at ease with ridiculous sleep times (2-4h), this would've been unthinkable a few years ago, when my bare minimum was 6 or 8. Even when I don't sleep at all after a few hours I will feel "normal" again, whatever that is.

Didn't know I even had insomnia, used to think one can't sleep at all. But yeah, definitely have it now, plus some of the symptoms from before. Same as you, Nem et al. I'll sleep a little while, then wake and can't fall asleep again. Will sometimes have ruminating thoughts, but don't always immediately identify them as such. What's more, when I do manage to clear my mind and switch topics, notice how drowsy the new thought makes me, how comfy and peaceful, how I begin to visualise these thoughts, how I'm almost dreaming,...

V., ARE YOU AWAKE?? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU'RE NOT DRIFTING OFF ARE YOU?! YOU CAN'T SLEEP NOW!!

What, what... huh?? Urgh.

Repeat.

Hehe, it's so sick. *hugs*

 

[s1mplem3]

I do have insomnia. I can fall asleep and wake up anytime and sometimes I have no idea is a daytime or night. I could sleep only few hours or 24, never know.

 

[BlackPoppet]

For the longest time I've just been getting between 2-4 hours of sleep a night and it's really starting to affect me in a negative way. I'm having severe troubles functioning and my memory is getting bad. Does anyone else deal with lack of sleep to the point that it's driving them up the wall?
Peace/hugs

Yes! I've had chronic sleep onset insomnia for over 20 years. It's absolute hell. I totally empathise. I've had sleep study, at a famous London hospital. My sleep doc has advised my GP to keep me on a Z drug ( hypnotic) permanently. I've even worked a job that I had to travel 4 hours there and back. I managed to keep that job for 4 months. I slept 3 weeks total in that time. I started experiencing auditory hallucinations. I had to go to a mental health team every night after work. They advised me to stop working. I got sacked in the end, thank the gods. It's the most tortuous condition ever. I haven't been able to get a job since. Much less travel long distances.

 

[BlackPoppet]

Me too. First off, I haven't had a proper night's sleep in 26 years, since the mhi began. Just don't feel rejuvenated and always exhausted. Doesn't matter how long or how little I sleep. Have even noticed these past few months, that I'm more at ease with ridiculous sleep times (2-4h), this would've been unthinkable a few years ago, when my bare minimum was 6 or 8. Even when I don't sleep at all after a few hours I will feel "normal" again, whatever that is.

Didn't know I even had insomnia, used to think one can't sleep at all. But yeah, definitely have it now, plus some of the symptoms from before. Same as you, Nem et al. I'll sleep a little while, then wake and can't fall asleep again. Will sometimes have ruminating thoughts, but don't always immediately identify them as such. What's more, when I do manage to clear my mind and switch topics, notice how drowsy the new thought makes me, how comfy and peaceful, how I begin to visualise these thoughts, how I'm almost dreaming,...

V., ARE YOU AWAKE?? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU'RE NOT DRIFTING OFF ARE YOU?! YOU CAN'T SLEEP NOW!!

What, what... huh?? Urgh.

Repeat.

Hehe, it's so sick. *hugs*

It's a nightmare to not sleep isn't it? Hugs from me to you.

 

[not-2-b-the-answer]

For the longest time I've just been getting between 2-4 hours of sleep a night and it's really starting to affect me in a negative way. I'm having severe troubles functioning and my memory is getting bad. Does anyone else deal with lack of sleep to the point that it's driving them up the wall?
Peace/hugs

I have had problems sleeping for a long time. I've also suffered only getting a few hours of sleep at night. Not always but it happens a lot. If I'm off work then I go back to bed sometimes in the afternoon and get a few hours. It's a vicious cycle that I don't know how to stop. Even if I don't take a nap sometimes I still can't sleep.
I try to go to bed early and then I wake up a few hours later and I'm up for hours or can't get back to sleep at all.
My memory is really getting bad as well. It is difficult to function at work. Also driving to and from work, I sometimes don't remember getting from one place to the next.

My insomnia is getting a bit better recently , but yeah been in that position many times . It really destroys your mind and body . It brings about exhaustion , anxiety , hormonal changes , cognitive imparments -- and even problems balancing . I had to write down what I eat or the pills I took because I couldn't remember if I did (few hours before)

I have the same problems exhaustion, anxiety, cognitive impairments also balance ... I seem to stumble alot or just lose balance. I also have trouble remembering pills I have taken or when I take them.

 

[BlackPoppet]

I have had problems sleeping for a long time. I've also suffered only getting a few hours of sleep at night. Not always but it happens a lot. If I'm off work then I go back to bed sometimes in the afternoon and get a few hours. It's a vicious cycle that I don't know how to stop. Even if I don't take a nap sometimes I still can't sleep.
I try to go to bed early and then I wake up a few hours later and I'm up for hours or can't get back to sleep at all.
My memory is really getting bad as well. It is difficult to function at work. Also driving to and from work, I sometimes don't remember getting from one place to the next.


I have the same problems exhaustion, anxiety, cognitive impairments also balance ... I seem to stumble alot or just lose balance. I also have trouble remembering pills I have taken or when I take them.

Hugs from me to you.