How should I approach this?

So I’ve always had insomnia since I was a kid that used to just come and go. It hadn’t affected me much over the years and never really thought much out of it since I usually revert back to my regular sleeping pattern after a while. A few years ago, I noticed that I can only stay asleep for at least six hours in a day. It still didn’t affect me much though so I just shrugged it off. One thing I noticed though, if I take a nap, no matter how short it may be, it will somehow count itself as my sleep and I’ll be awake for the night up to the point where I’ll be drowsy around the same time I took said nap. It’s why I rarely take naps. I also rarely drink coffee and if I do, it’s decaf.

Lately though, I noticed that, in most night, I’ll only fall asleep for at least three hours and my natural body clock is in total disarray. I barely even have a sleeping pattern any more and just try to stay asleep for as long as I can when I finally do fall asleep.

I’m not sure what I should do to handle this. After all, this isn’t healthy. I need my sleep and I can’t just get enough of it. I’ve though of getting myself sleeping pills and try to phase in my regular sleeping pattern back. I’ve also thought if I should go see a psychologist or someone else like that and see if there is something more to this and hopefully find a way to end it.

I know that I should have probably done something sooner but it had never been this bad before and I’m afraid that it might get worse to no end. I’m a bit cautious in handling this though and I want to do it in a smart way and not unintentionally make it worse. Any suggestion how?

Category: Mental Disorders Tags: Insomnia asked November 9, 2013

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Charlie

5 Answers

me and my sister usually stay up the whole night and take a nap wear it last to 8:00 am to 4:00 pm or 7:00 pm and we tried to do alarm and that didn't work and we tried going to sleep at 8:00pm and hoping we wake up early but still didn't work so i usually do is drink tea and turn off tv and put away my phone and computer then i lay in my bed and close my eye until i fall asleep and my sister just watch tv until her eye get sleepy or hurt and she fall asleep.

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kori

You can look into melatonin. Try http://sleepyti.me/ to regulate times and length of naps.

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rinseandrep

7,397

How long are you napping at a time? Never nap more than 20-30 minutes. What I find is effective in helping me fall asleep faster is to take a 20 minute nap, or at least close my eyes for 20 minutes, while listening to white noise. Then when my timer sounds, I get up instantly, no lingering. Have you also tried having no coffee, tea, or anything with caffeine in it at all? Even a bit of coffee (decaf, even) in the morning can make my sleeping pattern go wonky for some reason.Good luck! :)

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Mary

What are you doing before bed? Do you have a problem feeling tired? Is your brain "too loud?"First, I'd take a look at what you're doing right before bed. Sometimes things like exercising, watching TV, playing video games, eating, etc. can stimulate your body to the point where it can't shut down readily. Activities like reading, listening to music, meditation, etc. can help calm your system down a bit before going to bed.Physical activity earlier in the day can help your body get out all of its excess energy. Having a glass of wine or some beer before bed helps too (if you're of age). Supplements like melatonin, Valerian root, or just a cup of chamomile can help calm your system down. I'm weird about taking medication as well, but if I'm desperate I'll take something mild like one of the supplements I listed above or something like Advil PM.If it's a mental thing, it may not hurt to talk to a therapist. You can work on adopting some visualizations that can help you take your mind off things. For instance, you can tell yourself a story in your head, you can concentrate on flexing and relaxing all of your muscles from your toes to your head.Hope this helps and best of luck!

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Sarah

Oh god, I know exactly what you're going through. I had insomnia for a period of about 6 months when I was about 14 years old, and it was the worst time of my life. Not only could I not sleep, but I was desperately tired all day as well. Sometimes I'd only get one hour of sleep a night. It affected my mood so badly and I was craggy all the time. I don't really know what it was that cured it for me, I tried loads of things. I think the main thing in solving the problem is not to worry about it, and though that seems impossible it will come eventually. A few other things I did to proactively increase my chance of sleep were putting my laptop away well before I went to bed, and spent about an hour reading a book instead. Another tip is to keep your sleeping area separate from everything else, see what I used to do was use my laptop on my bed- and still do, but during that time I used to try and only use my bed for sleeping in - its a psychological thing I think. I never wanted to go on sleeping pills as I was worried I'd start depending on them for my sleep. Are you feeling exhausted in the day after not having much sleep and is it affecting your life? If you aren't tired and it isn't having a detrimental affect on you, remember everyone is different and functions differently on different levels of sleep. 3 hours may just be what your body needs where as some people need 9 hours +. I hope this helped even a little!

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blondiemoon