Sleeping?

I've always been somewhat of a night owl, even when I was a child. I would have a hard time sleeping, and would read under my blanket with a flashlight, while everyone else was asleep. I still enjoy reading late at night, but nowadays, i don't have to do it under my covers with a flashlight.


I have worked various shifts, and always enjoyed the midnight shift for some reason. I think because I enjoy the dark and the feeling of being awake when others are asleep so much, that it's a struggle for me to go to sleep. I don't care for the way most sleeping pills leave me lethargic and fuzzy headed the next day, so I usually try to use diaphragmatic breathing to relax my body and mind enough that sleep will come. I have used Melatonin in the past with pretty good results.

I always tell people that know I have anxiety, that I even deal with it in my sleep. I am always over thinking things, and I carry on full thoughts in my sleep. I usually wake up with a headache because of it. I cant stay comfy either. 

I don't have much problem falling asleep because I normally go to sleep only when I am tired. So when I hit the pillow, I am off like a light. This doesn't guarantee that I will go to sleep at the same time every night. Some nights, I end up not sleeping at all because I am not tired. In such cases, I may go to bed at dawn.

Suzie said:

This is a great question. I have a hard time getting to sleep for the most part because my mind races and will not shut off. I have to take a melatoin pill and half a unisom to be able to get to sleep and pretty much stay asleep other than my nightly bathroom break. I fought for so long trying to get sleep and couldn't get consistent good sleep until I took these supplements. Others told me taking them would be harmful to my health but getting no sleep can be harmful to your health too right? It has been the best thing for me to take them and it has helped my anxiety so much!

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Anxiety makes it hard for me to follow asleep.  How can I stop worrying at bedtime ?  And what are the downsides of Unisom?

I'm not actually having a hard time getting sleep, yet it's the other way around. I feel sleepy most of the time, no matter what time I woke up, I still feel sleepy and tired after some hours. I don't know why but I always feel tired at times even though I don't do anything tiring and I am not that stressed though. Whenever I hit the bed, I'm easily knocked out.

Jasmin Cottontail said:

I'm not actually having a hard time getting sleep, yet it's the other way around. I feel sleepy most of the time, no matter what time I woke up, I still feel sleepy and tired after some hours. I don't know why but I always feel tired at times even though I don't do anything tiring and I am not that stressed though. Whenever I hit the bed, I'm easily knocked out.

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A few years ago when I was diagnosed with depression I was the same as you. It didn't matter how much sleep I got at night, I was always tired and could easily fall asleep whenever. I was told that was because even though I was sleeping at night, it was a depressive sleep and even though my body was resting, my mind was still active and that's why after even sleeping for 8 hours I woke up tired or go could quite easily go to sleep at anytime of the day.

I am a night owl these days and I feel sleepy whenever I see bed, so sleeping was never a problem for me.  I need to sleep at least 5-6 hours at a stretch to stay refreshed.  Otherwise I feel sleepy all the times which adversely affects my productivity.  


If we feel sleepy most of the times that means we are in sleep debt which gets accumulated over time. It can lead to major health problems, including psychological issues.  So we need to devote enough time for this important function that helps to repair our entire body and mind.  Otherwise our system will gradually shutdown as in the case of computers.  


I have seen people reading something boring to induce sleep and that really works.  For some a soothing music also helps. 

I slept well for most of my life until I was about 26.  I'm not sure what happened, I just remember not being able to fall asleep one night, and then once sleeping even became an issue, it remained an issue.  But before then, sleeping was just something I did without thinking about it, like eating, or breathing.  Now it has become something I constantly worry about.  Now I know what it feels like to attend an event or go to a doctor's appointment on 0-1 hours of sleep.  Just by knowing that, my mind can now use it to scare me.


I have always needed about 8-10 hours of sleep to feel well and function during the day (or night - depends on when I'm most active.)  I know that seems like a lot, but that's just me.  When I had no problems with sleep in my younger years, that's pretty much what I would get every night, too... 8-10 hours.  So you can imagine how 0-1 hours felt, compared to that.  


Sometimes people will get a full night's sleep and still feel groggy or sleepy during the day.  There's a reason for this.  Even though they are unconscious for say 7, 8, or 9 hours, it doesn't necessarily mean they were able to get into that deep REM-and-beyond-type sleep.  Sleep apnea and bruxism are usually the 2 culprits.  Bruxism (teeth-clenching or grinding) is what I struggle with.  But I've learned that not eating too much before bed (especially protein), really helps with this.  I think it has something to do with digestion and your brain working together, when really you should be resting the whole time.  Your body sees digestion as a job, so it can't rest well....and it probably feels restless, causing the involuntary jaw movements.  Remember to think of it like this:  Clenching or grinding your teeth while sleeping, is the same as trying to exercise in your sleep. Now what kind of sleep would that be?? NOT very good sleep.   :dry: :sleep:

Normally, I can go to sleep almost immediately after I close my eyes but sometimes I experience a time wherein I cannot sleep easily and that is when I feel too excited about something, or I feel anxious about some concerns that I'm having. Anyway, this happens rarely but if it happens I get irritated and upset with myself.

pwarbi said:

A few years ago when I was diagnosed with depression I was the same as you. It didn't matter how much sleep I got at night, I was always tired and could easily fall asleep whenever. I was told that was because even though I was sleeping at night, it was a depressive sleep and even though my body was resting, my mind was still active and that's why after even sleeping for 8 hours I woke up tired or go could quite easily go to sleep at anytime of the day.

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That's what I'm feeling right now. Feeling sleepy and dizzy most of the time. However, I can't say that I am depressed, I'm actually happy. But I don't understand the tiredness I'm feeling at the moment as well as I'm too lazy to do anything. I've experienced this before and up to now I still don't know what might be the cause. Have you overcome it now? Don't you feel tired and sleepless recently? If not, what did you do to overcome it?

To get a better sleep is helping yourself by not overdoing your capacity to do. Eat on schedule. Stop worrying too much. With nothing interrupting your mind while sleeping, you are making yourself ready to fall asleep. Exercising is one of the sleep inducer kind of activity. Don't overeat especially at night. It is suggested that you eat like a pauper at night but in the day eat like a king.

Jasmin Cottontail said:

That's what I'm feeling right now. Feeling sleepy and dizzy most of the time. However, I can't say that I am depressed, I'm actually happy. But I don't understand the tiredness I'm feeling at the moment as well as I'm too lazy to do anything. I've experienced this before and up to now I still don't know what might be the cause. Have you overcome it now? Don't you feel tired and sleepless recently? If not, what did you do to overcome it?

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While I know it's easier said than done, but the easiest way to combat the tiredness and lethargy is to actually physically make yourself get up and do something. With me it got to the point where I was worrying that much about why I was feeling tired that I was making myself worse. If you have a hobby then go and do it. If you don't, then go and find yourself one because doing nothing all day will only make you feel more tired and there was someday's I could barely get out of bed because I genuinely didn't have anything to do, or at least nothing that I thought was worthwhile.


Once you find the motivation to do something and you do start getting more active then you will start to feel 100% better and then once that ball is rolling, it's then just a matter of keeping yourself busy and trying to make sure you don't sink into that pit again.

pwarbi said:

While I know it's easier said than done, but the easiest way to combat the tiredness and lethargy is to actually physically make yourself get up and do something. With me it got to the point where I was worrying that much about why I was feeling tired that I was making myself worse. If you have a hobby then go and do it. If you don't, then go and find yourself one because doing nothing all day will only make you feel more tired and there was someday's I could barely get out of bed because I genuinely didn't have anything to do, or at least nothing that I thought was worthwhile.


Once you find the motivation to do something and you do start getting more active then you will start to feel 100% better and then once that ball is rolling, it's then just a matter of keeping yourself busy and trying to make sure you don't sink into that pit again.

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You're right. That's what I am exactly doing right now. Well I have so much tasks to do everyday but it's in front of my computer so I guess I just need to add more physical activities during the day or whenever I feel tired to keep my pumped up. Feeling lazy and tired all day won't actually help me in accomplishing anything. Thanks for the advice. Cheers!

As a young teenager I could never fall asleep on time, my sleep schedule was always messed up. It was probably due to all the sweets I was eating everyday plus I was also chugging soda all day. Eating healthier can help with your sleep.

fuzyon said:

As a young teenager I could never fall asleep on time, my sleep schedule was always messed up. It was probably due to all the sweets I was eating everyday plus I was also chugging soda all day. Eating healthier can help with your sleep.

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I think that when we are younger our sleep pattern is different because like you say, our diet isn't always the best and we are also a lot more physically active and we don't need as much sleep anyway like we do when we get older. Our bodies do change over the years and I remember myself only needing maybe 5 or 6 hours sleep whereas now I can sleep for 8 and still wake up tired. There's also different forms of tiredness as ell, and feeling tired because we have been working and been physically active all day is a different kind of tiredness to what we feel if we have just been sat around all day. Both make us feel tired, but when we go to bed then we will quickly find out that being tired because you haven't done anything will make it almost impossible to get to sleep unlike if you've been busy and are genuinely physically tired.

pwarbi said:

I think that when we are younger our sleep pattern is different because like you say, our diet isn't always the best and we are also a lot more physically active and we don't need as much sleep anyway like we do when we get older. Our bodies do change over the years and I remember myself only needing maybe 5 or 6 hours sleep whereas now I can sleep for 8 and still wake up tired. There's also different forms of tiredness as ell, and feeling tired because we have been working and been physically active all day is a different kind of tiredness to what we feel if we have just been sat around all day. Both make us feel tired, but when we go to bed then we will quickly find out that being tired because you haven't done anything will make it almost impossible to get to sleep unlike if you've been busy and are genuinely physically tired.

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I miss the days I could get through the day with 5 hours of sleep, nowadays if I don't rest for at least 8 hours I feel like a zombie. It's not even about my diet since I mostly eat healthy and go to the gym regularly, but our bodies can't take the effort anymore.


I agree with your points regarding tiredness, I work as a programmer and I feel mentally tired a lot.

I do not have a regular body clock. Sometimes I sleep during the day, sometimes at night. It changes often. Also, I tend to sleep more than 9 hours a day.

It is difficult to keep up with a regular job with such sleeping pattern.


I also have anxiety attacks when I sleep. I have night terrors and I wake up crying and terrified.

However I find sleeping during the day more comfortable than sleeping the way others do"  

I have a prescription drug but I rarely take it. My doctor  said the tranquilizer will calm my nerves but it is not a sleeping pill. That's why I endure my intermittent sleep because I don't want pills. I have been waking up at midnight for some weeks now. Our bedtime is ten pm. When I wake up at midnight, I stay awake for an hour or 2. And then I wake up again on my usual waking hour of 5 am. It is a problem because I get a bad headache when I don't sleep continuously.  

I've always had problems getting myself to sleep. When I was working at home and in control of my time, I didn't have to pressure myself to sleep unless my body is ready to fall asleep. Now that I'm working in an office, I have to make sure that I get adequate sleep at night. Thankfully, my body can thrive on 4 to 5 hours of sleep for the weekdays but I tend to sleep longer during the weekend which allows my body to recover. I also sleep during the long travel so I come to the office more energized. In fact, there are days when I had zero sleep at night and the only thing that kept me up was the nap I took on my way to the office.

It's important to be thoroughly relaxed when you go to bed but for agitated people like me, that's not so easy. I drink hot milk before going to bed to calm myself and that's it. I try not to start something when it's supposed to be bedtime and it somehow makes my mind less active and more receptive to the idea of sleep.

I have a lot of nights where I deliberately stay up until I'm about to pass out because it's the only way I can tire my mind out enough to fall asleep. And then sometimes I'll wake up at six or seven in the morning.

Years ago, if I didn't have anywhere to be, I would sleep in until 11 in the morning, but it's unheard of for me to sleep past 8 or 8:30 anymore.