my sleep pattern is whack!

[A-S warrior]

at 08.08am ive finally given up going to sleep, its just not going to happen. ive gone deeper and deeper into this ridiculous sleep pattern and i dont know how to get out of it. ive always been quite a night owl usually going to bed between 2am and 4am. but now it seems im falling asleep whenever and waking up at the moment at 6pm. its stupid, heres how my day goes, breakfast 7pm, gym 9pm till 10.30pm afterwokout meal 11pm, lunch is at 2am, dinner is at 5am, then my late night meal is at 7am. then i try and get to sleep. i get a full nights sleep usually 9 to 10 hours, its just on the otherside of the clock. i was looking out my bedroom window about an hour and a half ago watching the sunrise and the world wake up and all i could say was damn, im still awake. i really want to get the most out of my day with spring here now AND! be ready to start a career! i have alot going for me in the grand scheme of things, young, intelligent (apparantley), ready to take the world to war, and ready to achieve my potential, all true, but the world only sees me for 4 hours a day and then they all go to sleep, and its just me and the night. im now going to stay up the day and go to bed at about 8 tonight, see if that manipulates my body into a sensible sleep pattern, yes it means missing a saturday night but i think its the least i deserve.

 

have any of you had the same experience as me?

[LancsLad]

A-S Warrior I have always had what many would describe as insomnia, personally I feel I do not need as much sleep as most people but can suffer if I do not get at least one good cycle of deep sleep in.

 

My own advice and knowing a bit about you is try and reset your clock through exercise. I have to do this from time to time. I make the decision of getting in a good training session in the morning then having some light lunch with carbs such as tuna and rice then take a nap at say 1:30 for nothing more than an hour. I will lie there even if I only nap for 10 mins. Then at the end of the day I personally do an hour and a half or two on my bike trainner or go for an hour and a half swim all designed to end at about 10:00 I have a hot shower and then hit the bed. I personally know I then have a natural sleep window and come out of this around 2:00 am. If I am strugling I wil get up for an hour or so and play on a computer game and then go back to bed and try again.

 

I find the exercise does make me tired and gives me a good chance of getting into a routine. It might take a week or so of very strict perseverance but I normally get a routine back which I can keep up for a few weeks. Things do break it down and I then have to work on it again.

 

When things are in balance I make sure I use a pre sleep routine of something like easy stretching or a bit of yoga to get me in a more relaxed mental state. For me it is about using the tools I have available and building routine behaviour.

 

Hope this helps a little.

[A-S warrior]

lol as a triathlon guy i had you down as a keto fan (high fat low carb) anyway thankyou for taking the time to reply, the pre sleep routine sounds great, and would help my lower back injury as well and get me more flexable,(just come out of a bulking phase so im quite stiff) and at the moment im a bit of a tourcherd soul so getting my mind into good spirits before bed is also a bouns.

 

if it wasnt for the gym, id probably not be here.

[chris54]

I work nights so my working day starts at 10pm. was working last night. I got in a just gone 7am, had breakfast, went to bed, and got up at 3.30 pm. I am working tonight. Problem I have is when I have nights off. Don't want to spend all day in bed so tend not to go to bed when I get in, not untill early evening the have a long night in bed, then get up at 7.30am. (If its a school day). And if I'm working that night i just stay up, so by the time I get back to bed I will have been up for over 24 hours. In effect I completely miss out a nights sleep.

And on school days I don't go to bed untill about 9.30am after Iv taken my son to school and have to be up at 3pm to meet him from school. I go to work while he is in bed and go to sleep when he is at school. (apart from weekend, I work alternative week end).

 

To be honest most of the time I'm so tired I just need to shut my eye for a few seconds and I'm asleep, any time of the night or day.

It not good for my I know, but at the moment, I just cant find a job that fits in any better. Only 8 years to go and I get my pension, that is as long as the government doesn't move the goal post again.

[justine1]

Like Chris I used to work nights,for about 6 years and for 2 of those I worked 7 nightsp/w,I would then look after my boys. Back then I got about 4 hrs sleep in 24 hrs but it was very broken sleep,2 hrs at work and then the other 2-3 hrs at home which was not that great with two kids under 5 running about. I somehow got through it but even now I struggle at night to sleep,I do think some people are "designed" to have very little sleep and prehaps nightshift is the best option for them.

 

I knew an elderly lady, from a home I worked at, that would eat her dinner at 5am and breakfast at 7pm. I believe she only slept or about 4-5 hrs in a 24 hr period which is not alot for someone over 70. She would also sleep sitting in her chair.

 

Everyone is different and as long as your health is not affected then its fine. If you wanted to get back into a normal pattern you may need to miss a day of sleep altogether and you could just have naps the next day say no more than 2 hrs straight. Then when you do sleep at night have a winding down period where you switch everything off maybe just relaxing music until you drift off,but maybe delay sleep until 11pm but not later than midnight,otherwise you just wake later in the day and it starts again. Also make sure the temp in your room is ok, that you have had enough to eat and drink and that you have been to the loo,all these things can keep you awake. Try and finish tasks during the day so that nothing is playing on your mind. If you worrying about something write it down and put in a drawer so you can come back to it but not dwell on it.

 

Most importantly keep busy and active during the day so that you are worn out by bedtime. Good luck.

[JeanneA]

Very good points Justine, I find the more active you are in the day the more likely you are to get a good night's sleep. it doesn't always work but it does a lot of the time, also getting fresh going for walks etc helps you sleep better at night. It is good to get in a sleep routine rather than just fall asleep at any time, I've always found sticking to a certain time for bed works I know its not the same for everyone though.

[Tally]

I used to work nights as well. If this is the routine your body likes then that might be an option worth considering.

 

But if you want to adapt to a more normal routine, then it's much easier to force yourself to stay awake than to make yourself sleep. Be interesting to know whether it's worked for you today/tonight. But in the long term, it's no good for your health or productivity to be constantly tired. Bizarrely, it can also be difficult to sleep if you are overtired. So it can work as a quick fix, but not as a long term strategy.

 

I've found that major triggers for sleep/wake routine are daylight and mealtimes. Sleeping with the curtains open can wake you when it gets light. In wintertime a daylight bulb can wake you in the mornings when it's still dark. You don't have to spend a fortune on those special alarm clocks, I use a £7 daylite bulb from a craft shop in a standard desk lamp and use a timer switch to make it come on at the right time. Getting as much daylight as possible when you want to stay awake can help. So spend some time outside or at least sit near the window.

 

Eat breakfast in the mornings, and your evening meal actually in the evening.

 

A carb-heavy evening meal can prepare you for sleep, whereas it's not so good for breakfast as you don't want to get dozy just after breakfast!

 

A relaxing bedtime routine will be different for everyone, but generally it works best to avoid exercise, computer, TV, eating or drinking too close to bedtime. Your body temperature drops when you fall asleep, which is why you need to be adequately covered. A hot bath can be relaxing and help you wind down your thoughts ready for sleep, but the drop in temperature when you get out can also lead to natural sleep - a shower isn't as relaxing, but can help with temperature.

 

Avoid caffiene in the afternoons.

 

There's a lot of advice on sleep routines out there on the internet. If you google "sleep hygiene" you will find loads of tips.

[A-S warrior]

thankyou to, chris, justine, jeanne and tally. (me and tally building bridges from last month perhaps?) anyway great posts from you all, justine sounded like my mother when she worked nights as a nurse and then came home to a 5 year old me running around and not letting her sleep (should i feel bad?) so im clocking in at 03.35am and gues what? already had 9 and a half hours sleep. with a couple of breaks at 9.30pm and an hour or so between 12 and 1. its so weird to be going to bed at the time i would usually wake up and waking up 5 hours before im due to go to sleep, so feeling a touch woozy. im down the gym at 6pm training with my usual sunday gang, so i might take a nap before i do that, in fact i probably will. and hopefully im in bed by 10 tonight and awake by 8 tomrrow. i gues it doesnt matter when you sleep just so long as you do but the pattern im in makes me feel alienated and its not very practical for a man thats job hunting and likes a good dose of natural vitamin d on my skin (sunlight just in case you were wondering)

[JeanneA]

Hi AS Warrier, I've just woken up couldn't lay there any longer as my body gets very stiff. So at the moment I'm drinking a lovely cuppa It sounds like you had a good sleep which is great news keep it up! It will make such a difference to how you fell today getting a good sleep like that.will make you feel much better today. You will probably need a nap later on today like you said as you are bound to get tired. Try and stick with going to bed at 10 tonight and then you should get a few good hours of sleep. Keep us updated as to how the day and night go. Take care :-)

[A-S warrior]

i will jeanne, posting on it will keep me on track hopefully.

[JeanneA]

Yes I agree I'm sure it will help, good luck!

[Sally44]

Have you considered asking the doctor for a mild sedative?

I take Amytriptalene for Fibromyalgia, and that helps with muscle pain and also helps to get me to sleep and keep me asleep.

I'm on a low dose - but it does help. But obviously try the exercise/diet routine first to see if that helps.

But if it doesn't, then you have to weight up the pros/cons of taking some medication to help you get the rest you need.

[Tally]

Remember that your body isn't used to going to sleep at 10pm. Don't be disheartened if it doesn't work straight away. Keep getting up at the same time, even if you feel like total poo, and evdntually you will settle into a routine. Sleeping pills can help get your body into a routine if nothing else works. You still have to find the appropriate routine for yourself so the work you're doing now is essential. But if you do get really stuck with it then a short term course might help you establish the routine, and occasional use might help you stay in it.

[A-S warrior]

had a nap, but ended up sleeping a little longer than i wanted too. hopefully i havent screwed things up, but sleep befere midnight seems achievable. ive got my usual gym session at 6 and wanted to be fresh because i can tell you from experience throwing around big weights for 90mins can be torchure if your tired and grumpy, i rember going out to brighton one saturday night and stayed out till 6am and the next day with my head still ringing went to the gym for a heavy leg session, i felt awful and everything felt twice as heavy. and i dont want that feeling again and there was a 15 hour gap between me waking this morning and my gym session tonight at 6 so i thought it was a good move. if im on it and get all my meals in on time i should do it. and im opting to stay away from the laptop after 9pm. apopiges to pepole that enjoy my company in the evenings, but those americans over on youtube always have a need to argue with me, so again another wise move to obstain from the laptop.

[JeanneA]

Hiya hope you do sleep ok tonight let us know. As suggested would it be an idea to speak to your G.P. about having a mild sedative, just a thought.

[A-S warrior]

morning all, i rose this morning at 07.37. i fell asleep around 12 so ive managed to sustain the pattern for another night, the hard part now is sustaining it long term. at least until im blessed with children waking me at all hours, or if i was to ever work nights. altough some of you reccomend sedatives, i like to tune in to my body and try to get a mind body connection like i do in the gym. i want to be able to train myself to be ready for bed by a certain time everyday like most pepole do. my cousin is getting married saturday and this could affect my new pattern but hopefully not to much. (i susspect that my cousin also has a-s because he has all the classic signs, so im praying that he copes with the day) so anyway, so far so good, ive alway been a man of my word so im hoping i dont let myself down and end up in that going to bed at 6am mess again. i wanna be in bed at 6am but waking up!

[A-S warrior]

another good night of sleep, having some weird dreams though, last night i had a hornet chasing me everywere i went and it wouldnt leave me alone. but well rested and finding myelf quite sleepy by 10 and tired by 11. lets hope this pattern lasts. i know what i can be like, so im not getting my hopes up that i,ll keep it up. but i,ll try.

[LancsLad]

I would say you need to work on a regular routine like clockwork for around 3 to 4 weeks for it to have a chance of it becoming set. Just keep going if you feel like a nap take it in the early afternoon, I however never do this past 2:00 and never for more than an hour this should not really interfere with your evening get off to sleep time.

 

A-S warrior your body will tell you when it wants to get some sleep and if you feel like hitting the duvet at 10:00 go for it. I sometimes find that if I miss this moment by half an hour or so I can start to come out of the cycle and might need to wait another 2 or 3 hours before I can have another go. If I would you I would make a note as you go through each day as a refference point in trying to better understand your own natural sleep rhythms.

 

good luck, keep it up.

[A-S warrior]

thanks lancs, had another good night went to bed 11.30ish, and woke up at 08.00. 4th night in a row of good sleep pattern.

[LancsLad]

Good stuff keep going!

[A-S warrior]

woken up to bad news, my nan has litreally passed away within the last hour. shes the first person of any significance in my life to die. this is un tested ground for A-S warrior, i dont know how im going to deal with this loss, ive recently had a hard relationship break up but this hardly compaires. i was crying but dont really know why i was crying, i quess its because i diddnt really realise how ill she was and regardless of what pepole said i just asumed she would pull through. im not the only person in the world who has lost someone, so im not going to complain about it, just sharing it with you pepole first.

[JeanneA]

Hey AS I'm so sorry to hear your very sad news. It is never easy to lose someone you love, I thinking of you and your family. It won't be easy for you at the moment your sleep pattern could go astray but you will get back on track it will just take a bit of time as you will obviously go through a grieving period for your nan. Please keep in touch on the forum as to how you are getting on. You are bound to have a tough few days where your sleep pattern may change but that would up understandable.

Take care and my thoughts are with you and your family. (( ))

[LancsLad]

Sorry to hear about your devastating news. Give yourself a few days for emotions to settle down, this will be a sad time and its OK to be very upset, these things do tend to come as a shock to us even though we might expect them in our minds at times. Spend time to think through all your happy times with your Nan in your mind and let this put a smile back on your face, though its not easy.

 

I think the run up to the funeral can is particularly difficult and the event will be stressfull if you intend to go, I would try to do so as I feel this can go a long way to bringing partial closure on the events of the last 24 hrs.

 

Look after yourself, give yourself space to work things through, will be thinking of you today,

 

best wishes.

[A-S warrior]

thanks lancs and jeanne, im going to try and not let it affect me, but i am only a human. ive got to rember im not the only one thats lost her, she had 3 children, 6 grandchildren with a 7th on the way, 3 great grandchildren, extended family and more importantly then all of them, a husband. its also going to be a long couple of weeks, with my cousions wedding saturday and the funeral thats not going to be long after on top of us getting through the grief. certainly a huge empty space in my heart now. and when it finally hammers home that shes gone, its going to feel like an open wound. lol another open wound, 2nd in the space of a few weeks, but i ques im really becoming an adult now, these things come with getting older. and it true what they say, grief is the price we pay for love. and ive made some huge payments in 2012 so far.

Edited April 19, 2012 by A-S warrior

[LancsLad]

A-S Warrior you are right these are the things which come our way and test us as individuals. From looking in I think you have got the situation very much in a mature adult perspective. You are very percepttive in understanding the potential emotions of those people who were around her but this should not diminish your own grief rather support your beliefs that your Nan was a special person in yours and many others lives.

 

The Irish cultural half of me always feels more comfortable in these situations as here is an opportunity to celebrate everything which was good in someone elses life and share with each other what that person meant to me personally and hear their experiences. In contrast there are very different cultural norms on this side of the water and I am never quite sure how they really benefit us as I never find the Irish side of my family to be any less disrespectfull or less able to explore grief rather it all feels so much more open and all the better for it.

 

just a few thoughts.

[Tally]

I'm very sorry this has happened. Nans are very special people. You have many other people in your life who have experienced the lOss of the same person, so you are not alone in your loss, but some of your feelings may well be different from the others because everyone's different.

 

Although you will have a lot of things to organise and people to visit, do try to ensure you get some time alone to think things through. Most people with AS process their thoughts more slowly, and process them better when not distracted, so time alone to think, cry, talk to your nan, whatever you want, is important.

[A-S warrior]

hi all, luckly i was exusted by 10pm last night and went out like a light, whitch is more than my family is doing, my sister has slept about 2 hours in the last 2 nights, and my mum hardly anything, as for the rest of the family i dont know yet but we shall find out tomrrow at the wedding. if that wasnt enough, earlier today my mums boyfriends dad died! they seem to be falling like dominos over here. i dont know wether to laugh or cry. ive been doing plenty of laughing so i quess thats my coping stratigy. my sister said she cant cope with this, i thought in my head actully i can. i seem to be quite cold an rather emotionless, but i wont forget what tally said in the last post, pepole with a-s process there thoughts slowly, so im not going to be arogant in my thought pattern for now because the chances are this will hit me pretty hard later on. forininstance, when something upsets me and i need my nans wise and strait speaking words, and then i realise she isnt there, then its going to hit me like a ton of bricks. my nans house is a place that me, and indeed all of my couisons run away to and hide when we,ve had enough. its a very magic house but now its half empty, only my grandad resides there now, and thats the person my thoughts are with. for nearly 60 years they were married. anyway im rambling and going off topic.

 

check you guys on the flip side.

[LancsLad]

Hang in there mate, but of an endurance session this one, not a power blast, from a skinny dude to a power hulk, you are doing pretty well so far, keep going and look after yourself, and this means eat and sleep.

 

Best wishes thinking of you.

[A-S warrior]

thanks lancs, well with the madness over for at least 2 weeks or so, im back on the boards full time once again. my nans funeral is the on the 10th, and its this far away to allow for my couions honey moon. im doing a reading at the funeral so id practice. anyway amazingly my sleep pattern hasnt been afffected much. it was such a long day yesterday i just came home and crashed. im still eating like clockwork, even at my most distraught i eat, i actully eat more lol. im going to start a seperate topic next week, for my nans funeral and that. as i want to keep this one for its origanal purpose. im going to need a bit of help knowing what to expect from a funeral, never been to one before, and tips on speaking loud and clear, but thats for that topic. for now my sleep patern is give and take, but on the hole pretty good.

[darkshine]

It took me ages to process the reality that I wouldn't see my nan again when she died... It does get better though... just gotta keep ya chin up

 

Best

 

Darkshine

 

PS - good luck with the sleep pattern - I struggle with mine too... so I know how hard it is to get it to a more "normal" pattern... maybe I'll get there too one day

[A-S warrior]

boom! stomach virus, im out in the garden every hour blowing chunks, im not having the best luck latley lol, i usually avoid these virus,s but i ques me feeling down has weakened my immune system. anything else going to happen to disturb my pattern?

[LancsLad]

In respect to sleep I think you have made a good start but do not let this issue lead to further frustrations. If I were you put it on a back burner for a month and come back to it as an issue. There is so much going on for you at present that I would hate to think you felt you gave this your best shot and failed as the backround circumstances are pretty unprecedented, simply go with the flow for a bit and see where you are when everything settles down.

 

I guess you are pretty run down so keep the quality diet up and I guess you have been in contact with quite a few people, this virus thing is as a result no surprise and you are spot on there.

 

Best wishes.

[A-S warrior]

lol the whole of the wedding guests all have the same virus, that thing must be so aggressive, took out the best part of 70 odd pepole and hit us all within 24 hours, my sister, the bride and the grom, all my couisons, auntie, uncle, amougst others, the virus has assolutley no remorse or pitty lol but on the good side it only lasts about 12 hours, stopped throwing up but i have a banging headache, oh and thanks lancs for another good post.

[darkshine]

Even though toilets are gross - I find throwing up in the toilet to be far more hygienic cuz at least it flushes away and nobody else has to see it!!!!

[A-S warrior]

Even though toilets are gross - I find throwing up in the toilet to be far more hygienic cuz at least it flushes away and nobody else has to see it!!!!

 

 

it was raining, it wahed away.

[darkshine]

Still gross

[caci]

In this house we have 2 plastic jugs known as the "throw up jugs". They live in the bathroom and are ONLY used when someone is sick.

 

These are used for vomit, then emptied down the loo by me (that's what mums do ). They are rinsed out under the tap after each use, then when they are finished with, (ie the vomitting has stopped) I put them through the dishwasher.

[A-S warrior]

along with the dishes? ;-P

[darkshine]

In this house we have 2 plastic jugs known as the "throw up jugs". They live in the bathroom and are ONLY used when someone is sick.

 

These are used for vomit, then emptied down the loo by me (that's what mums do ). They are rinsed out under the tap after each use, then when they are finished with, (ie the vomitting has stopped) I put them through the dishwasher.

 

If I ever have children I am going to put a puke bucket in EVERY room - that way - if someone can't make it to the bog they have no excuse!!

 

along with the dishes? ;-P

 

I'm pml at that cuz it sounds so very very wrong!!

[A-S warrior]

right once this virus has shifted, which it basicly has, and the funeral has come and gone we can get back on track!