Does anyone get any sleep? Deep Sleep/REM

[Throwawayacc3]

It's 3:38am here in the UK and I really can't sleep. When I do it's from being so exhausted and effectively passing out. It feels like I get up about a minute later. I don't believe I'm getting any deep sleep and don't dream. Don't think I've had a dream for years. That's why the window between pass out and awake feels like nothing to me. Depression and all the other crap obviously has an effect and not being able to shut off my brain as hyperfocus too much. Anyone else get like this?

 

[MyChoiceAlone]

more often than not lately (past few years). can only get some sleep if i pull a bender

 

[not-2-b-the-answer]

Sometimes.... Not nearly enough. When I do get deep sleep, it's amazing.
Sorry you are having trouble as well. .
There are sleep videos on YouTube that help me sometimes. Some last up to 12 or 13 hours.
Some are music some are rain or nature sounds.
I don't know if it will help but sometimes it works for me

 

[locked*n*loaded]

My sleep is, and has been, interrupted for years. I often need to take naps in the day because of not getting enough sleep the previous night, which then screws me up the following night. The cycle repeats and is difficult to break. As far as dreaming, I've found that certain foods can induce dreams. Try eating spicy foods a short time before bed and see what happens. For me, if I eat a food that I haven't eaten in quite some time, I usually get dreams I can remember to an extent. But, I'm very limited on what foods I can eat due to a metabolic disorder, so it becomes a trade-off between eating something different, but having to suffer to some degree because of the indulging on what should be forbidden (for me) foods. Some people have luck using melatonin, too, to help them, sleep.

 

[Throwawayacc3]

more often than not lately (past few years). can only get some sleep if i pull a bender

Pull a bender lol - sounds like you are from the UK. Yeah I don't think that's sleep lol - that's passing out but from the alcohol.

Sometimes.... Not nearly enough. When I do get deep sleep, it's amazing.
Sorry you are having trouble as well. .
There are sleep videos on YouTube that help me sometimes. Some last up to 12 or 13 hours.
Some are music some are rain or nature sounds.
I don't know if it will help but sometimes it works for me

Yeah that doesn't work. Main reason for the autism check is really how my mind works. E.g: let's say someone has an arm and hand massage - they think it's relaxing, zone out, etc.

Now this is what happens to me: sensation relaxing yes but touching muscle and muscle fibres - that process is moving red blood cells towards the heart, white blood includes and will catch any foreign bodies, feel pressure on the radial bone, ad infinity.

I've explained this to even doctors and they just say "go meditate". It's really bad honestly.

My sleep is, and has been, interrupted for years. I often need to take naps in the day because of not getting enough sleep the previous night, which then screws me up the following night. The cycle repeats and is difficult to break. As far as dreaming, I've found that certain foods can induce dreams. Try eating spicy foods a short time before bed and see what happens. For me, if I eat a food that I haven't eaten in quite some time, I usually get dreams I can remember to an extent. But, I'm very limited on what foods I can eat due to a metabolic disorder, so it becomes a trade-off between eating something different, but having to suffer to some degree because of the indulging on what should be forbidden (for me) foods. Some people have luck using melatonin, too, to help them, sleep.

I mean your diet is going to affect brain function and neuron activity so that's a given. Rarely take naps but they feel more like a lack of energy and pass out but during the day. Everything else is just hyperfocused as can't really turn the brain off.

 

[dragonofenvy]

I would if it wasn't interrupted by loud apartment neighbors and the sounds of cars driving past occasionally. I somehow have hearing loss yet can hear everything that most people ignore. Garbage day is a guaranteed early wakeup because the collection from the garbage truck sounds like bombs going off and they do it as early as 5:15 am, and I'm used to going to bed at about 2 or 3am thanks to working late nights so on those days I don't even bother trying to go back to bed once it happens I just get the couple hours I can. Then there's not ever feeling tired, probably a side effect of getting used to staying up for so long which makes it hard to fall and stay asleep.

I use melatonin and audiobooks and they help, especially the audiobooks since it's a focus for my dread and other depressive thoughts. Staying asleep is a different story, but at least I eventually fall asleep. I just hate waking up so tired but not being able to fall back asleep and then rotting in bed for up to 8-10 hours sometimes.

 

[Throwawayacc3]

I would if it wasn't interrupted by loud apartment neighbors and the sounds of cars driving past occasionally. I somehow have hearing loss yet can hear everything that most people ignore. Garbage day is a guaranteed early wakeup because the collection from the garbage truck sounds like bombs going off and they do it as early as 5:15 am, and I'm used to going to bed at about 2 or 3am thanks to working late nights so on those days I don't even bother trying to go back to bed once it happens I just get the couple hours I can. Then there's not ever feeling tired, probably a side effect of getting used to staying up for so long which makes it hard to fall and stay asleep.

I use melatonin and audiobooks and they help, especially the audiobooks since it's a focus for my dread and other depressive thoughts. Staying asleep is a different story, but at least I eventually fall asleep. I just hate waking up so tired but not being able to fall back asleep and then rotting in bed for up to 8-10 hours sometimes.

I think the vibrations would annoy me more than the noises - I get cats and foxes making the strangest noises usually between 1-4am lol. Ear plugs are good if you like that. Lower the dB level but about 20 so those noises you mentions would be nothing.
Yeah never been a long sleeper. Once up can't sleep again. Rarely done the 8/9 hours plus sleeping.

 

[MyChoiceAlone]

It feels like I get up about a minute later

literally as low as a minute - that's after being up 2 days plus. if i sleep 30 minutes w/o alcohol, i'm grateful.
and no btw, grew up on the other side of the pond. oddly enough learned that term here (asia); probably from all the friendly esl teachers :)

 

[lament.]

It's 3:38am here in the UK and I really can't sleep. When I do it's from being so exhausted and effectively passing out. It feels like I get up about a minute later. I don't believe I'm getting any deep sleep and don't dream. Don't think I've had a dream for years. That's why the window between pass out and awake feels like nothing to me. Depression and all the other crap obviously has an effect and not being able to shut off my brain as hyperfocus too much. Anyone else get like this?

Also from the UK, with a slightly different situation than yours. Like you, I always find myself unable to sleep, even though I take melatonin it's so hard to fall asleep, but when I finally do I will sleep for 12 hours or more - unable to wake up without someone actually physically coming and waking me up.

It kinda sounds counter-intuitive but YT videos of people talking, especially video essays or long non-action gameplays really help me sleep. I put on stuff that I'm only half interested in, otherwise I would be too fixated on the video to actually drift off. Other than that there's of course the melatonin which definitley helps somewhat, you should give it a try if you haven't already. There's quite a few different doses available online or from a doctors prescription.

 

[MyChoiceAlone]

There's quite a few different doses available online or from a doctors prescription.

i've tried this. first bottle was 5mg and that did squat. so i tried 2 then 3 pills. that would get me some sleep but i went through that bottle quickly for lukewarm results. i then got the 15mg ones. i really don't want to take 2 of those but after being up 2-3 days i took one the other day and got a whopping 1 hr sleep.

i'm sure it effects everyone differently though.

 

[Throwawayacc3]

literally as low as a minute - that's after being up 2 days plus. if i sleep 30 minutes w/o alcohol, i'm grateful.
and no btw, grew up on the other side of the pond. oddly enough learned that term here (asia); probably from all the friendly esl teachers :)

Haha makes sense about the teachers!

Yeah never been into alcohol and all that. Even when I had cancer they warned me about morphine and how it's addictive and people can't stop taking it and all that. Had the liquid version under the tongue because they would not stop bothering me about it. It was disgusting. I said I don't want any of it anymore. First and only time I've ever had it. Alcohol is pretty similar - the taste and feedback of it I just don't get.

Also from the UK, with a slightly different situation than yours. Like you, I always find myself unable to sleep, even though I take melatonin it's so hard to fall asleep, but when I finally do I will sleep for 12 hours or more - unable to wake up without someone actually physically coming and waking me up.

It kinda sounds counter-intuitive but YT videos of people talking, especially video essays or long non-action gameplays really help me sleep. I put on stuff that I'm only half interested in, otherwise I would be too fixated on the video to actually drift off. Other than that there's of course the melatonin which definitley helps somewhat, you should give it a try if you haven't already. There's quite a few different doses available online or from a doctors prescription.

This is what I'm concerned about - after the anti depressants they talked about sleeping pills and all that. I think if rather have the no sleep than 12 hours plus.

Tried that lol. Makes me more awake and aware due to the subject, interest, etc. I tried watching Little Big Planet videos with no voice and that didn't work either lmao. Things are so messed up lol.

 

[MyChoiceAlone]

really? interesting. never heard of any accounts but was always curious what morphine would be like. cancer huh? sorry to hear. is it under remission?

 

[Praestat_Mori]

I have a pretty good and stable sleeping schedule and I don't wake up all night long until the morning. I can rarely remember having dreams. Actually sleeping deep is the closest I can come to the feeling of being dead but I wake up every morning.

 

[ThymeToLeave]

An antidepressant helps relieve anxiety enough that I can get a little sleep on most nights. Ambien works wonders but it's not good to take it every night.

Sleep is so important, it makes a huge difference in how tolerable life is from day to day.

 

[deathslament]

barely. very insomniac. i can barely sleep no matter what i take

 

[Throwawayacc3]

really? interesting. never heard of any accounts but was always curious what morphine would be like. cancer huh? sorry to hear. is it under remission?

Yeah they cut it out but it was 5 years of CT SCANS, blood tests and all that nonsense. Whenever someone says eat healthy and you'll fine I just laugh because genetics DGAF what you do. You just get it when you get it. Sorta like the subject here. Oh just be happy. Yeah never thought of that, wow cured lmao.
Becuase you like alcohol maybe it's different but morphine tastes like complete crap. I wanted to throw up just after swallowing it.

An antidepressant helps relieve anxiety enough that I can get a little sleep on most nights. Ambien works wonders but it's not good to take it every night.

Sleep is so important, it makes a huge difference in how tolerable life is from day to day.

Yeah unfortunately but body is so anti drugs even when I took a paracetamol at 25 it did nothing. The SSRIs if anything made things way worse. Never been a drug person and don't trust the "experts" offering them enough. Just like the nurses forcing me to take the morphine situation. Just rather have the pain than take that crap again.

barely. very insomniac. i can barely sleep no matter what i take

Yep. Relate to that.

 

[thinvy]

I struggle with sleep and have some undiagnosed sleep disorder. I either sleep excessively heavily (I've slept through cat 4 hurricanes and tornadoes aplenty) and dream extremely vividly, creating entire new lives within dreams; or I get very little sleep and I don't dream at all. I'm up before I successfully reach REM, only to fall back asleep within minutes and repeat the cycle.

sleep has never come easy to me, but it's been worse lately, where I've had near constant nightmares or nightterrors for at least a month now

 

[Throwawayacc3]

I struggle with sleep and have some undiagnosed sleep disorder. I either sleep excessively heavily (I've slept through cat 4 hurricanes and tornadoes aplenty) and dream extremely vividly, creating entire new lives within dreams; or I get very little sleep and I don't dream at all. I'm up before I successfully reach REM, only to fall back asleep within minutes and repeat the cycle.

sleep has never come easy to me, but it's been worse lately, where I've had near constant nightmares or nightterrors for at least a month now

I have no idea what's that like - no dreams or nightmares, nothing. The only time I had nightmares was watching the film gremlins at too young an age - don't ask they freaked me out. Now I'm so numb to all of it though - can watch any horror nonsense. Even accidentally downloaded a video on KaZaa that was one of those beheading videos (during the 9/11 stuff) of an American journalist. Can still hear the blade and the gargling noises. Never gone looking for that stuff - life is as bad as it is why make it even more shitty lol.

 

[theboy]

yes but i wake up early depressed or anxious

 

[Valky]

Yes. I started taking Melatonin in the psych ward and it got better but was not a long time solution and I had troubles sleeping again. My psychiatrist prescribed me Opipramol and it still helps me sleep 5 years later. Without it I have troubles sleeping.

 

[thinvy]

I have no idea what's that like - no dreams or nightmares, nothing.

extremely irritating tbh. If you can imagine getting all cozy in bed, getting to the position you want to sleep in, closing your eyes... and then open them again, but it's now 6-8 hours later very suddenly, that's exactly what its like for me.

it genuinely is like I blinked longer than usual, and boom! time travelled. It's not restful sleep either, since the brain and body does a lot of work on itself while in rem sleep. So I get none of the benefits and most of the downsides to sleeping.

Zero judgement on the gremlins thing tho! my mom was big into gremlins but wouldn't let me watch it for a while cause she thought I'd have nightmares lmao

 

[Silent Raindrops]

Insomnia is a bitch. Some nights I'll sleep 5 or 6 hours, other nights I'm lucky if I get 20 minutes.

When and if I do dream, they are all broken up and make no sense. Seems like I bounce around from one dream to another without waking up.

 

[Throwawayacc3]

extremely irritating tbh. If you can imagine getting all cozy in bed, getting to the position you want to sleep in, closing your eyes... and then open them again, but it's now 6-8 hours later very suddenly, that's exactly what its like for me.

it genuinely is like I blinked longer than usual, and boom! time travelled. It's not restful sleep either, since the brain and body does a lot of work on itself while in rem sleep. So I get none of the benefits and most of the downsides to sleeping.

Zero judgement on the gremlins thing tho! my mom was big into gremlins but wouldn't let me watch it for a while cause she thought I'd have nightmares lmao

Yeah all over the place. I doubt pills or that stuff would help or change it - just make it shift into a deeper polarised end. Too much stress and depression does that to you.

Oh and forgot to mention Chucky - yeah came across that one by accident. Just way too young for that crap (I'm talking below the age of 11). I remember staying at my grandmothers for a week as they live quite far away and on that Friday I was lying in the bed in the smaller room (there a cupboard and no space) just enough for a single bed. But it faces the window. Partial curtains. Obviously my imagination saw Spike slowly rise up from the bottom of the window. This is a house by the way so we are on the first floor. Shit my pants would be an understatement. I didn't but damn it messed me up royally.
Always had a fear from that point onwards of those puppet type films - gremlins, Chucky, the never ending story, etc. Slappy from goosebumps didn't help either. Mid teens became more research bound and looked into all this stuff. Now none of it affects me. Maybe it's similar to PTSD? No idea.

 

[sanitystruggle]

Suddenly started having severe insomnia over Christmas last year. Went a few weeks without any restful sleep at all. Zolpidem (Ambien) didn't do anything. This was when I was taking Lurasidone which screwed me up royally. Unbearable akathesia. Completely restless, couldn't sit or lie still for five minutes.

I'm on Quetiapine now which is better. I have Zopiclone (prescribed) four nights of the week and I get light sleep on those nights but I wake early. The rest of the week I get maybe an hour or two a night. It sucks. I have Xanax from an online pharmacy which helps but I try not to take it too much both for tolerance sake and because I have a limited supply and the pharmacy is out of stock.

 

[Sunset Limited]

I have had chronic insomnia for 10 years. I've tried everything, except benzos. Mirtazapine is great. I only sleep on 200-300 mcg. Natural sleep.

 

[Ash]

I've struggled with sleep since childhood. Something that happens to me quite regularly is falling asleep with ease, waking up a few hours later and being unable to get back sleep, and then suddenly being overcome with fatigue, drifting off for a few hours and having extremely vivid dreams. This happened last night and the dream was more of a nightmare: disturbing, creepy and would be 18 rated and straight-to-video* if ever made into a film.

*Showing my age there

 

[Throwawayacc3]

I've struggled with sleep since childhood. Something that happens to me quite regularly is falling asleep with ease, waking up a few hours later and being unable to get back sleep, and then suddenly being overcome with fatigue, drifting off for a few hours and having extremely vivid dreams. This happened last night and the dream was more of a nightmare: disturbing, creepy and would be 18 rated and straight-to-video* if ever made into a film.

*Showing my age there

At least you dream/nightmare. Means you are getting even a tiny percentage of somewhat deep sleep. Don't get either lmao.

 

[Ash]

At least you dream/nightmare. Means you are getting even a tiny percentage of somewhat deep sleep. Don't get either lmao.

I often exist on just a few hours' of broken sleep with no chance of getting into a meaningful state of sleep so I know where you're coming from. Just could do without the nightmares!

 

[Throwawayacc3]

I often exist on just a few hours' of broken sleep with no chance of getting into a meaningful state of sleep so I know where you're coming from. Just could do without the nightmares!

Perspectives are strange. I think at this point I'd rather have intense horrific nightmares than passing out and open my eyes what feels like seconds later. Dreams/nightmares are escape/cope to me. Even playing games now I try so hard to throw myself into the world - doing that crap with even Megaman and Metal Gear Solid. Ironic as one is about Ai taking over and the other about everything fucked up with the world (corruption, horrible people in power, division, power from authority, gas lighting to the MAX from MGS2).

 

[Unsure and alone]

Great thread. Hopefully I can remember to actually finish reading and contribute Tomorrow.

I'm a bit out of it at the moment
From fatigue, a headache , physical pain and a sleep aid trying to knock me out .

So hopefully everyone here gets some much needed rest .