Discussion What’s your relationship with sleep?

[abruptum]

I have always been a super long sleeper in my life sleeping around 10-12 hours a day but in the last year or 2 i really only get around <5 hours per night, it's come to the point where i almost enjoy the feeling of being overwhelmingly tired. It's sort of nice i can't explain the feeling, i guess it's like a hurts so good feeling. I know it's not good for me but i can't change my mindset on why sleep is wasting my time.

Anyways i just wanna know what you guys think about sleep or how your sleep schedules are?

 

[W’ren]

I don't sleep much and it seems to bother the professionals. It definitely impacts my mental health when i only get a couple of hours a night for an extended number of nights.... It also seems to make me hyper somehow.

For a week now i've been sleeping max 3 hours or so a night. It's currently 2:36am where i am and i'm thinking of taking a shower. It's pointless to even try to sleep when i'm not tired.

I know that in another day or so i will be up all night and all day and my sleep cycle will reset a little to maybe 4-5 hours a night but i'll go to sleep at a more socially acceptable time, like 11pm or midnight.

But i also have to deal with the nightmares i get... that include flashbacks and very realistic frightening dreams. So i often avoid sleeping so that i don't experience those.

I do have 50 mg trazodone to take to "help" me sleep but it doesn't work well and there's no way i'm upping the dose to become a zombie during the day again,

It's also very hard to sleep while in pain... which i am most of the time.

I know sleep is SO important... but it won't play nice or play fair with me. I feel safer somehow going to bed at 5:30am or 6am when the sun is rising but i need to be up by 8 sooo....

 

[Blue Rose]

I usually slept for 5-6 hours. But recently, I am satisfied with my sleeping for 4-5 hours.
+ For myself, sleeping is necessary and sweet in my life. However It is not important 'definitely'

 

[GenesAndEnvironment]

Generally speaking I haven't had any insomnia from psychological causes. I need around eight hours or so if my sleep schedule is good and my sleep hygiene is good. I go to bed a little too early nowadays, meaning that it takes half an hour or an hour to fall asleep. I should wait until I'm more tired. Also trying not to snooze, I snooze even after I wake up without an alarm since I never wake up having energy or motivation (duh).

I can easily lose several hours of sleep if I compare myself to others or think about the future. Exercise, sleep hygiene, internal clock, self-soothing, dealing with mental stuff when awake seems to reduce the need for sleep as well.

 

[Adamsnolife]

I get between 5 to 8 hours depending on how well I sleep. I'm not the best sleeper in the world but I get some good ones. It's a relief when asleep as it takes you away from the real world

 

[Squiddy]

It's crazy. My sleeping has been weird for quite a few years. Due to my bipolar, sometimes I'll get 7 hours of sleep, other times none and when on meds currently, as much as 18 hours. With my sleep issues comes occasional sleep paralysis, vivid dreams, false awakenings and hypnogogia

 

[NightmareTour]

At the moment my sleep is at one of its better points and I'm getting somewhere around 7 hours. I still have a ton of nightmares though, I'll wake up if someone even touches the door or my dog moves around and sometimes I wake up acting out my nightmares, so it's not really restful.

I regularly go through phases where I only sleep for about 4-5 hours, go 24-36 hours without sleep, wake up from night terrors feeling the pain from my dream, even have sleep paralysis or hallucinations when falling asleep occasionally. I also don't seem to have a natural internal clock, so a lot of the time I'll gradually spiral around to being nocturnal and then back again in a constant cycle. Overall, not good.

 

[TStorm]

I have a difficult time falling asleep or maintaining a regular schedule. I can sleep for long periods of time, but it usual comes after not sleeping for several days. I rather enjoy sleeping, better than being awake lmao

 

[ohhgeeitsme]

It depends. When I'm working, I get terrible insomnia. My last job, I averaged 0-4 hours of sleep for five years, sometimes going up to three days without sleep. If I just stay in bed all day depressed, I can get enough sleep. So, these past months, I've been averaging 6-8 hours. Sometimes getting up to 12, even though just the other day I went two days without sleeping. It's usually restless sleep though and I always wake up a lot. Very light sleeper. Last month, I got five hours of sleep without waking up for the first time in two years, where I once went 4 hours, and I was blown away and felt great that day. For three days in a row last month, I was going about 4-5 hours in a row and I felt so much better. I'm back to waking up every 1-2 hours though. I guess it's better than when I was waking up two or three times an hour for a long time.

 

[Trisolaris]

I sleep a lot but very superficially.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I love sleep, but also don't want to sometimes. Sleep is nice, but so is the numbness from tiredness. Sleep isn't worth it when I am not tired, as it's only time to overthink. Sleep comes easy and nice when I'm tired. So, love-hate I guess?

 

[loopylou]

Chronic insomnia for approaching ten years in April. My head is completely fucked from it

 

[Lost Magic]

I love sleep if I don't dream or have nice ones. I take sleeping pills from time to time to help me rest better. Sometimes I deprive myself of sleep or don't sleep well. Crazy.

 

[Sslsh]

I sometimes sleep 14 hrs a day. Sometimes 4. But if given a chance I could sleep 14 hrs every day

 

[watchingthewheels]

I'm both a night owl and a sleeper. Perhaps goes back to childhood, when sleep would be my refuge from abuse. Nights were my time to be alone, and sleep was blissful unconsciousness. (When not plagued by nightmares). Even today, sleep is my refuge, and moreso lately, with a lot of waking up to an upside-down world that I dread. Probably why that's how I want to go out, peacefully, in my sleep.

 

[Ath]

Having issues sleeping at all times. Part of y anguish with current affairs.

 

[WornOutLife]

I used to sleep like a log but now either I sleep deeply for 5 hours or I can't sleep at all. Last night was terrible. My mind just wouldn't stop bringing random thoughts.

 

[LastFlowers]

I have an extremely difficult time falling asleep and staying asleep. I have never understood how some people can pass out as soon as their head hits the pillow.
My "sleep debt" is ridiculous. I don't think I will ever be able to catch up, and much of the damage from missing so many hours a night is already done.
I think there are several contributing factors, such as having a very active mind, even at rest, and having an extremely stressful and anxiety ridden situation enveloping me, which can lead my febrile mind into a frenzy, having only traumatic substance to sustain itself on.
I also have pretty severe jaw pain that has gotten progressively worse, and because of a poorly structured jaw/face as well as complications from poorly done procedures, I have an awfully hard time breathing and getting enough oxygen to my brain. When I lie down, all these issues intensify, and even if I do manage to fall asleep, even if I somehow got a much needed 8-10 hours, it won't feel like that once I get wake up. I never have that refreshed or well rested feeling, likely due to not being able to breathe properly (and writhing in discomfort).
All my dreams seem to be nightmarish in nature, as well, I can't remember the last pleasant dream I had. Still, they are all preferable to reality.

 

[stygal]

At the moment it's terrible.
Today was the first day you could count as "average" with about 8 hours but it's not enough to make up the built-up deficit I accumulated over the past weeks. Been having 3 - 4 h max.
It started when I made the decision to ctb (but decided against it in the literal last minute to give my whole living situation another try).
I'm off work for the next weeks trying to figure everything out and to maybe relax for once in my life ...which is basically a foreign concept for me.
Usually I sleep 6-8 h and I really need sleep more anything else (it's also the best time of the day).

 

[AE2021]

Had very bad insomnia for years due to stressors at work. Would only get about 4 hours and that was after taking too many sleeping aids. Felt chronically tired. Can sleep well now for about 6 hours unless some trigger occurs, then it is back to the insomnia. And any type of noise can wake me from a deep sleep. I read somewhere that those of us who grew up in an abusive situation can sometimes develop a highly sensitive area in the brain - where the hearing function operates. That made total sense to me. I use to listen to the noises in the house to know where my bother and mother were so I could move elsewhere if they were coming my way. Even laid in bed at night kind of monitoring sounds. Only read that explanation in one report, so don't know how true it is. But it seems to explain some of my sleeping problems.

 

[GoingMyOwnWay]

Heh, this thread is super relevant right now. I can't fall asleep tonight and it's fucking doing my head in.

 

[nolongerhuman]

The worse I feel the less I sleep, but I have to take sleeping medication for insomnia no matter what. I've had ~12 hours of sleep over the past 3 days. Not fun.

 

[Astral316]

I can sleep for a solid 11 hours but I do it during the afternoon and stay wide awake at night. That said, I love dreaming and escaping this world for a while so I like catching z's.

 

[sadbadpsychogirl]

i take a LOT of sleep meds so i average about 12 hours a night ( off and on)

 

[Makko]

I love sleeping and get wonderful dreams. It's the only time I feel in harmony with life and reality, such as it is when you dream. Going to sleep is the happiest moment of my day.

Lately I'm having trouble getting out of bed in the mornings, because when I wake up I'm still stuck in a half-dreaming state which is so blissful that I can't muster the willpower to dispel it and get up. So I'm stuck in bed sometimes almost two hours after waking up. This is what you get when your dream life is just that much better than your waking life.

 

[ohhgeeitsme]

It's crazy. My sleeping has been weird for quite a few years. Due to my bipolar, sometimes I'll get 7 hours of sleep, other times none and when on meds currently, as much as 18 hours. With my sleep issues comes occasional sleep paralysis, vivid dreams, false awakenings and hypnogogia

I've always loved hypnagogia. I've dealt with it since I was a kid, but I often experience euphoria with it. I haven't had sleep paralysis since I was a little, but I very often have vivid dreams. Unfortunately, a lot of nightmares and night terrors. False awakenings are annoying.

 

[Squiddy]

I've always loved hypnagogia. I've dealt with it since I was a kid, but I often experience euphoria with it. I haven't had sleep paralysis since I was a little, but I very often have vivid dreams. Unfortunately, a lot of nightmares and night terrors. False awakenings are annoying.

The hypnagogia has been kinda scary for me. I heard ghost noises at one point that scared the hell outta me. False awakenings are so annoying. I had about 5 in a row. In one of them, I hallucinated a picture on my wall changing into something different

 

[Lostandlooking]

My sleepschedule is a mess when I'm overwhelmed and stressed but for the last month it seems to be stabilizing. I love sleeping, a time when I can forget who I am and what my life is like. I sometimes get disturbing dreams but most of the time they're more interesting than disturbing. I wish i could sleep more.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Horrible.

 

[ohhgeeitsme]

The hypnagogia has been kinda scary for me. I heard ghost noises at one point that scared the hell outta me. False awakenings are so annoying. I had about 5 in a row. In one of them, I hallucinated a picture on my wall changing into something different

Ah man, I'm sorry to hear that. Hypnagogia can cause some anxiety for me sometimes but when I realize what's going on and try to stay calm, I can usually redirect the fear back to peace and euphoria. I wish I had that power in my waking life. I do sometimes see apparitions and it is definitely scary. My thing is that it often starts by feeling like I'm floating upward into the sky and into space (or sinking into my bed and falling into space) and I start to kind of freak out that I'm going to fly into the sun or some scary object and it's usually seeing the object getting closer that starts to make me panic. The sensation of total weightlessness (zero G-force) is usually present. It's so crazy you can feel that in your dreams or hallucinations. Also, flying into black nothingness can be equally unsettling sometimes. Then I'll remember it's not real and force myself to enjoy the sensation of flying, and then flying into a star or something will usually transport me to another deeper and more detailed hallucination. Kind of like it's a doorway to the next level. So freaking weird. I notice hypnagogia usually sets me up for a lucid dream, which is pretty cool too. Falling asleep while meditating usually causes both too, which is the only reason I meditate.. to hallucinate haha.