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Sleep routines

Outdated

Outdated

High Function ASD2
V.I.P Member
This is just an idea that popped in to my head, from someone else's comment about staying in bed all day.

I was always a good sleeper, right up until 3 years ago when a doctor prescribed me some SSRIs. That completely destroyed more than 50 years of good sleep habits and for a very long time I was only able to sleep for 2 or 3 hours at a time. I still had no trouble getting to sleep but would wake up and be wide awake far too soon afterwards. My sleep patterns are finally becoming more normalised again now and I sleep for 8 hours straight on most nights.

The comment about staying in bed all day made me look at my own habits. How many of you eat in bed? Or sit in bed to read a book? Or do other activities in bed besides sleep or sex. I never do any of those things. If I want to eat or read or have a smoke I get up to do those things, I never do anything like that in bed.

I wonder if this has a psychological effect on us. Because I only use my bed for sleep and nothing else (been single for a while) is it a psychological trigger for me? The simple fact of lying down telling my body it's time to sleep now.
 
Outdated said:
The comment about staying in bed all day made me look at my own habits. How many of you eat in bed? Or sit in bed to read a book? Or do other activities in bed besides sleep or sex. I never do any of those things. If I want to eat or read or have a smoke I get up to do those things, I never do anything like that in bed.
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When I had sleep problems this is what my therapist told me as well (and what I read on many websites for "how to sleep better") - use your bed only for sex and sleep.
I myself like reading in bed, but it very soon makes me sleepy. Same as when I'm watching some videos in bed.
And yes, the point is to train us that if we are in the bed and not ultra mega active (sex) - we need to sleep. And preferably also to do it at same times (like going to bed at 11pm every time).

Did I understand correctly that your sleep routine is coming back only 3 years later, and that you're still drinking SSRIs?
 
Tired said:
Did I understand correctly that your sleep routine is coming back only 3 years later, and that you're still drinking SSRIs?
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I only took the SSRIs for less than 6 months and will never go anywhere near any such drug ever again. Yes, it's now 3 years later and I'm still trying to recover my sleep patterns. I'm so tired of being tired all the time.

I'll manage to sleep for 8 hours straight about 4 or 5 nights a week now, and then all of a sudden I'm back to only sleeping for a couple of hours and then having to go back to bed around 6 hours later.

There's no telling wether or not I'll get a good sleep, the last few nights have just happened to coincide with everyone else's patterns and I've been awake for the whole day during the day. It doesn't always work like that though, when I'm going through a cycle of short sleeps I might go to bed at 4:00 in the afternoon then all of a sudden get a good sleep and not wake up until midnight.
 
Outdated said:
I only took the SSRIs for less than 6 months and will never go anywhere near any such drug ever again.
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Oh I feel you. I got prescription for them as well, and while I didn't have any too bad side effects, the only feeling i had was "i feel nothing." That was scary, like I died and didn't notice it.

Once you wake up you can't fall asleep back, I presume? I read that it helps to stand up and distract on some calming activities, instead of actively trying to fall asleep back. But for me it doesn't work, if i get out of bed that's it, won't fall asleep back.

Sadly I don't have any advice about sleep, because it depends on so many factors: mental health, age, environment, eating habits etc. Maybe there are some patterns which you can notice and try to stick to, if you notice that they work, but yeah I kind of gave up searching for them. Even stress or can send me in 14h coma, or make me wake up 4 times a night.
 
In bed by 8:30pm, play cards on the tablet until 9:30pm, then asleep. I fall asleep quickly, then up every 2-4 hours to pee...LOL! Yeah, getting to that age. Up at 4:30 to go to work, or on my days off, will "sleep in" to 6am. On my days off, I get as much of my daily chores, gardening, and errands done before noon...so I can take a few hours nap in the afternoon. Then, maybe do some final house cleaning before my wife comes home at 6pm. Eat dinner. Watch our shows until 8:00-8:30. Back to bed. A boring routine most days.

Occasionally, I will suffer from some insomnia, but only occasionally. Occasionally, I feel "could" sleep in bed all day, but I've got responsibilities and things to do most of the time. I just set aside some time in the afternoon for a nap.
 
Jonn said:
Get a PSA test.
I will get them to drill for blood next week. 🧛‍♂️
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I get those done every year, plus the exam. Not the issue. I legitimately have a full bladder and I will pee out a few liters every night. Like I can step on the bathroom scale at 8pm and by 5am, I am consistently 2lbs/1kg lighter. Something about lying down, relaxing, sleeping probably does something with the hormones and blood pressure, then triggers the kidneys to do their thing.
 
I hang out in bed quite a lot, to read or to play on my Switch. I try to not work while in bed. I try to only to things in bed that are relaxing or at least enjoyable for me.
I read the advice to only use your bed for sleep or sex too, though. It seems to be standard advice for people with sleep issues. Sometimes I can't fall asleep, usually because I'm too wired up from something that piqued my interest, but I don't think that the use of my bed is the issue in those cases.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with SSRI. Many people do. Others have a very good experience. It's good that you stopped when you noticed that they weren't working well for you.
 
Tired said:
Oh I feel you. I got prescription for them as well, and while I didn't have any too bad side effects, the only feeling i had was "i feel nothing." That was scary, like I died and didn't notice it.
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The worst part is it's my own stupid fault. The doctor was a quack with the glassy eyes of the religiously demented - "There's no such thing as autism, you're just depressed." and prescribed escotalorpram. I had already written the doctor off as just a useless appendage and I had no depression at all but I thought I'd try them anyway to see what they did.

I mean, what could it hurt? :( Lesson learned.

Jonn said:
Don't drink half a litre of iced coffee before you go to bed. ☕:cool:
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In winter I like a nice hot coffee before I go to bed to warm me up.

Neonatal RRT said:
....then up every 2-4 hours to pee...LOL! Yeah, getting to that age.
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That's what stopped me drinking in the end, I don't like broken sleep. Much like you for more than 50 years I used to go to bed around 10:00 every night and wake up around 6:00.
 
I watched TV from my bed sometimes but stopped because I started falling asleep while watching it

I am the same way as you in the sense that if I lay down on my bed my body will make me fall asleep

I can't lounge anywhere laying down without falling asleep lol!

I do miss being able to watch TV laying down but, alas, I am getting older and sleepier I suppose 🤭🤭🤭
 
I ate in bed when I was younger but I haven't done that in about 15 years or more. I just dont like the thought of food crumbs on my bed. As for other things though, I almost exclusively read in bed. It's what feels most comfortable to me and lets me fully immerse myself in my book. I also will play games in bed, look on the internet and watch videos in bed.
 
Kisa the tea said:
I ate in bed when I was younger but I haven't done that in about 15 years or more. I just dont like the thought of food crumbs on my bed. As for other things though, I almost exclusively read in bed. It's what feels most comfortable to me and lets me fully immerse myself in my book. I also will play games in bed, look on the internet and watch videos in bed.
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I try and find a light-hearted TV program and watch it before sleeping.
It settles me.
 
I have tinnitus so I take a quarter of a sleeping tablet before bed, then read a book in bed until I fall asleep, somewhere between midnight and 1:00 am. (I have read books before sleep virtually my whole life. As a small child maybe my parents read to me, but bedtime reading was a thing for me as far back as I remember reading books.) Seven-ish hours of sleep, then read the newspapers on my tablet, in bed, in the morning. I’m notionally retired, so there’s usually nothing getting me out of bed early in the morning except my bladder. ;) (My wife goes to bed 3-4 hours before I do, and wakes 3-4 hours before me. She’s still working full-time.)
 
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