Who has trouble sleeping

[Jules22871]

I have what is called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome or DSPS for short. If left alone to sleep when I want to sleep I can get a good 5-6 hours of sleep. If I have to go to sleep at a normal time, it's darn near impossible to do. I have to take some kind of sleeping pill to do it and then I will only sleep a couple of hours.

Here are a couple of links about it...

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome - sleepdisorderchannel

Delayed Sleep Phase - Diagnosis and Treatment Options at Mayo Clinic

I know wiki is not the best place to get info but they are pretty reliable on this subject

Delayed sleep phase syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I've had this as long as I can remember but it has gotten worse the older I've gotten. Now that I don't have to work I just let it run it's course and sleep when I'm ready. We plan appts and such around it as much as we can. I can't take Ambien for it, it makes me hallucinate and having little green men follow you to the bathroom is not that much fun,lol

Does anyone else have trouble like this sleeping?

[Walrus]

me... part of it is chronic pain. The other part is that I just can't get my brain to shut down. I lie in bed with my mind going 1000 mph. Back when I was a programmer/analyst I did some of my best problem solving in bed. Of course, then I'd have to run downstairs to my computer and work on it before I forgot what I thought of.

My doc gives me Trazadone, which used to work... but now, not so much.

[Jules22871]

I've been trying to find it since I made this post but so far no luck. There was a study done on people with chronic pain and sleep. The part of the brain the shuts down and lets you sleep is the same part of the brain that deals with chronic pain. If you have chronic pain, then that part of the brain won't stop running leaving you asleep but not getting real rest. I hope I can find it. It was a fascinating article.

[Jules22871]

Chronic Pain Linked to Depression and Sleep Problems

[Christina]

Well I'm still up, again. It's almost 3 in the morning. Jules I saw you mention Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome previously so I had to look it up. It fits me to a tee except that when I was an adolescent I don't recall having THIS much trouble. I think I always was a night owl but it seems worse over the last 5-10 years.

I've been given Seroquel to help me sleep but really anything leaves me with a sleep hangover in the morning, if I'm even up by morning. I'm trying to be cool about it since stressing sure won't help. I don't like feeling out of sync with the rest of the world. Catch 22 I suppose.

I feel fortunate to not have to cope with chronic pain, but I do suffer from a brain that won't quit.

Do you both just deal with it as it comes or do you try to fight it? So far for me fighting it only makes it worse.

[skullsoup432]

I can relate to Walrus and the rapid fire brain. I will toss and turn for hours, my head going over the bills, stuff to do, that funny clunk the washer made, that squeal the car made, did I turn off/on the...ad nauseum.

My girlfriend can fall asleep almost instantly. She says that she doesn't think of anything, just clears her head.
Must be nice.

[Mary Kay]

This is just getting worse for me! I am tired of going to bed at 4 or 5 am and sleeping til 1pm. I have always had a problem getting to sleep but now it's impossible! I don't have cronic pain, just a mind that will not quit. I have planned a whole house..room by room in complete detail (I like to draw floor plans) before I fell asleep. Recalled my whole 1st grade class, remembered each song from Calamity Jane..ect. Once my mind latches on to something..that's it.
If I try to go to bed as soon as I get sleepy, let's say 11pm, I will sleep for an hour and I am back up.
I do walk every day (as weather permits) and I keep a halfway clean house and yard..so it's not total lazy days around here.
I will force myself up at 9am and all that happens is that I fall asleep at 5pm for an hour. I figure if i keep this up, maybe I will just start going to bed an hour later every day until I get back to midnight and find some peace..sleeping midnight to 6am or 9am. yeah, Like that will happen.

[skinnie]

Know the feeling.. Everyone else falls asleep as soon as the head hits the pillow. Wish it was that easy for me. I will sometimes take an excedrin pm if im really wired up. Seems to help. But I always make appointments for afternoon just to be on the safe side.

[Christina]

Mary I love your whit. You keep me in smiles every single time I read one of your posts.

On a serious note I really feel I identify with what you have said. This crazy sleep cycle really messes up my day. Or more specifically messes up the days I need to be up and alert with the rest of society. It's a vicious cycle falling asleep at the "wrong" times.

My doctors don't seem to have an answer for it other than to give me pills which don't help me get up in the morning. So the cycle continues.

I'm going to force myself into bed as usual in a moment. I hope you all can find some peace and restful sleep tonight... this morning.

Happy dreams

[JABLUES]

Same here walrus..the chronic pain is a real sleep killer..sometimes headphones with some good music helps, if anything else it keeps my mind from racing just getting into the tunes..JABLUES