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Sleep disorders common in people with ASD?

Autistic Introvert
over 6 years ago

Just thought I'd throw this out here.

After a night of no sleep (realistically I must have had about; 30 to 40 minutes of sleep); I did some rather quick reading on the subject today, & I'm curious to know if anyone else has any sort of sleeping problems? From what I can tell it seems to be quite common in people with ASD?

I've struggled with sleep since childhood. At first I believed it to be due to the abusive/ disruptive surroundings (& I'd listen to music to drown it out & help me sleep. Sometimes I will still do this, but other times even that doesn't really help), but even after I left that predicament & moved into calmer settings, the sleep problems persisted, & have done so even to this day.

I've had everyone; through the years, giving me their 'suggestions' on where they believe I'm going wrong. Even had a few cheeky sods suggest it's because I wasn't active enough during the day, so I wasn't 'tiring myself out' enough. As you can imagine; I managed to prove that theory wrong on numerous occassions haha.

A few occassions in the past it has gotten bad enough for me to consider going to the doctor, but he's a bit bloody useless to be honest (& I'm actually on the look out to get myself & my family moved to another GP surgery).

All in all it tends to be manageable, believe it or not.

I think one problem I have is that I will stay in bed, 'trying' to sleep, when I clearly will not drop off no matter what measures I take. Every now & then I can tell when I'm going to have a small bout of insomnia & just wont sleep 'enough', last night was an extreme case as it's been a long time since I was awake all night.

I was talking to a friend about this, & even she suggested something I was considering, which is to just get out of bed & do something productive with my time. I'm a freelance artist, so those hours would be great to make up on lost time. I didn't sleep a wink last night, & I don't feel tired at all. I'd planned on maybe having a nap during the day, but I really don't need it. 

I think most of the stress stems from me also being a stay at home mum & thinking that me not getting enough sleep will result in me being too tired to contend with my children. I'm tempted to just get out of bed the next few times this happens; do something productive & seeing what the results are.
My own little 'experiment' I suppose. 

Sometimes it's pretty obvious that I can't sleep due to overthinking/stress, but other times, I'm just not tired at all & there really doesn't seem to be any obvious cause.

Does anyone else have anything like this?

Parents
  • over 6 years ago

    I have a real problem with suspense, and when I have meetings at work the following day, or some sort of presentation to do I can almost always bet on a night of very little sleep. As a lot of my job is email based with colleagues in different time zones I also do a lot of waiting for issues to be resolved, or I have suggested a solution that I then have to wait for a response for.

    I have not been able to find an effective way of avoiding the anxiety and suspense. When I have had jobs that I can 'leave work at work' I have found I find other things that my brain wants to deal with instead, so I think its something hardwired into the brain that it needs something to mull over.

    I also have 3 children, so sedatives are not an option I would be happy with as they would render me useless in any kind of situation where I am needed in the night.

    Some sort of hobby that would be a good nocturnal distraction, whilst not waking children or making a mess would be a winner for me and my partner!  Suggestions most welcome!

  • over 6 years ago in reply to Daniel

    I have this same problem too. My brain just does not switch off, even if there isn't an event or appointment, my head will still whizz around. Especially when the kids are off school & my routine is completely disrupted, so I know what's going to happen with the upcoming summer holidays. 

    & yeah I've never been comfortable with the idea of taking anything that will sedate me in any way (even slightly) when I have kids. 

    This question was mainly just to check if sleeping problems were; in fact, truly common amongst people with ASD. Apparently it would seem so.

    So; the next time I struggle to sleep, I'll just get out of bed & catch up on some artwork or writing. 
    Have you thought about taking up a crafting hobby? Like building model planes or one of those giant boats? Reading or writing, drawing or painting, or knitting or crochet? I'm looking into teaching myself how to crochet (there's plenty of how-to vids on YouTube), I want to make blankets & other bits & bobs; it looks like it would be relaxing to just sit & make something like that.

    (plus playing computer games is always great too)

  • over 6 years ago in reply to Autistic Introvert

    I love the idea of building model boats or planes, though in practise I do not have the patience with it. I used to glue and paint little figures when I was younger, but I have always hit a wall after doing a few, and I end up with more in peces and unpainted than finished.

    Writing is something i do enjoy, though I have found that writing books is not for me, as I go into hyper detail and waffle on. It has given me a better appreciation for the skill of the writers I enjoy reading though.

    My go to is the documentary. I love learning things, and have often filled up the family TV hard drive with obscure learning programs from around the world. My kids homework is often far more detailed than others in their class, but I love helping pass on things I have learned to them (Also they usually seem far more interested than most adults I know!)

    I don't have any games consoles, but I have always thought I would like computer games. Something that changes to prevent boredom, challenging enough to engage the brain, but not too much suspense (Like fighting multi player type things)

    Do you have any suggestions?

  • over 6 years ago in reply to recombinantsocks

    I do agree with your point,

    And the NHS article does make a lot of sense. I do try and wind down and turn off all technology before bed. I think my issue is that when I go through the routine, and it fails, I have a partner who I know needs her sleep as much as me, and knowing I will be off to work in the morning and leaving her with between 1 and 3 children depending on the school term time, I find the best way is to remove myself from the room and make sure one of us gets a good sleep.

    As a child I would always go off to sleep listening to audio books, and I think this is where documentaries have now taken over. Plus there is always the possibility that I wake up having learned something new, even if its subconsciously  

Reply
  • over 6 years ago in reply to recombinantsocks

    I do agree with your point,

    And the NHS article does make a lot of sense. I do try and wind down and turn off all technology before bed. I think my issue is that when I go through the routine, and it fails, I have a partner who I know needs her sleep as much as me, and knowing I will be off to work in the morning and leaving her with between 1 and 3 children depending on the school term time, I find the best way is to remove myself from the room and make sure one of us gets a good sleep.

    As a child I would always go off to sleep listening to audio books, and I think this is where documentaries have now taken over. Plus there is always the possibility that I wake up having learned something new, even if its subconsciously  

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