Published on 12, July, 2020
If I am working full time, I find the only thing that helps me recover from overwhelm is sleep. If I am tired I literally cannot process information. Does anyone else sleep loads? I've always slept too much as my coping mechanism.
Yes, same. I can identify a lot with what you've descibed. I work full time and nearly all my spare time is recovery, with sleep a major factor in that. Constant naps, and still exhausted at bedtime. Chronic fatigue. Unsurprising, diagnosis gave me so much context for that.
Yes I can be very sleepy sometimes. I don't always sleep well and it causes me to be extra sleepy and fatigued the next day.
Sometimes though I'm wide awake all the time and I find I don't need a lot of sleep.
Yes, I kind of know that feeling. I know quite a few people find the after lunch period quite difficult from a work perspective.
It's tough when/if it does switch one's brain into struggling to perform. It can feel a bit like when a phone gets to low charge and starts getting really slow and sometimes apps start crashing.
ok this is interesting because
a. I always suspected that I have ADHD as well as autism but have never done anything about it
b. i can fall asleep if I lie down in middle of the day and lose 2 hours work for no reason --- I am trying to address this / fight it with some improvements
Yeah that must be hard :( Less than 8 hours feels like sleep deprivation to me so I can't imagine.
I absolutely feel like this. Bed is my favourite place!
I was manic on Thursday evening, then slept fifteen hours; from 9 pm to Noon. And, last night, I slept twelve hours; from 1 am to 1 pm.
The longest I ever slept in one shift was seventeen hours.
Yes! Without an alarm I will sleep for 8-12 hours. I really struggle with getting up for work. I feel like I've spent my whole life being sleep-deprived and it makes everything more difficult. Being in bed, under the covers is one of the only places that I feel safe and relaxed and like I can recharge from the onslaught of social interaction and external stimulation.
Yeah. Your reply on the 'god' thread struck me as a similar-ish way to how I see some of the world. I'm with you on calling it a condition and not a disorder.
When I was diagnosed --- autism spectrum condition (I refuse to call it a disorder). I don't know if there's anything else going on underneath the hood. From what I'm reading from other aspies experiences I relate to a lot of them - so whatever else might be mixed in there in the back of my psyche I'm happy to leave it alone.
Had depression and anxiety for years, only because I couldn't figure the social world out, so there was a cycle of function-breakdown-drugs and short-term counselling-recuperate and start all over again.
I've always found being round people, or in environments where I've no corner to retreat to, exhausting. I used to enjoy conferences but would always be floored after the first day because of the constant stimulus.
Some of the jobs I've done (hospital work, customer facing) I've no idea how I got through the day.
Then I fall asleep during the day.
I really wish I could sleep. I often survive on four hours or less. I wake up in the middle of the night, and that's it.
Ethan, do you know if you're a bit more Aspie leaning, or a bit more ADHD leaning, or something different to this?
Same here. I've worked over my contracted hours this week and really felt it. So every day this week, I've logged off, literally felt so exhausted I couldn't function, and fallen asleep for 3-4 hours. I'd like to say it was an age thing but I've always been that way.
Happened at school / Uni too - once I'd finished the day and got home I had to crash out for a few hours before I could do anything.
I've come across links between fatigue (including sleepiness) and autism before.
I'm aware of a seemingly decently strong link between ADHD and sleepiness.
There have been studies looking at ADHD and sleepiness - such as:
"EDS [excessive daytime sleepiness] was relatively common in adults with possible ADHD. ADHD symptoms, especially inattentiveness, were associated with the formation of EDS in this population."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28366340/
is it an autistic trait ?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz
Yeah if I’m comfortable somewhere and the slightest bit bored I can fall asleep.
Yeah. I wish you well for a good diagnosis journey.
Yess,ive always slept loads, didn't realise this could be an autistic trait,Currently waiting for a diagnosis so I'll have to bring this up.