Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi. Following my diagnosis I’m doing lots of ‘autism and…’ searches on Google, though trying to ration the searches to a non-obsessional pace and largely succeeding so far. I have, after all, the rest of my life (however long that may be) to look into all the angles.
One thing I’ve always had is that I tire easily and need to nap a lot. And while I have had bouts of insomnia when going through especially tough times, falling asleep has generally happened after not terribly long most nights. Before the diagnosis I assumed that my introversion and overthinking brain were both big factors in this - inefficient batteries! I would have joked on occasion about being ‘narcoleptic’ even, not to make light of that condition - just an acknowledgment of my bagpuss/dormouse nature despite being a worrier. I guess I tire myself out by burning mental calories on exertion that others wouldn’t having the same thoughts. And/or I have a ton more complex ruminations about many things in the day than most NTs.
Anyway, so when I searched, today, for ‘autism and sleep’ I kind of expected to see me fitting in with a trend there. But it said that generally it’s the opposite: most autistic people get little sleep, wake for protracted periods in the night and so on. And now I’m worried that I’m somehow not typical enough, though perhaps worrying at all shows that I am! One thing I will say is that I’m fairly nocturnal. Living on my own as I do, it’s not uncommon for me to stay up well past midnight on a work night and at the weekends into the small hours, though usually with a half hour nap or two on the sofa being part of the night’s pattern.
can anyone reassure me that I’m not alone in being able to get a decent (ish) number of hours sleep each day -maybe six or seven-, even if not in the most conventional pattern each time? I know that I should bear in mind that figure 8 for diversity but I always find a little external validation from someone who says ‘me too’ most consoling.
Hi, no your not alone with this. Sometimes I get decent sleep say 5-6 hours but more often than not I only get between 3-4 hours. I just can't sleep, go to bed exhausted get a few hours and then I'm wide awake again and can't get back off. And then work comes and I can barely function. I don't know if this is asd or just where I'm a bit odd.
Thanks Niblets. I've definitely gone through phases like that too. I think I'm finding my own more natural biorythms since getting my own place again last year (for a while I lived with my parents while clawing my way out of debt after selling a flat at a huge loss) and I'm definitely skewed towards the nocturnal. Last night, I went to bed at around 1 am and woke briefly at around five, not for long.As ever, I struggled to get up promptly after the alarm so it was 8ish before I was truly awake. So I suppose that was about 5 hours good quality sleep and around 1-2 phasing in and out of the thrteshold. I do like being a night owl though. Something about being in quiet solitude with one's own thoughts and a potter around to a podcast, but while the rest of the world sleeps, suits my nature. Not having to fall into line with my parents' more conventional bedtimes/getting up times has helped me a lot I think.