Sleep Tips for Adults

We are nearly at full moon and I was wondering why it wasn't as disturbing as in the summer when I was wittering on about blackout curtains.

A bit more research reveals that the moons brightness varies by 30%. I think this is the ratio in brightness of a supermoon to a micromoon. Moon is closer to earth (perigee) at supermoon and furthest from earth (apogee) at micromoon.

www.independent.co.uk/.../supermoon-2014-when-and-why-will-the-moon-look-bigger-and-brighter-this-summer-9599050.html

They also provide a link to an article on how the moon affects sleep.

www.independent.co.uk/.../supermoons-2014-get-ready-for-a-restless-summer-as-new-research-shows-that-full-moons-do-affect-our-sleep-9599016.html

Another factor, which I'm not sure is factored into the 30%, is that the moon in summer is higher in the sky. The light from the moon in summer has to pass through less of our atmosphere just as a summer midday sun is brighter than a winter midday sun.

This year we had a supermoon in midsummer so we had all of the factors adding together and the weather also conspired by giving us some clear nights.

I find that I do not need the reccomended 8 hours. 6 is sufficient. If I lie in one day, I sleep bdly the next.

 I am the proverbial "princess and the pea" type. Everything irritates. I get too hot/cold etc. Layers of bedding that I can turn back and retrieve help, so its blankets for me. I use an eye mask when needed. I never sleep all night, but in fragments of varying lengths.

The key to sleep is not to try to sleep or worry about it. Think about something pleasant. The audio book idea sounds good, or the radio. It needs to turn itself off though or it could wake you later.

Sleep has always been a bugger for me, from a young age (i'm 21 these days). laying back in the dark and waiting for sleep to happen never sat well with me and i often just thought, endlessly about anything at all, in the end i've found that audiobooks give me something to focus on without being enough of a distraction to keep me awake (unless its a new one, but i simply don't use those for sleep).

21 and i still need audiobooks to get me to sleep. Aspergers is, if nothing else, disparaging of ones supposed maturity.

I have the same problem regarding noise. Last night I fell asleep quickly after playing Badminton - a rare occurance - but I woke up at 3 am because my Mum was having a coughing fit. It then took me at least two hours to get to sleep again, and I finally woke at 8 am. I was already tired because I had slept badly during the week, and the one night when I could have slept for around 7 hours, I was disturbed. This is so annoying! All day today I have felt tired, angry, tearful, and grouchy, but I did manage to get out and about for a walk.

Regarding getting to sleep, kiwi fruits, banana, and pumpkin seeds help to relax me, although they do not keep me asleep if there are any noises.

Blackout curtains can make a real difference if they can fully cover the window. The material we used is a cream colour but it is completely opaque. We used net cords to suspend a sheet of it and it didn't leave much of a gap for the light to get around.

A four poster bed with curtains would work well too.

I have exactly the same problem. I am always really tired, but can't fall asleep well, and then when I do, I wake up every couple hours, finding it difficult to fall asleep each time.

I have recently narrowed it down to the following factors:

1. Light

2. Noise

3. Lack of pressure

4. Feeling safe

I have developed a few strategies which help:

1. Ear defenders whilst falling asleep (or listening to music through headphones)

2. Using blankets and quilts as opposed to duvets

3. Curling up in bed under the blankets, with ear defenders on and rocking for about 15 minutes before trying to fall asleep to get used to the change in environment

I haven't worked out what to do about light yet - I live in London and I don't think blackout curtains would do much.

Had a bad nights sleep last night. We had put up blackout curtains earlier in the summer due to the early morning sunrises but i had put them away thinking that the autumn mornings weren't so early.

last night was quite light and i woke several times.

i checked the moonrise time and phase of the moon this morning and found that we are nearly at full moon and that moonset was in the middle of the night last night so there was only a short period between moonlit night and sunlit daytime.

if you suspect that light interferes with your sleep then the next few days could be really bad as the moonset time gets later and full moon is due on 9th September.

see 

www.timeanddate.com/.../london

for details of phases and moonrise and moonset.

our blackout curtains will be tightly in place for this week and the next full moon when the moon will be up during the night time.

This isn't witchcraft, it's just the impact of photons on our sensitive eyes and brains!

Aromatherapy might help. I find Vicks vapourrub sothing and so apply it to my person and bedding to some beneficial effect. In general however Rosemary and Lavender scents have been used to promote restful sleep basically forever. You might try scented candles or oil burners (well out of reach to avoid firey accidents) or wrap some of these herbs in cloth (muslin works well) and put the bundle inside your pillow.

I sleep much better under a feather and down quilt rather than a synthetic one. This is because its heavier and I find the weight and pressure of it makes me feel safe and relax. Some people roll themselves up tightly in bedding and this does much the same thing I think.

There are commercially made weighted blankets which would be great, but they are very expensive.

This is of no use in the current weather but even NT people can't sleep in this heat.

Getting blackout curtains helps too as does reducing noise to a minimum. I find a ticking clock impossible to sleep near and once put one in the fridge as it was the only place in the house where I couldn't hear it.

A cup of camomile tea often helps too.

I find it infuriating that no research is done on this, it would help so many autistic people so much. This month alone I've had three requests to take part in research and not one was for anything that would help us in our daily lives.

I always get the same tips, have a warm drink before bed, keep away from electronics an hour before bed, keep TV out of the bedroom, etc.  I can't sleep unless I have pyjamas on and a heavy quilt that covers all of me, which is proving very difficult with this hot weather.

I can't really offer tips unfortunately, I just sort of wing it every night as it comes, depending on how I feel.  My brain is so active al lthe time that I dream allll night.  I feel like I watch movies all night.  It's really tiring.  Seeing this has probably inspired me to try and relax more before bed.  Get back to breathing exercises and yoga.

One think I learnt to do a few months back was to try and work out how to wrap myself up in the bedclothes so that I felt really cosy. Pulling the duvet snugly around my head and face seemed to help me relax. Perhaps it's a bit like Jamies idea to make yourself feel safe, perhaps its a bit like the snuggle blankets that kids get really attached to that helps them feel secure and safe?

Hi,

I have always struggled with sleep. A few years ago, I decided sod the age appropriateness the sleeping place I wanted was enclosed. I wanted to feel safe, (and my partner and then career also wanted to know I was safe).

So we went to a local carpenter and I commissioned a custom made bed. It's basically a giant cot with a drop side To fit a single mattress. It's made of 11cm square pine and is incredibly strong.

I have never slept better, I still don't sleep well (the irony of writing this at 12:14am) but I sleep so much better.

So it sounds obvious but, do you feel safe I'm bed? I didn't, now I do :)

Also a quick note on sleeping positions. did you know you are allowed to sleep in any position? I thought for a while that the only permissable sleeping positions where either exactly on my front arms down my side, or on my back with my arms down my side. It truns out that I can sleep however I like and no one cares. If some one told me that 15 years ago that would have been a great improvement.

cheers,

Jamie + Lion

Sorry for delay in replying. I came across an item on ResearchAutism www.researchautism.net/.../melatonin-and-autism

this suggests that this can be a very effective remedy for some people.

Clearly, you need to discuss this with your GP and I can't say if it will work for you but thought it worth a look.

Maybe also using the "search the community" box to see what other community members think.

:-)

I find myself awake for about 24h then sleeping for 10h. This means the period in which I am awake travels through the day, and can be problematic. Any suggestions? 

I also have an issue with waking up due to early sunrise. Blindfold helps me a lot

One of the issues that seems to affect AS is being extra sensitive to light. In the summer, with the early sunrise, I was waking earlier and earlier and getting less and less sleep. I read about the light sensitivity thing and we have now put up blackout lining curtains (John Lewis do a special, cream coloured, coated material that looks OK) I've been able to sleep in until 8:30 with this adaptation :-)

Mindfulness meditation practice helps me get to sleep.

I am in the same position. I used to sleep relatively well, although I had occasional bouts of insomnia from about the age of 9 upwards. However these bouts have got more frequent as I have got older. Although the quality of my sleep is not too bad, and I have vivid dreams when I do sleep, it can take me a long time to fall asleep, and I often wake around 4 am, and it then takes me ages to get back to sleep. The triggers for my poor sleep are noise, artificial street lights and light in general, and an inability to switch off and relax. I would also like some advice.