Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello All,
Since my ASD diagnosis earlier this month, I have been having more and more nights with insomnia. I’m even writing this message close to 4am!
Can anyone give me advice on how I can get a goodnight’s sleep or share what has helped you with your insomnia?
Thanks in advance
Ruth
It's not always clear what triggers insomnia, but it's often associated with: stress and anxiety. a poor sleeping environment – such as an uncomfortable bed, or a bedroom that's too light, noisy, hot or cold. lifestyle factors – such as jet lag, shift work, or drinking alcohol or caffeine before going to bed.
You could try ASMR? (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response)
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I don't think others answering in this topic are still active, except untoward
it seeems to be popular issue among us
i used to do it, and sometimes 5h later still unable to sleep i had to get up and go make something to eat because i was hungry again, and angry i wasted 5h
so i don't go to bed these days until I am falling on my face when standing, most of the times when I am sitting and my head is falling is still not enough to fall asleep in bed because 5min after going to bed i am wide awake again
so no more calling it insomnia and getting angry
I just have longer days, I joke I was made to live on a different planet that needs more time to revolve
Hi Ruth,
I am actually also struggling with insomnia at the moment and it is so exhausting and frustrating. What has helped me in the past, especially to fall asleep are audiobooks, especially an audiobook of a book you already know and like- I would put the volume very low so that I would have to focus to listen and so that it would not be distracting if i drifted off. I would put the sleep timer so that the audiobook turns off automatically.
The other thing that sometimes can make me wake up is if my blood sugar is low. If that is the case a very small snack can help fall back asleep or making sure you have a small snack before going to bed can help.
Very regularly changing the sheets can help too- if they are all fresh and clean and smell of fresh washing, it can be soothing.
Also maybe try to see if the room temperature has an effect.
I think like someone else suggested, if you are lying awake for a long long time, getting up and doing something for a little while until sleepy is a good strategy. I've done that in the past and it is usually preferable to lying in bed hours on end failing to sleep...
However currently I am really struggling with sleep (in part because of digestive issues that keep me awake) and my usual strategies also aren't really working...
I hope you figure out what works for you!!
Are you thinking about things or worrying when going to bed, and waking up? Try and ignore thoughts when you are going to sleep, and when you wake up. If you listen to them and engage then sleep is difficult. If you can't sleep even with a quiet mind, then do something calm for half and hour or an hour, like reading or listen to music, then try sleeping.
Are you getting thoughts or flashbacks about the past? The diagnosis might have triggered good/bad things you have forgotten about, or meant your brain is churning over adjusting things that happened to take into account your autism. I've had countless memories emerge that I now have an awareness and understanding of that I didn't at the time. Autism enlightenment I guess.
This is what I do too. I find that if I lie there tossing and turning, and feeling frustrated about the fact that I can't sleep, it just makes matters worse. In that situation, I may as well get up and do something to help pass the time, until I feel tired enough to drift back off to sleep.
Turn everything off and keep the room you are sleeping in slightly cool.
Try reading this and see if the advice helps.
How To Sleep Well Every Night
Thanks for sharing such great information.
Thanks for the link, keep sharing this type of info.
This works really well for me, thank you! Facing same issue here.(Removed by Mod)
Thanks for the update. (Removed by Mod)
I stare at ‘Calm’ - meditation app - ‘Scenes’ with sound off. My current favourite is the sensation of travelling over water. My brother suggests that it’s like ‘visual white noise’
Another good technique is counting breaths - thinking the numbers, not aloud- back from 100:
100: inhale
99: exhale
98: inhale
97: exhale
96: inhale
95: exhale
etc
I use a blue light filter on electronics set to the strongest settings so that I'm basically just looking at red tones only - a white page is orange. Even better is to not look at screens at all - reading a book is better.
I try to get some exposure to the sun during the day as well, even though I find it too bright outside. It helps to set the body clock.
I avoid caffeine after midday and drink chamomile tea or a night time blend before bed.
I also try to make it as cool as possible - open the windows if it's cool outside.
I was suffering from a B12 deficiency as well. B12 is used in a huge amount of things, from making new DNA, making new cells, maintaining nerves, and as a cofactor in the production of neurotransmitters like dopamine, GABA and serotonin. So people who are deficient can end up just feeling strung out all the time - tired but unable to sleep.
I've got my time to fall asleep down to 1-2 hours now, whereas before it was 4-5 hours, so it's a big improvement even if compared to a normal person I still technically have insomnia.
Thank you very much for this Deep Thought, sorry for my late reply. Your message and advice really touched me and I completely related to what you said about diagnostic hangover. It definitely has been a rollercoaster of emotions. I'm looking to go back to counselling soon but would like to see if I can arrange some kind of post diagnostic counselling.
You're welcome. :)
Oh really? I didn't know that. Will consider getting both of them in tablet form if I can (anything for a good night sleep)
Thank you for your advice :-)
Hi Robert, thanks for the advice, greatly appreciated :-)
When I can't sleep, I tend to stay in bed for too long tossing and turning and then get agitated so will definitely follow your advice.
My advice is personal to me and may not work for others.
When you wake up in the middle of the night and cannot sleep, don't try to force yourself to sleep while in bed, get up watch TV, read, go on the net, even make yourself a cup of coffee.
When you feel tired and sleepy, get straight back into bed.
RuthTaylor said:Can anyone give me advice on how I can get a goodnight’s sleep or share what has helped you with your insomnia?
In my case I have hypersensitivity to ultraviolet light ~ which I find too intense to cope with during the first part of day, and it would leave me too stimulated to sleep at night, and since I have been going to bed at about 7AM in the morning and getting up about 2PM in the afternoon ~ I have been getting regular and consistent sleep.
Things do get a bit tricky though with day shifters that insist on doing morning appointments only ~ as I have no stamina for lost sleep at all anymore, but it is so worth it having forty years of extreme insomnia involving up two week intervals without sleep as becoming increasingly distant memories.
I used to pass out but still sleep-walk and wake up in various parts of the countryside, numerous villages, towns, cities and peoples houses and however many other places ~ without a single clue as to how I got there or where there actually was.
Anyway ~ you may well be having what is referred to as the beginning of your diagnostic hangover, as adjusting to the certainty of being autistic is rather an emotional, mental and physical shift ~ particularly after having had to get referred and wait however long for the assessment, so the wind down and processing time for which and after the diagnosis experientially is usually a significant factor for feeling unsettled and or bewildered and so fourth for a while.
Basically one has to mourn the passing of one's old sense of self and learn to care for one's new sense of self, with the seven stages of grieve being a good model for mapping what's adjusting with what and so forth, with one example as follows:
The initial reaction to loss includes a feeling of shock. Learning someone you love is gone creates a numbness and fills a person with doubt. This is a form of emotional protection and can last for weeks. The time experienced often reflects the suddenness of the death, but there is no cookie cutter recipe for grief. It’s not uncommon for someone to go through the shock phase throughout the duration of funeral preparation simply to get through the process.
The next stage of grief reflects the stubbornness of the human spirit. The mind goes into a state of denial to avoid the pain and reality of loss. A person can deny a loved one’s passing for weeks no matter the circumstances around the death. People experience other kinds of denial as well. For instance, a grieving person may deny that the loss affects them in a serious manner. Denial is a type of self-preservation much like shock. A person’s experience with the stage helps shelter them from the eventual pain and ensuing stages of grief.
As a person begins to feel the full realization of someone’s death, their numbness leads the way to extreme emotional pain and suffering. Guilt often accompanies this pain. A person may feel survivor’s guilt or a constant sense of “what might have been.” They may feel remorse over missed opportunities or things they did or didn’t do with their loved one before their passing. It’s important to experience the full depth of pain when going through grief. Masking this stage with alcohol or drugs only makes things worse in the long run.
The negotiation phase occurs when a grieving person needs an emotional release from the shock and pain of loss. This phase involves wrestling with fate or “the powers that be” to try and make sense of loss. Of course, there is nothing one can do to bring someone back from the dead.
People going through this phase tend to lash out at the ones around them as an unwarranted reaction to the feelings of helplessness. One may place undue blame on someone else for the death. Grief strains the relationships of the living. To preserve these relationships, it’s imperative to find a way to release these extreme emotions in a healthy manner. Failing to do so may permanently damage ties you have with friends, family, or co-workers.
People who never experienced depression before have a hard time with this stage. Depression is all-encompassing and consumes your life. While it may seem extreme and worrying to go through a depression stage it is perfectly healthy to do so when grieving. After all the energy expelled and mental anguish of the other stages, depression gives you time to reflect and recover. Taking ample time to feel the loneliness and isolation make it easier to re-enter the world when you are ready.
When going through depression, avoid people who encourage you to “snap out of it.” For one, you cannot control your emotions that way. Instead, let yourself feel the despair and emptiness– just as you let yourself feel the other stages. This is a significant period of reflection and recuperation.
As a person adjusts to life without the person they grieve, the depression and other extreme feelings fade away. Common signs of acceptance include:
Acceptance does not equate to happiness. Rather, acceptance is the stage where a grieving person makes a conscious decision to move on and work towards a feeling of normality again. After a significant loss, a person rarely feels the same way they were before again. Acceptance occurs when a person stops looking towards the past and focuses on the future.
The diagnostic hangover rather than the insomnia tends to last about four and a half years ~ with the first year being for some the most difficult to adjust to what with it being all unfamiliar and everything, but as the expression goes ~ mileage and territory may vary.
Also with having come to the end of the assessment and diagnostic stresses and strains ~ one can be to various extents somewhat depleted and as such overtired, so some nutritional, mineral, fluid and general pampering can be quite requisite to restore one's equilibrium quite possibly.