Published on 12, July, 2020
I am really struggling with excessive sleeping, I don't know why. I don't have any medical conditions other than my Autism and low B12.
I wake up at a usual time, around 8am but feel very dazed and fall asleep again until 10:30am and then stay in bed scrolling on my iPhone until around 1pm.
I'm trying really hard to improve my life and change things, but I feel exhausted and need lots of sleep. I used to be able to sleep fine and go to bed at a good time, but recently I have been resisting sleep so I don't fall asleep until around midnight or 1am.
There's a lot to unpack there, I'm feeling a little lost as I can't see many posts relating to excessive sleeping and Autism.
Any advice or personal experiences would be welcome, thanks!
I see heard that blue light from a screen could keep people awake. There's a blue light filter you could turn "on" on your devices, and there's also blue light filter glasses you could buy from the store.
Your body produces melatonin, which is the "drowsy" feeling you get, before falling asleep. Blue light makes your body think it's daytime, and so the body doesn't go in to produce melatonin. Filtering the blue light, will help the body start producing melatonin, it'll take a few hours to produce enough of it, and then the body will eventually feel drowsy and fall asleep.
If you drink any caffeine or eat any sugar before bedtime, that could also keep you up. I've accidentally done both those things, and it lead to being up the entire night, and that's no fun.
Thank you for sharing about how melatonin affects sleep & for the reminder about caffeine.