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Insomnia

Blurry
3 months ago

Any tips for overcoming insomnia as an autistic person? I've had it for over a year now and I'd say it affects my life quite a bit. At the moment I have around 4 hours of sleep per night even though I spend 9 hours or so in bed. I tried CBT for insomnia a few months ago and every time I try and implement all the techniques, my anxiety levels raise as I become a bit obsessed with sticking to the exact sleep and wake time that I have set for myself. I then end up basing my self worth on if I achieve the set bedtime/ follow my exact bedtime routine. If I don't follow it exactly or go to bed/ wake up at the prescribed times, I end up feeling anxious as hell and like a failure. I also prevent myself from napping during the day (because that's what the CBT-I tells me to do) but I am currently severely burnt out so i don't know if this is the right thing to do...

Any other techniques for dealing with insomnia anyone has found? Feeling a bit stuck. 

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  • 3 months ago

    I am a big fan of getting up at the same time every day. 8h30 in bed is my sweet spot, any more then it tends to have a negative effect (unless I am even more shattered than normal).

    For me, the more that I worry about not getting to sleep, the more likely my thoughts are to keep me awake. Three things have helped. Firstly, absolutely no monitoring of my sleep or checking of clocks after I have gone to bed. I used to look at my watch whenever I got up during the night, which seems like a really minor thing, but stopping doing it made quite a big difference. Secondly, perfecting the art of barely opening my eyes whilst going to the toilet, which maintains my sleepy state. Thirdly, not stressing if I do not get to sleep immediately (or back to sleep). Easier said than done, and still a bit of a challenge, but the key has been to enjoy just lying there under my toasty duvet without thinking of anything specific. If I fall asleep then great, but if I don't then I will have been refreshed to some extent by relaxing horizontally. I am probably atypical to some extent, as I sleep better when I am nice and warm.

    Good luck!

  • 3 months ago in reply to InfinitePlanner
    InfinitePlanner said:
    I am a big fan of getting up at the same time every day. 8h30 in bed is my sweet spot, any more then it tends to have a negative effect

    Yeah - the same, 7 hours for me. 

Reply Children
  • 3 months ago in reply to Pegg

    Haha, when I was struggling less with my mental health my average sleep time was about 9 hours which seems so long to me now. Ridiculously long for me especially. Do you both get really vivid dreams also? I find this also makes my insomnia worse cause dreaming is so intense that I get scared

  • 3 months ago in reply to InfinitePlanner
    InfinitePlanner said:
    . Being asleep is the best part of the day, because no matter how bizarre and random my dreams are they still make more sense than the real world

    Yep, I'm with you there! Smile

    I'd like to stay asleep for longer, but just don't! 

    7 hours it is.

  • 3 months ago in reply to Pegg

    I was going to say that I am jealous of you, because you have 90 more minutes of the day than I do. But then I realised I would probably just spend them thinking of new ways to feed my anxieties. Being asleep is the best part of the day, because no matter how bizarre and random my dreams are they still make more sense than the real world Smile