Published on 12, July, 2020
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.
I would like to know as well. I have had chronic insomnia my whole life and I am a foremost export on every aspect of sleep hygiene because it's what doctors and everybody ever immediately recommends (none of it ever makes any difference for me, although I guess in theory my sleep could be worse if I didn't follow those things).
I have a paradoxical reaction to light. Bright sunlight makes me want to close my eyes and makes me sleepy, whereas darkness makes me alert.
In the past I was prescribed sleeping pills (Z drugs) by doctors but they are a poor solutions. Whilst they do make you unconscious in a high enough dose, they are quick to build tolerance to, so only really a solution for people with acute insomnia who need short term relief for a few days. It's not any good for long-term insomnia and they can also cause daytime drowsiness or even amnesia in the mornings (which happened to me). Sometimes I wondered if I actually had slept or just didn't remember the night due to amnesia. And they are bad for the brain (cause dementia).