Getting to sleep - does TV help?

In case it has not already been said, i do not think you are being stupid :) sleeping patterns have been a constant source of anxiety for me my whole life up until diagnosis. What is normal for me is i will sleep for about 4-5 hours between about 9/10pm and 2/3am. Once a month, thereabouts, i will sleep for, no...let me rephrase that, i will HIBERNATE for (hahaha) about 16-20hrs. Throughout my life this has been a constant area of criticism from others who like to tell me i should do this or that, or i'm not structured enough or lazy yadda yadda (insert many other horse**** opinions here). Since diagnosis i've been just letting myself sleep as and when my brain and/or body need it and it has been working fine for me and i haven't had what could be described as sleep anxiety for months. The next step leading on from that is me beginning to construct a life style that falls in line with my autistic sleep pattern as opposed to the other way around - trying to have a typical sleep pattern like other people's, failing miserably, and becoming dysfunctional/depressed.

My two Daughters who are not as yet diagnosed have polar opposite sleep patterns it seems - my youngest is opposite to me, likes to have a good 10 hours solid sleep, falls asleep 15-20mins after going to bed and sleeps straight through. My eldest is much more like me, she struggles to achieve 10 hours, has difficulty getting to sleep and doesn't exhibit fatigue or low mood when only having 5/6 hours sleep a night. This is interesting because my youngest who sleep in a more typical manner is more obviously autistic than my eldest who, like me, is an expert at "masks" (i realise the dangers of masking, please do not be concerned - my eldest and i have an artistic flair for acting and so the process of masking does not impact on us as badly as it does for others, we only have to make sure we know we're masking).

So, the TV - i need the TV on to sleep. It allows me to put my brain somewhere other than the bajillion things bouncing around my brain like a pinball machine. I can't afford a TV for the girls' bedroom and it would keep my youngest awake anyway so instead me and my eldest have a pact that if she is worrying about anything or having difficulty "switching off", once her sister is settled she will come back downstairs and we will chat about things, watch a documentary, that sort of thing. In short, what i'm trying to say in my usual long winded overbrain fashion is, try anything at least once! The greatest thing about Autism communities (or so i'm finding) is that we're literally figuring it out together, don't be afraid to try things. If it works, it works.

In case it has not already been said, i do not think you are being stupid :) sleeping patterns have been a constant source of anxiety for me my whole life up until diagnosis. What is normal for me is i will sleep for about 4-5 hours between about 9/10pm and 2/3am. Once a month, thereabouts, i will sleep for, no...let me rephrase that, i will HIBERNATE for (hahaha) about 16-20hrs. Throughout my life this has been a constant area of criticism from others who like to tell me i should do this or that, or i'm not structured enough or lazy yadda yadda (insert many other horse**** opinions here). Since diagnosis i've been just letting myself sleep as and when my brain and/or body need it and it has been working fine for me and i haven't had what could be described as sleep anxiety for months. The next step leading on from that is me beginning to construct a life style that falls in line with my autistic sleep pattern as opposed to the other way around - trying to have a typical sleep pattern like other people's, failing miserably, and becoming dysfunctional/depressed.

My two Daughters who are not as yet diagnosed have polar opposite sleep patterns it seems - my youngest is opposite to me, likes to have a good 10 hours solid sleep, falls asleep 15-20mins after going to bed and sleeps straight through. My eldest is much more like me, she struggles to achieve 10 hours, has difficulty getting to sleep and doesn't exhibit fatigue or low mood when only having 5/6 hours sleep a night. This is interesting because my youngest who sleep in a more typical manner is more obviously autistic than my eldest who, like me, is an expert at "masks" (i realise the dangers of masking, please do not be concerned - my eldest and i have an artistic flair for acting and so the process of masking does not impact on us as badly as it does for others, we only have to make sure we know we're masking).

So, the TV - i need the TV on to sleep. It allows me to put my brain somewhere other than the bajillion things bouncing around my brain like a pinball machine. I can't afford a TV for the girls' bedroom and it would keep my youngest awake anyway so instead me and my eldest have a pact that if she is worrying about anything or having difficulty "switching off", once her sister is settled she will come back downstairs and we will chat about things, watch a documentary, that sort of thing. In short, what i'm trying to say in my usual long winded overbrain fashion is, try anything at least once! The greatest thing about Autism communities (or so i'm finding) is that we're literally figuring it out together, don't be afraid to try things. If it works, it works.