I've always had a problem falling asleep since I was young, but its been getting progressively worse as I've become older. I am 19 years old right now and take medications to fall asleep. I use seroquel at the moment, which is a mood stabilizer, but it helps me fall asleep. Without any sleeping medications I would not be able to fall asleep for a long time.
I don't take caffeine or any drugs or drink alcohol. I don't smoke. I exercise regularly. Good hygiene. At night before I sleep I'll usually read something or maybe watch a video of something. It doesn't generally have too much of an effect on how awake I feel. Generally a hot temperature can keep me awake, so my room has to be 74 degrees or lower, the colder it is, the more easily I can fall asleep.
The problem is... I knew I had a problem with falling asleep but yesterday, I slept literally for 2 hours, I was really tired. I woke up at 1:00 a.m. I took my sat's and was even more exhausted afterwards. Then I ended up staying up for 29 hours. Hung out with friends and stuff, I was really alert, it was really uncomfortable though. Lost my appetite and thirst for most of the day.
I got home, took a shower, and went to sleep. Then it hit me... I couldn't sleep! My body was exhausted, I was tired and couldn't even think, I just lied down in bed and wasn't able to sleep. Lied down in bed for maybe an hour and then took my sleeping medications and fell asleep.
I am almost absolutely sure I could have stayed up for another 12-24 hours easily. (Is easy the right word?) Or should I say... I could've definitely stayed up for an additional 12-24 hours involuntarily. I don't know what the problem is. I'm very healthy and very athletic. I take a wide range of vitamins as well. The vitamins can't be detrimental to my sleeping patterns because I take them on and off and going weeks without them has not affected my sleeping. I am going to a sleep lab sometime in the near future to find out what the problem is, but for now I just wanted to post this here and figure if anyone has a similar problem. Its very stressful and has many disadvantages, but it has some up sides too I suppose... I never have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel... Because I can't. lol.
I can't offer direct advice, as I have been through the same thing (being awake for very large amounts of time) but have no conclusive answer as to why it happens or how to fix it.
Stress could possibly have aggravated your existing sleep problem. If this begins to occur more frequently or for longer amounts of time, go to your doctor. For the record, a sleep lab may not be able to help. (If your doctor does come up with anything, let me know. I'd love to hear an answer )
Last edited by xFruitBatx; 06-09-2009 at 06:15 AM.
well, i just read ur post, I have problems at times sleeping, i never read or watch tv before as i find it provides more stimulation for my brain rather than relaxing it, i can easily go 3 or 4 days without sleep (choosen, during exam time; studying nursing) what i find is the more i deprive my self of sleep the more i can go without it. stress and anxiety have direct impacts on ur capability to sleep, so this maybe adding to ur problem.
listening to music (nothing mad) can be of help, also when i become over tired its harder to sleep (as i said before).
i find the same thing with temperature, and i generally have my window open all the time during the summer, being sleep deprived can cause loss of appetite, however it is important to not let ur self get dehydrated, some medications can cause or increase ur chances of insomnia.
I see one of the side effects of seroquel is drowsiness but as its a strong medication for shizophrenia maybe you need to have it changed.
I know where you're coming from. I have had insomia for seven years. The doctor thought I might have sleep apnea and I asked him how I could if I don't sleep. He agreed with me and five years later I found out there are two kinds of sleep apnea. One you sleep to much and the one like mine in which you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. You need to go to a sleep clinic for a sleep study. Also, my sleep doctor has me taking melatonin instead of a sleeping pill. Because I'm overweight he told me to take 5 mg 2 hours before bed. It starts making me really tired within an hour.
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