Parasomnias/sleep disorders?

[Chanel_no5]

I'm one of the unlucky people who has a whole laundry list of parasomnias and sleep disorders. And, basically, now I want to discuss it with others who have them too (or similar). 

Most of the time, my sleeping pills suppress the parasomnias I suffer from, but I've been without them for weeks now, and the issues return right away. I haven't slept well in quite some time.  

My own issues include these: 

Standard insomnia - can't fall asleep, if I do manage to fall asleep it's a very uneasy and restless slumber.

Night terrors (you're supposed to outgrow them after childhood, but I never did)

Sleepwalking (this was more prevalent when I was a kid and teenager, but I still sleepwalk from time to time, particularly when I'm under a lot of stress). 

Sleep paralysis, with "hallucinations". (The more I read about this, the less I believe these are hallucinations. It just doesn't make sense that people from all over the world, all cultures, et cetera, have almost exact the same experience - an old hag, demons, or "shadow people", often with glowing red eyes). 

Nightmare disorder - I almost never have non-nightmare type of dreams. I dream a lot, and I'm sure at least 90 % of my dreams are nightmares. It's not making for a very healthy sleep.

Catathrenia - I obviously don't notice this myself, but my sister and mom have told me I do this pretty much all the time, and they noticed it when I was in on sleep registration at the hospital as well. In my case, I take a breath, hold it, and then exhale in a moan/groan. I think my cat believes I'm trying to purr.   The thing is, I often hold my breath for no apparent reason when I'm awake too, though I don't groan on exhale in those cases.  

Exploding head syndrome - THIS is freaky as fuck. For me, I often hear an angry voice shouting my name, or a loud explosive sound (when I experience it when going from sleep to wake, it's often accompanied by a dream of a nuclear bomb exploding, just for visuals... thanks brain... )

Hypnagocic hallucinations - When I'm about to go to sleep (off pills), and I'm in the transition state between wake and sleep, I see faces. Never people I know, and they never look happy or smiling. Just serious, angry, sad, or frightened faces. Men, women, children, no context or anything. It's really unsettling, because it's not like seeing photographs, it's like there are actual people right in front of you. 

Bruxism - teeth grinding. This is periodic with me. As is restless legs, another thing I experience only from time to time. 

 

I conclude that I am not supposed to sleep at all, since my body and brain so clearly don't want me to.  

So, anyone else have any - or all - of these? Or other sleep disorders? Let's talk about it. Sleep, sleep disorders, and dreams are so fascinating to me, how we still don't really know why or how it works. 

 

 

[Kaze Wo Hiku]

Sign me up for this thread!

I suffer from insomnia, 3 all types depending. can't fall asleep. can't stay asleep. if I wake up early I cant fall back asleep.  It comes in cycles for me as some night I have no issues with sleep or at least lesser issue.  I did find getting a weighted blanket helped.

Sleep paralysis though this hasn't happened in years and I've probably only had it a dozen times.  it used to freak me out but after I realized what it was it doesn't anymore.

Never heard of exploding head syndrome before but I've definitely experienced it. 

I also have mild sleep apnea so I need to wear a mouth gaurd.

[Chanel_no5]

1 hour ago, Kaze wo Hiku said:

I also have mild sleep apnea so I need to wear a mouth gaurd.

I wear one periodically for teeth grinding, but that's just for the upper teeth. The one for sleep apnea looks a bit scary, I'd be scared it would end up suffocating me instead. Does it help? It seems really uncomfortable.  

 

[Kaze Wo Hiku]

Just now, Chanel_no5 said:

I wear one periodically for teeth grinding, but that's just for the upper teeth. The one for sleep apnea looks a bit scary, I'd be scared it would end up suffocating me instead. Does it help? It seems really uncomfortable.  

 

It pulls your lower jar forward to open your airway so it is mildly uncomfortable to start with, my doctor said it was okay to take out the first week I used it so I could ease into it. Sometimes I still take it out in my sleep and not realize it it does work though.

[Chanel_no5]

25 minutes ago, Kaze wo Hiku said:

It pulls your lower jar forward to open your airway so it is mildly uncomfortable to start with, my doctor said it was okay to take out the first week I used it so I could ease into it. Sometimes I still take it out in my sleep and not realize it it does work though.

I sometimes take out mine too. Once I was sleepwalking and took it out and left it on the windowsill. God knows why. 

Good thing it works though.  

 

[Wilde]

May I join the club? 

Though I don’t have anything really bad or any sleep issues that impact my daily life, I have a difficult relationship with sleep. 

I have periods where I can’t fall asleep, periods where I’ll wake up ridiculously early, periods where I’ll lie awake for a set time every night (I’ll wake up at 4 in the morning and am able to get back to sleep at 6, every night for a month or so straight). 

I have pulsatile tinnitus (whooshing sound in one ear) which only really comes on when I lie down, and that’s been keeping me up for a few months now, which results in me trying to tire myself out as much as possible so I’ll get to sleep faster, which messes up my sleep schedule. It’s not necessarily a sleep problem, but a problem that impacts my sleep. 

I grind my teeth when I’m stressed/depressed. 

Another issue that started last winter is kind of the reverse of typical sleep problems, I suppose; I get SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and that’ll just make me tired all the damn time. I’ll sleep 12 hours a night and then need naps on top of that. It’s terribly annoying. 

So yeah, I’m frequently found burning the midnight oil. 

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

meeeeeee god me

my circadian rhythm is seriously broken. instead of running off a 24 hour day like a healthy person, mine runs on more like a 26 hour day. 

so unless im very vigilant about purposely going to bed at bedtime and not just when i'm sleepy, i will cycle around from going to bed at 11 and waking up at 8, to the next night going to bed at 12 and waking up at 9, to the next night going to bed at 1 and waking up at 10, and so on, until im going to bed and waking up at really ridiculous times like goingto bed at 7am and waking up at 4 in the afternoon x.x

its a constant. struggle. and it's really annoying to try and break out of if i mess up, which is often, because i also very easily lose track of time due to adhd 🙃

on top of that, even if i do manage to get myself to bed at a decent hour, after a few days i start waking up several times in the middle of the night bc my body most of the time doesn't think it should be sleeping at the right times, and as a result i will be exhausted during the day due to such broken sleep 

 

[Chanel_no5]

On 8/17/2019 at 11:19 PM, Wilde said:

May I join the club? 

Absolutely! I was about to say "the more the merrier", but it's not exactly a merry situation...  

On 8/17/2019 at 11:19 PM, Wilde said:

Another issue that started last winter is kind of the reverse of typical sleep problems, I suppose; I get SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and that’ll just make me tired all the damn time. I’ll sleep 12 hours a night and then need naps on top of that. It’s terribly annoying. 

Well, that's a sleep disorder in itself, I would say. Too much or not enough sleep, it's bad either way. I'm not even supposed to be in sunlight, but I get that seasonal tiredness in the darker months too. Though not so bad it's actually a disorder, more a discomfort. Do you try anything for it? Like light therapy or something? 

Sleep is weird. 

On 8/18/2019 at 12:34 AM, •.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.• said:

meeeeeee god me

my circadian rhythm is seriously broken. instead of running off a 24 hour day like a healthy person, mine runs on more like a 26 hour day. 

OMG, YES!! I think I kinda have like an alien circadian rhythm or something, definitely not made for Earth! My therapist once told me to attempt to sleep when my body said it was time, and be awake when my body said so, because he thought it would sort itself out. Hahahaha! Yeah. Well. I tried that for a month and it turns out if I let my body decide, I stay wake for 36 hours in a row and then sleep 12-14 hours. That doesn't work ANYWHERE!!   He told me to get back on the sleeping pill and have a normal 24 hour day instead. Even so I want to push everything a few hours forward. My midnight is 2 am, so if I say I stayed up to three in the morning, that's like a "normal" person staying up to 1 am. 

Have you always had this "broken" circadian rhythm? Or did it come in combination with something; depression, puberty, moving to a new place, that kind of change? 

 

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

9 hours ago, Chanel_no5 said:

My therapist once told me to attempt to sleep when my body said it was time, and be awake when my body said so, because he thought it would sort itself out. Hahahaha! Yeah

LMAO YEAH I BEEN TOLD THAT BEFORE TOO

9 hours ago, Chanel_no5 said:

Have you always had this "broken" circadian rhythm? Or did it come in combination with something; depression, puberty, moving to a new place, that kind of change? 

it's hard to say tbh? i think maybe it was something for most of my life but it wasn't as noticable and didn't impact my life as badly until i got older.

i remember when i was a little kid i'd lay awake for hours at bedtime, but i always had to be in bed by a certain time, so even if i stayed up playing with my stuffed animals or staring at my alarm clock for 2 or 3 hours, i'd fall asleep of boredom eventually, so my sleep schedule was more or less regular. and, when i was a kid, i could get Less Sleep and still be energetic and bouncy during the day, so it wasn't rlly noticable to anyone when i struggled with that, and also for some reason when i was a kid i was weirdly private and quiet about whenever something was wrong??? so i never really told anyone about it. 

i don't actually remember it being a problem in high school?? i don't know why?? i guess i just had a regular schedule for such a long time that it was habit to go to bed at a certain time???

but after that, there were some (admittedly traumatic) life events that threw me out of my routine, and it's literally been a struggle ever since. 

so... i don't know if it's something that's always been a problem for me that i just temporarily solved?? or if when i was a kid i just had a hard time falling asleep for unrelated reasons, with my circadian rhythm being broken by traumatic events?? 

idunno

also there's less discipline in my life now and i've never been great at disciplining myself, so i'll accidentally stay up to liiiike 3 or 4 reading or watching youtube videos or something and not even being tired bc of the circadian brokenness thing, and then just not be able to get up at a normal time anymore bc i'm not a child now  

i had to impose a rule on myself No Art After 12 because if i start i'll just go to like 8 am without even noticing

and, that used to be my productivity strategy actually but then i started noticing that leaning into my broken rhythm started giving me hypomanic episodes so i actively try to avoid staying up all night now

even if it's a struggle

[Wilde]

On 8/21/2019 at 5:26 PM, Chanel_no5 said:

Absolutely! I was about to say "the more the merrier", but it's not exactly a merry situation...  

Well, that's a sleep disorder in itself, I would say. Too much or not enough sleep, it's bad either way. I'm not even supposed to be in sunlight, but I get that seasonal tiredness in the darker months too. Though not so bad it's actually a disorder, more a discomfort. Do you try anything for it? Like light therapy or something? 

Sleep is weird. 

Ah that sucks, sorry to hear you get it too. Especially when going outside and getting some sun isn’t an option. 

I haven’t done light therapy yet because I caught it quite late last year and couldn’t be bothered to seek medical help for the remainder of winter. Also, waiting lists for everything are long in my town and I hate having to justify my (mental) health problems to a bunch of doctors. If it gets really bad this year I will inform about it though.

I did get one of those alarm clocks that lights up slowly to wake you up, which is lovely. The lamp isn’t strong enough to supplement the lack of sunlight or anything, but at least it calmly wakes me up, the light stops me being super disoriented and I feel like I can get up quicker and less annoyed/cranky. Maybe once the days get shorter I’ll supplement with one of those at home daylight lamps. 

I wonder, does a lamp have the same impact as the sun on your body? Because the lamp is supposed to imitate sunlight, I wonder if it’d do the exact same thing.