Insomnia Is Ruining My Life...

Let's just say - it's 2:30 am and I'm not even a bit tired. I have been a severe insomniac for the last 2.5 years of my life. When I was younger, I always had a hard time getting to bed on time, but it never really affected my ability to function during the days, as I was still getting around 5 to 8 hours of sleep at night. Then, my sleep took a huge turn.

After several life traumas in a row, my brain decided it was in "fight or flight" mode all the damn time. And has been for over 2 years now. I have tried over 9 different sleeping medications and nothing has worked. If it did work, it was only short term (3 days or so) and then I was back to my normal non-sleeping self. I am completely functional at zero to 4 hours of sleep at night for about 5 days straight. But after that 5 day mark, I start to get crazy. It's not like I haven't tried anything - I've done it all - from medications, to hypnosis, to counseling, to relaxation tapes, to exercising so hard I thought my legs would fall off - and nothing, body gets tired, but my mind does not.

Insomnia is ruining my life because when I can't sleep, I can't focus in class. I can't remember important things, like test dates. I have missed school and work several times in the past year because of my sleep problems! (not because I need time off to sleep, but because it's been so long that I've slept that I cannot walk or even function!) It's to a ridiculous point, obviously. And it's not like I crash for the next week either to "catch up". I might sleep 7 hours on the 5th night or something, but then after that, it's back to the average of 1 to 4 hours. When I get 5 hours of sleep at night, I am like a new person! It is pure bliss! :) Just think of the things I could do if I got the normal 7 hours of sleep A NIGHT!?! I'd be on top of the world. And that is a small part of my sleep story. Good Night, for some of us. :)

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Kevin: I empathize with your struggles, and thanks for sharing your story. "...body gets tired, but my mind does not." This makes me think that maybe it's an issue of your biological clock (brain area in charge of your body's schedule for releasing sleep-inducing hormones) being a bit off schedule. Something you didn't mention for things you've tried is shifting your biological clock, through bright light therapy for something of the sort. Not sure if it will help you, but it is what comes to my mind. I'm working on articles that will be of relevance to this, but in the meantime maybe give a look to the delayed sleep phase page to see if any of the information there is relatable.

All the best! I hope you do reach on top of the world status with a little more sleep! In the meantime, stay safe, and keep learning. You'll conquer this thing.

Warmly,
Kevin

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