I keep wanting to sleep, and is causing problems

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Joe90
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02 May 2015, 12:54 pm

When I've been at work all day I feel very drowsy when I get home, and I can't do anything until I've had a nap. But lately my naps have been lasting 1 and a half to 3 hours. I wake up still feeling tired but I perk up quickly and then feel motivated.
Or if I get up early on a day off, I start coming over very drowsy by 10 or 11 o'clock the same morning, and my eyes begin to feel heavy and I get an urge to sleep again. I have tried going out the house, taking a walk to the supermarket, getting some fresh air, but I'm like a zombie walking around and I feel twice as drowsy when I get in again.
I feel like this in the day no matter what time I go to bed the night before. I'm usually a good sleeper at night and have no trouble with sleep. But lately I'm having trouble sleeping at night because of sleeping too much during the day. I do enjoy sleeping and I just want to sleep forever.
I don't drink coffee because I don't like it, and caffeine doesn't seem to affect me anyway.
So to get myself to sleep well at night after 2-4 hours of sleep altogether during the day, I've began taking a tablet (not every night) for travel sickness, because they make me really drowsy, and so I'm taking advantage of the side effects so that by the time I get into bed I feel really relaxed and drowsy. It works, but I'm not sure if it's safe to do that or not.

I'm not depressed, but I do have anxiety issues, and also I'm stuck in a boring job that makes me feel so bored. Perhaps this is what's making me tired, or depressed in some way?

What should I do here? Should I talk to a doctor? I was thinking of looking for night work like stacking shelves in a supermarket, because for some reason I seem to love sleeping in the day. My body temperature drops in the day too, and I can always sleep better when I'm cold.


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dianthus
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02 May 2015, 2:02 pm

I have the same problems, but it's not recent for me, I've been dealing with this for years. However it gets much worse when I'm under emotional stress, and/or wanting to avoid whatever I have to do during the day (ie, work).

What you said about body temperature, I can really relate to. I need to be cold to sleep well. I get hot at night when I'm sleeping, especially around 3-4 am, but then around 7-8 am (the time I'm supposed to get up) I feel cooler and more able to sleep.

I get bored in my job too, because it's very repetitive, but it can also be very stressful. Some mornings when I wake up I just have an intense dread of it to the point where it feels easier to just to go back to sleep. I have co-workers who deal with this as well, so I know it's not just me, it's the job.

I question how much the job stress is affecting me physically and causing more sleep problems, or vice versa are my sleep problems just making the job more stressful. I think it's a little of both. But mostly I think the job taxes my executive functioning capabilities to the point that I just feel mentally burned out all the time, and the only thing that really helps that is sleep.

When I had a cash office job, starting at 8 am every day, it was much easier for me to sleep at night and get up in the morning because I didn't dread going to work. It's weird because I had to deal with a LOT of social drama in that job, but my actual job duties were not stressful.

I am the kind of person, whatever is going on in my life, I like to be able to just focus on work and be absorbed in it to the point that I can shut everything else out. If I'm unable to do that in my job, the only other means of escape for me is sleep.

Joe have you thought about taking some classes, maybe learning a trade or getting certified for some type of work you might enjoy more?



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02 May 2015, 3:18 pm

I think it's highly likely that you are just used to feeling bored and have developed a habit of feeling sleepy because of that. If you change your lifestyle, it may go away.

It's a good idea to see a doctor about it, just in case there's something wrong physically. Anemia from a serious illness (happened to my acquaintance), a lack of certain vitamins etc might be causing it.

When I'm free, I tend to be sleepy most of the time. I just keep eating to distract myself from boredom and sleepiness. When I get to work, I become very alert and don't feel sleepy at all. In my case it's mostly psychological. It might be the case for you, too.



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02 May 2015, 4:22 pm

It's common for people with ADHD to feel sleepy when bored. It's kind of like the brain really can't wake itself up fully without some external stimulus.



cavernio
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02 May 2015, 7:17 pm

I relate quite well to nearly everything said in this thread. I unfortunately also have some other medical issues (well, besides whatever the frack is going on with me mentally), and they tie into it. About every single medical condition under the sun causes fatigue, worth going to a dr.


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kanashimoo
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03 May 2015, 5:51 am

Oh dear, I have the same issue :/

The only way I can deal with it is that my ADHD meds take care of it as a side effect (they are stimulants). But ADHD meds are generally really bad for your health, especially if you don't need them..

I actually have a well paying, interesting job as well.

Exercise/working out helps but isn't a silver bullet or foolproof.

In addition, if I sleep longer than ~18 minutes I will feel more tired afterwards. Probably something about deep sleep or REM or whatever that I'm too tired to look up cause its about 4 AM now and I have seriously weird sleep cycles. I'm definitely a nightie.


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Joe90
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04 May 2015, 2:25 am

Thanks for the replies.

I've figured this problem boils down to stress with me. I have stuff going round in my head, and I think feeling sleepy is a natural way to escape. Even though I sometimes have vivid dreams that are very stressful, at least they aren't real, although I think they are whilst I'm dreaming them. But the thought of having a nap makes me feel relaxed, and I then look forward to doing it.

I might have a look around to see if I can find some sleeping pills, just a mild dose, so that I can feel drowsy when it's time for bed, and it wouldn't matter how much sleep I have in the day then.


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