How to sleep when you're an Aspie?

Post Reply New Topic

I don't have problems with sleep, only when I'm hot, but most people can't sleep properly on really hot, stuffy nights.

I second the melatonin suggestion. However if you are taking other medications I would recommend you check with a doctor to make sure there won't be any weird interactions. Also one suggestion I haven't seen is to turn off the television and computer at least an hour before bed. Studies have shown that the light from the screen stimulates your brain and makes it harder to fall asleep. Perhaps a bedtime ritual that includes relaxation techniques would help.

Melatonin is naturally occurring in healthy people. It's just that we don't make enough.

Even the materials are expensive, but expense isn't my only reason. I want a custom size/design as well.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes Mee 2 a tee. I told my psycologist about it and she had my MD prescribe Klonipin, a time-release benzodiazipam. (Xanax is a benzo). Klonipin (or generic klonazipam) lasts all night and shuts my thinking off as I'm kinda old and get up to pee a lot at night. They are somewhat addicting, so I've since weaned from them and now my dreams are rich. When I get up now, I try to hold the dream so I go right back to sleep and don't have stuff like a verse from a Billy Joel song repeat over and over for 2 hours. I'll still do a benzo when I'm up late and fear i'll have problems getting to sleep. Then I chew up the pill so it'll "kick in" faster and harder

As I said---Yes, Yes, Yes I DO hear my pulse thru my pillow. Can't describe what it sounds like. First time I heard it, I searched around for the source

Same as me.

Same as me aswell, and in addition I memorize as many random(just think of one) cards from a deck that I can.

Mhm..been there...often.

Yupp.

I don't really know. I wish I had a method that would work within 10-20 minutes every time, but sadly I do not.

My problems with insomnia started as a child and worsened as a teen when I was stressed out by the social aspects of school.

This. Be careful trying melatonin. I can't take it, got the two WORST headaches ever in my life the two times I tried it. (I get migraines, so this is no exaggeration. Those two headaches were ten times worse and almost sent me to the emergency room scared I was having a stroke.) I was taking Zoloft at the time to help prevent migraines, so it might have been the combination, I'm not sure, and I don't intend to ever try it again.

For me it's important to turn off the TV and computer well ahead of trying to sleep. Some other aids that help at times:

valerian root
tryptophan or milk
decongestant (a mild one like guaifenesin) because some of my sleep issues are sinus or congestion related

a combination of the above three

turn the TV and computer off early and read or knit until I'm ready to sleep
don't eat too much or too close to bedtime, especially sugars
no caffeine after 2 PM - I also have to limit the total amount during the day
exercise during the day (I really really need to do this more regularly. When I do I sleep almost too much!)
meditation
mantra repetition (I use prayer beads, but you don't have to)
prayer (sometimes cathartic prayer - pouring my heart out in private - really helps if I'm upset and can't sleep, but it can also cause crying and consequent congestion which can interfere with immediate sleep)
visualization of something calming (I have certain images that calm me, such as one of a forest in mist, a hermit's cave, or of myself as an empty glass or vase waiting for sleep to fill me with dreams, something like that)

But there are some nights when none of these things helps. So I read. Poetry can sometimes put me to sleep because of how it mimics the dream state. Something dry and difficult sometimes can. If I read fiction I like or nonfiction that interests me a great deal, though, I'll just stay awake reading for hours.

I also get the pulse through my pillow thing. I usually rest my hand between my temple and the pillow to reduce that. This lifts my ear off the pillow.

I still sometimes can't sleep, and some of the reasons I've noticed are:

1) I'm in the middle of a creative project or a new special interest and I'm feeling inspired or obsessive about it, can't stop thinking and even dreaming during light sleep about it. One solution is to break off that activity earlier in the day and give myself something else less obsessive to focus on for a few hours. Also a notebook by my bed helps, so if I think of something I want to remember to do or have an idea, I can write a note to myself and then forget about it.

2) There's a full moon - honestly this keeps me awake sometimes. What can you do? They only last about three nights. I'm usually kept awake for one night, if it disturbs me, and it's not always the night of the exact full moon.

3) I've watched either a violent movie or disturbing news that evening. During Desert Storm and right after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina I could only watch the coverage in the morning, watching in the evening would wreck my sleep.

4) I'm letting some worry or other obsess me, like paying bills or health issues, relationship issues.

5) There's a TV or people talking in another room. This is rare in my current living situation, though sometimes neighbors have loud parties.

6) Pain from arthritis/fibromyalgia or a migraine - sometimes medicating that helps, sometimes not.

7) Cats playing. As they will sometimes late at night. I sometimes have to separate them for the night.

I've read that it helps to only sleep and do nothing else in bed such as reading, watching TV, or other activities that aren't sleep. But I live in a tiny house so this has never really been possible for me. We watch movies in the bedroom because that's where the TV and dvd player are set up. It's also where I usually read or knit.

Last edited by SpiritBlooms on 03 Jun 2012, 1:22 pm, edited 5 times in total.

I've had this for years, worse recently.

Are there different kinds of melatonin if you buy it OTC?

I wear no pajamas, sleep with a heavy doona, listen to music, use my iPad to scroll throughout tumblr till I fall asleep

I find reading a book for a couple of hours in bed tends to send me off pretty well. If I have nothing to read Im usually tossing and turning for hours while a hundred thoughts run through my head before I can drift off.

I take Trazodone too, but only 10 mg. Any more and i get real groggy in the morning. So as my prescribing psychiatrist said that the dosage depends on the individual and some need a higher dose than others.

melatonin 3 mg-but I'm female and weigh 150 lbs it works within an hour
epsolm salt bath
Warm milk(coconut/rice(we have dairy allergies) with magnesium in it)
GABA or something to calm down the racing thoughts taken with melatonin

As the mother of two autistic kids I find that they and myself are most hyper and unable to sleep when we have yeast issues(we have immune system issues that we can't fight off yeast though so this might not be your problem).

We use a good probiotic and antifungal herbs such as Capryllic Acid, Candex(an enzyme), and Grapefruit seed extract and that helps all three of us a whole lot as does cutting sugar, soda and etc.

I put on a calm Ambient internet radio during the night. It distracts me from all other sounds, it's not disturbing at all and mostly sounds beautiful too.

If you're interested, search for 'Cryosleep' on shoutcast. com (remove the space, can't post URLs yet), you can also download a file there so you can always tune-in using your media player.

First to all of you: stop recommending (or taking) benzodiazepines as a sleeping aid. They disturb normal sleep patterns and more importantly are very addictive to people with anxiety problems. I don't know what country you are from, but in Germany prescribing benzos as a sleeping aid is quasi negligent medical practice. Some doctors with medical knowledge from the 60th still do it though as if it were candy. Lots of people got hooked for a lifetime. Benzodiazepines are nowadays, concerning all applications, a medication of last resort or for emergencies (such as panic attacks or if you didn't sleep for 4 days, epilepsy where any other medication failed), the same way opioides (heroin, morphin, fentanyl) are nowadays only prescribed in emergencies or if all other medication absolutely failed.

Here are less dangerous things that you can try:

1. l-tryptophan: had a very strong effect on me, made me mentally foggy and sleepy (not that usual)
2. showering very hot approx. 1.5-2 hours before sleeping (effect caused by fall in body temperature, which occurs also naturally as part of the 24h cycle)
3. eating 0.6kg meat 3-5 hours before sleep (digestion makes you tired, but no blood sugar fluctuation will wake you up)
4. drinking 0.5L beer 1 hour before sleep (could be addictive, otherwise very healthy to do so)
5. proper headphones (neck pain can occur occasionally, but better than noise imo)
6. putting black tape over every LED in the room
7. sleeping fully clothed with long sleeves
8. completely covering all windows
9. This technique:
Essentially, just force yourself to keep your eyes closed and lay on your left side, then back, then right, then middle, etc. Only change position every 15 minutes or more. If you can't keep track of time, keep in one position until it hurts noticably. During that time, don't count sheep or think of your projects or anything but try to solve things that can exclusively be done mentally, like thinking about your emotional problems or how you reacted in yesterdays social situation or what you are planning to do in one year, etc. It is important that what you are thinking about essentially doesn't require anything from outside your head and it is very good if the content is close to the content of normal dreams. Your goal is not to sleep, but to follow this instructions, don't interrupt it by getting up or going to the toilet too often or giving up too soon. Maybe after 10 such nights without normal sleep you will have trained yourself to stay in bed by force, repeat the instructions until you sleep and thereby maximise the probabilty that you fall asleep. Even if you don't sleep, doing this technique is also somewhat a lesser substitute for sleeping.

eat sensibly,
excercise,
not just before bed though because food and excercise stimulate the system and you will probably need to chill (though not in front of a monitor) for a bit before bed.

i tend to go through periods of insomnia on a regular basis.

i have been having it for the last week.

Ive been to bed 3 times this last week feeling ready to fall asleep on my feet - i get into bed and BAM im awake.


I also hear my pulse on the pillow. its like throbbing in the ears