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Kinme
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20 Jun 2012, 6:10 pm

Azereiah wrote:
Kinme wrote:
A tree limb moved in front of my window and scared the heck out of me! LOL!

The best part of the socializing is when I can leave, personally. :p

Do they drain you as much as NT's? I'm curious.


Not nearly as much as NTs, though it's usually one on one conversations with them.
Generally speaking to NTs will exhaust me, especially if I didn't learn anything.

Sometimes there will be exceptions in which I gain information or wisdom, which leave me feeling happier, though still a little tired. Part of the reason I debate with evangelists :P


Sounds awkward, lol. I guess it depends on the person, though.
I usually don't; it's USUALLY them rambling on about the latest gossip or sex.

I can imagine.



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21 Jun 2012, 6:02 am

Kinme wrote:
Chummy wrote:
Kinme wrote:
I'm not sure how long it's been since this kind of thread was posted, so I'm posting one:

Is there anyone else who gets almost no sleep and can function well enough to do fine at work, school, college, etcetera? I still excel in my classes and I get MAYBE four hours of sleep each night. I'm also very restless when I sleep and so I end up feeling like crap when I wake up. I have extreme sensitivity to everything and become overly stimulated, but I can still perform exceptionally when it comes to exams and stuff. I notice I can also focus better, since I can only concentrate on one thing at a time in the morning and early afternoon.

Do you guys feel like any of your abilities are heightened when you get no sleep, or do you have more trouble doing things you're usually good at?


OMG dis is like you read my mind!! !!

I usually sleep 5-6 hours a night (maybe a bit more in the night afterwards) Not only that, but at 3 or 4 am I actually go out for a jog and the streets are EMPTY. Nothing. Best weather, best feeling. I come back sweaty, shower and then I take my 5-6 hours. As I am writing this this I'm kinda tired but can't sleep due to thoughts reccuring in my mind I can't clean my head :\

Dunno if that's due to the pills I take though. Or due to the unberable hot weather. I literally showered like 4 times today and I sweat alot (don't have oversweat problems) - I was walking and going places and being outside today, even after all that I am not in bed yet bah


That sounds so peaceful... I'm paranoid, so I don't walk around at night, but around here is kinda similar. I couldn't sleep last night, either. I feel awful today. My sleep was incredibly broken.

I'd like to take four or five showers a day, but I usually jump into my little brothers' pool to make up for it. :p... Maybe you should count some sheep, or buy a lava lamp! ;D


Haha kewl :)) You have a small pool in the house? that's awesome. In the complex of buildings where I live there is a shared pool in the middle but I don't go there much (only for the gym) because once I swam there and was sick with fever 2 weeks!! probably some stupid 4 year old peed in the water and I swallowed it by mistake lol... I wish I knew like some of those japanese/cheinese ways of relaxing and clearing my head but counting ships doesn't help because my aspie head always wonder elsewhere. I have no control of my thoughts :-\



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21 Jun 2012, 8:25 am

Interesting Thread! I sleep between three and four hours a night. If I am under pressure, I can reduce that to 1 hour of sleep/night over a few weeks. Last week I had an overall of three hours sleep in seven days. I did not sleep for up to five days in a row. It does not stop me from functioning. I don't feel tired. However, I take sleeping pills if I am up that long, because I am afraid of just dropping dead like other people who stayed up too long. It makes me nervous not to sleep over so many days.


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21 Jun 2012, 10:44 am

Kinme wrote:
iggy64 wrote:
Kinme wrote:
]

So, it has to be an exact amount of time, otherwise, it throws your day off?


Yeah, pretty much. I can sleep longer sometimes, but I usually wake up at the time I usually wake up anyway. Sleeping longer doesn't have such a big effect on me as sleeping too little, although I would describe it as noticeable, certainaly for a few hours in the morning.


I always feel like crap if I sleep like 10 or 15 hours. Probably worse than if I only got 2 or 3 hours of sleep. Do you use caffeine to wake up when your day has been thrown off, or something?


I'm not a big caffeine user. I don't like the taste of coffee, and drink tea rarely. I drink fizzy drinks, but they don't seem to have much of an effect on me, nor does tea really. I've never tried energy drinks, they haven't appealed to me when people have offered. I heard some aspies are really sensitive to the effects of caffeine, is that true? I know it isn't in my case.


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21 Jun 2012, 11:17 am

I have had trouble sleeping all my life.Either too much or too little.I am on Lexapro now and it seems to help.But I do best if I go to bed at a regular time.If I don't get around six hours I feel hungover like and I cannot deal with the ordinary B.S. Of this life.Such as talking to people.I can hardly pay attention to my own thoughts.Dealing with people makes me feel like I'm bleeding out.I know it's impolite to not pay attention to them and sometimes people take it personally but if you are drowning and someone tries to cling on you have the right to kick them off.I cannot sleep with the slightest bit of light or if there are background noise such as cars,t.v'.s,radios,talking,snoring,or another person in the bed.Every time they move they wake me up.Then I get mad.I guess the sandman lost my address.Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite.



Kinme
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21 Jun 2012, 1:02 pm

Chummy wrote:
Kinme wrote:
Chummy wrote:
Kinme wrote:
I'm not sure how long it's been since this kind of thread was posted, so I'm posting one:

Is there anyone else who gets almost no sleep and can function well enough to do fine at work, school, college, etcetera? I still excel in my classes and I get MAYBE four hours of sleep each night. I'm also very restless when I sleep and so I end up feeling like crap when I wake up. I have extreme sensitivity to everything and become overly stimulated, but I can still perform exceptionally when it comes to exams and stuff. I notice I can also focus better, since I can only concentrate on one thing at a time in the morning and early afternoon.

Do you guys feel like any of your abilities are heightened when you get no sleep, or do you have more trouble doing things you're usually good at?


OMG dis is like you read my mind!! !!

I usually sleep 5-6 hours a night (maybe a bit more in the night afterwards) Not only that, but at 3 or 4 am I actually go out for a jog and the streets are EMPTY. Nothing. Best weather, best feeling. I come back sweaty, shower and then I take my 5-6 hours. As I am writing this this I'm kinda tired but can't sleep due to thoughts reccuring in my mind I can't clean my head :\

Dunno if that's due to the pills I take though. Or due to the unberable hot weather. I literally showered like 4 times today and I sweat alot (don't have oversweat problems) - I was walking and going places and being outside today, even after all that I am not in bed yet bah


That sounds so peaceful... I'm paranoid, so I don't walk around at night, but around here is kinda similar. I couldn't sleep last night, either. I feel awful today. My sleep was incredibly broken.

I'd like to take four or five showers a day, but I usually jump into my little brothers' pool to make up for it. :p... Maybe you should count some sheep, or buy a lava lamp! ;D


Haha kewl :)) You have a small pool in the house? that's awesome. In the complex of buildings where I live there is a shared pool in the middle but I don't go there much (only for the gym) because once I swam there and was sick with fever 2 weeks!! probably some stupid 4 year old peed in the water and I swallowed it by mistake lol... I wish I knew like some of those japanese/cheinese ways of relaxing and clearing my head but counting ships doesn't help because my aspie head always wonder elsewhere. I have no control of my thoughts :-\


I wish I had a pool in the house. It's outside in our backyard.

EWWWWWWWWWWWW........................ Gross.

Go find a waterfall and meditate underneath it, LOL.



Kinme
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21 Jun 2012, 1:04 pm

little_black_sheep wrote:
Interesting Thread! I sleep between three and four hours a night. If I am under pressure, I can reduce that to 1 hour of sleep/night over a few weeks. Last week I had an overall of three hours sleep in seven days. I did not sleep for up to five days in a row. It does not stop me from functioning. I don't feel tired. However, I take sleeping pills if I am up that long, because I am afraid of just dropping dead like other people who stayed up too long. It makes me nervous not to sleep over so many days.


Thanks. Sounds about right for me, too. More stress=less sleep/restful sleep.
Wow, not tired at all? I don't believe I could function whatsoever if I stayed up for that long. Most I've tried is 3 days and by the third day I was completely dead inside. Nothing changes in your moods or what you're able to do when you stay up for so long...? Are you unaffected?



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21 Jun 2012, 1:06 pm

iggy64 wrote:
Kinme wrote:
iggy64 wrote:
Kinme wrote:
]

So, it has to be an exact amount of time, otherwise, it throws your day off?


Yeah, pretty much. I can sleep longer sometimes, but I usually wake up at the time I usually wake up anyway. Sleeping longer doesn't have such a big effect on me as sleeping too little, although I would describe it as noticeable, certainaly for a few hours in the morning.


I always feel like crap if I sleep like 10 or 15 hours. Probably worse than if I only got 2 or 3 hours of sleep. Do you use caffeine to wake up when your day has been thrown off, or something?


I'm not a big caffeine user. I don't like the taste of coffee, and drink tea rarely. I drink fizzy drinks, but they don't seem to have much of an effect on me, nor does tea really. I've never tried energy drinks, they haven't appealed to me when people have offered. I heard some aspies are really sensitive to the effects of caffeine, is that true? I know it isn't in my case.


Yeah, neither am I. Fruit juice is the way to go, or carbonated fruit juice. ;o... I know I'm very sensitive to caffeine. I was shaking so bad in class one time, since I drank a large frozen mocha. I felt like I was going to vomit and started sweating profusely (and forgot it was caffeinated, since it was so delicious). I can only have so much of it; Mountain Dew is the worst, but it's good too.



Kinme
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21 Jun 2012, 1:11 pm

Misslizard wrote:
I have had trouble sleeping all my life.Either too much or too little.I am on Lexapro now and it seems to help.But I do best if I go to bed at a regular time.If I don't get around six hours I feel hungover like and I cannot deal with the ordinary B.S. Of this life.Such as talking to people.I can hardly pay attention to my own thoughts.Dealing with people makes me feel like I'm bleeding out.I know it's impolite to not pay attention to them and sometimes people take it personally but if you are drowning and someone tries to cling on you have the right to kick them off.I cannot sleep with the slightest bit of light or if there are background noise such as cars,t.v'.s,radios,talking,snoring,or another person in the bed.Every time they move they wake me up.Then I get mad.I guess the sandman lost my address.Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite.


It's amazing to see how many other people have had trouble with sleeping- I always thought I was alone. It's awful, but nice at the same time to relate to you guys.

I don't blame you for that; people can really be draining and take a toll on a person, especially with the people I've met.

NEITHER can I. I COMPLETELY forgot about that point. That's something I've always struggled with. I have a to have a fan on in the background as well as a pillow covering my head and eyes. If there's certain sounds outside, I absolutely cannot sleep. The fan is the best solution for me, personally. Lately, I've been able to sleep because I've been going to bed at about 5am. I can't wake up when that happens.



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21 Jun 2012, 7:02 pm

Kinme wrote:
little_black_sheep wrote:
Interesting Thread! I sleep between three and four hours a night. If I am under pressure, I can reduce that to 1 hour of sleep/night over a few weeks. Last week I had an overall of three hours sleep in seven days. I did not sleep for up to five days in a row. It does not stop me from functioning. I don't feel tired. However, I take sleeping pills if I am up that long, because I am afraid of just dropping dead like other people who stayed up too long. It makes me nervous not to sleep over so many days.


Thanks. Sounds about right for me, too. More stress=less sleep/restful sleep.
Wow, not tired at all? I don't believe I could function whatsoever if I stayed up for that long. Most I've tried is 3 days and by the third day I was completely dead inside. Nothing changes in your moods or what you're able to do when you stay up for so long...? Are you unaffected?


I usually limit the sleep deprivation to shorter periods, too. I can function quite well without sleep with regard to working and writing essays and studying in general, but I do become less tolerant and less willing to act NT. So I guess my mood is affected. I cannot find my commitment to do stupid or uncomfortable things just because NTs expect me to. I also feel more like myself and more inspired.

I did some research and it seems we are not alone. In the journal of autism and developmental disorders there was a paper with the title: Melatonin for Sleep in Children with Autism: A Controlled Trial Examining Dose, Tolerability, and Outcomes. It states that:

"Sleep difficulties, particularly insomnia, occur in 50–80%
of children with autism spectrum disorders (Couturier et al.
2005; Krakowiak et al. 2008; Souders et al. 2009; Goldman
et al. 2011b)"


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Kinme
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21 Jun 2012, 9:48 pm

little_black_sheep wrote:
Kinme wrote:
little_black_sheep wrote:
Interesting Thread! I sleep between three and four hours a night. If I am under pressure, I can reduce that to 1 hour of sleep/night over a few weeks. Last week I had an overall of three hours sleep in seven days. I did not sleep for up to five days in a row. It does not stop me from functioning. I don't feel tired. However, I take sleeping pills if I am up that long, because I am afraid of just dropping dead like other people who stayed up too long. It makes me nervous not to sleep over so many days.


Thanks. Sounds about right for me, too. More stress=less sleep/restful sleep.
Wow, not tired at all? I don't believe I could function whatsoever if I stayed up for that long. Most I've tried is 3 days and by the third day I was completely dead inside. Nothing changes in your moods or what you're able to do when you stay up for so long...? Are you unaffected?


I usually limit the sleep deprivation to shorter periods, too. I can function quite well without sleep with regard to working and writing essays and studying in general, but I do become less tolerant and less willing to act NT. So I guess my mood is affected. I cannot find my commitment to do stupid or uncomfortable things just because NTs expect me to. I also feel more like myself and more inspired.

I did some research and it seems we are not alone. In the journal of autism and developmental disorders there was a paper with the title: Melatonin for Sleep in Children with Autism: A Controlled Trial Examining Dose, Tolerability, and Outcomes. It states that:

"Sleep difficulties, particularly insomnia, occur in 50–80%
of children with autism spectrum disorders (Couturier et al.
2005; Krakowiak et al. 2008; Souders et al. 2009; Goldman
et al. 2011b)"


Aish. Exactly. I know what you mean about that, very much so. I can't even keep my "NT" up enough to function around people I know. I've gotten some people really mad at me, because of my bluntness and random outbursts, all from lack of sleep. I just start to feel loopy, myself, and more fun a lot of the time. Sometimes I have almost no facial expressions or very minimal reactions to things. I guess it depends on the day, haha.

Wow, no kidding. Thanks for sharing that information. Now I feel even less alone.



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21 Jun 2012, 10:08 pm

My sleep patterns are as wonky as all get-out. I suspect I may have Delayed Phase Sleeping Disorder as I cannot get to sleep until sunrise and have always been an extreme night owl since I was a teenager.

Even the medicine my doctor prescribed for me doesn't get me to sleep at a half decent hour. I just end up going to sleep in the morning and waking up 12-15 hours later.


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21 Jun 2012, 10:16 pm

nirrti_rachelle wrote:
My sleep patterns are as wonky as all get-out. I suspect I may have Delayed Phase Sleeping Disorder as I cannot get to sleep until sunrise and have always been an extreme night owl since I was a teenager.

Even the medicine my doctor prescribed for me doesn't get me to sleep at a half decent hour. I just end up going to sleep in the morning and waking up 12-15 hours later.


Wow, you aren't kidding. 12-15 hours? Holy chickens, Batman. Do you feel like crap when you get too much or too little sleep, or have you been relatively unaffected?



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21 Jun 2012, 10:17 pm

I have major sleeping problems (takes from 1.5-3 hours to fall asleep often can't sleep at all). I also get exhausted after social interaction and can't sleep then. Taking Cipralex SSRI) helps me with this somewhat but after a lot of socializing or if I'm really anxious/exited about something in particular I still can’t sleep. Cipralex is the first med that has worked for me....and only if I take it at around 7pm.....if I take it later it doesn’t work in time and the soporific effect will wear off if I take it too early. I have tried many herbal remedies , I've tried melatonin, benzodiazepines, a different SSRI and was on an old anti-psychotic for a week (although I don't have Psychosis) to treat my insomnia........nothing has worked. I've also tried trying to make my schedule more regularly, exercising before 4pm, and even foods that have a soporific effect (honey, milk, lettuce). Nothing has worked although fixing my schedule (getting up at the same time everyday) I've never been able to manage for a very long time and I think this is probably the best thing to do for sleeping problems in general. Cipralex is the best medication I've found for anxiety/ insomnia though.



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21 Jun 2012, 10:25 pm

daydreamer84 wrote:
I have major sleeping problems (takes from 1.5-3 hours to fall asleep often can't sleep at all). I also get exhausted after social interaction and can't sleep then. Taking Cipralex SSRI) helps me with this somewhat but after a lot of socializing or if I'm really anxious/exited about something in particular I still can’t sleep. Cipralex is the first med that has worked for me....and only if I take it at around 7pm.....if I take it later it doesn’t work in time and the soporific effect will wear off if I take it too early. I have tried many herbal remedies , I've tried melatonin, benzodiazepines, a different SSRI and was on an old anti-psychotic for a week (although I don't have Psychosis) to treat my insomnia........nothing has worked. I've also tried trying to make my schedule more regularly, exercising before 4pm, and even foods that have a soporific effect (honey, milk, lettuce). Nothing has worked although fixing my schedule (getting up at the same time everyday) I've never been able to manage for a very long time and I think this is probably the best thing to do for sleeping problems in general. Cipralex is the best medication I've found for anxiety/ insomnia though.


That sounds incredibly frustrating. I'm glad you actually found something that works for you. Does sleeping/getting adequate affect your ability to function, other than with NT's? I think the majority of us have issues socializing, but it seems like our other abilities aren't really affected as much (sometimes enhanced, like my own). Even with the proper amount of sleep, depending on the person, we still have issues socializing, anyway. :p



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21 Jun 2012, 10:56 pm

I can't do anything on no sleep. If I do, I need a lot of caffeine/energy drinks. Ideally, I'd get 10-12 hours sleep every night. I think partially it's because working out/exercising taxes the CNS too much, and I still am "recovering" even after not working out hard/very much. I can do OK with 7-9 hours sleep, but ideally I like 10-13. I slept like 14 hours after not sleeping 24 hours while on vacation (I had to keep myself up in case I had to take over driving for my mom who was sleepy also.) During that all nighter, I was completely miserable, hated the world, could barely function, needed a ton of caffeine and calories to stay awake, and my reaction times and speed of thought (my worst problems thinking) were way slower and I just got emotionally flustered much easier.

If I don't have the distraction of the internet keeping me up, I can literally just go to bed at 7-8PM, probably get to sleep a bit before 9. and wake up bright and early in the morning, usually 7ish, though sometimes later. I really wish I could get my sleep schedule to the point where I can go to bed super early like that and wake up at 5-6AM consistently. Point is, I need a LOT of sleep to function well.