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Methods to deal with sleep disorder
Prescription medication 21%  21%  [ 8 ]
Medication or supplements 15%  15%  [ 6 ]
Physical arrangements 18%  18%  [ 7 ]
Physical activity/exercise 13%  13%  [ 5 ]
None 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Other 28%  28%  [ 11 ]
I don't have a sleep disorder 5%  5%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 39

Silence23
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20 Jan 2023, 9:51 am

Getting proper sleep is very important for your mental wellbeing.

I've had trouble sleeping since I was a teenager. I guess this could be quite common among autists.

Share methods which improved your sleep quality and time to fall asleep.



Last edited by Silence23 on 20 Jan 2023, 9:56 am, edited 3 times in total.

Silence23
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20 Jan 2023, 9:52 am

I do various things to improve sleep quality. I bought a thick black curtain which filters out some of the noise coming from outside, and the street lights coming through the shutter.

There is a 5cm thick memory foam mattress on top of the (very hard) mattress on my bed which adapts to my body shape.

I use blankets made out of a material which reduces humidity under the blanket (e.g. Tencell/Lyocell), while at the same time keeping my body at a proper temperature (not too warm, not too cold).

I use a nasal dilator to make breathing through the nose easier in every sleep position.

Melatonin can significantly increase sleep quality, though it does not significantly reduce time to fall asleep or prevents waking up frequently.

I also had a Agomelatine prescription, which basically has the same effects as Melatonin.

Right now I'm using Trimipramine, because it's temporarily necessary. But it's not just a sleep aid but an old antidepressant too.

I don't drink much liquid 2-4 hours before I go to sleep, so I don't need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.

I often eat a natural yoghurt or some other form of easy digestable protein in the late evening so I won't get hungry while I sleep.

Cannabinoids help me falling asleep faster and sleep through without waking up too often. They are my go-to sleep aid. I don't take them during the day.

Zopiclon is the most efficient, but it causes dependency and may have negative effects on my cognitive capabilities, so I only use it as emergency medication.

I also found that when I wake up in the middle of the night and ruminations pester me, it helps to do a very simple form of meditation, by focusing on slowly breathing in and out. Though sometimes that doesn't work and I need to throw a half pill of Zopiclon at my brain.

Windows are open during the day and closed when I go to sleep. So I have fresh air inside the bedroom

No smartphones or other things which emit light or noise in my bedroom (except the annoying smoke detector, which sometimes needs to blink to detect smoke, have to do that for insurance reasons)

I built my own alarm clock, which automatically turns off the display a few minutes after I closed the bedroom door in the night, and turns it on again at 7am. Bonus: It stops the bad habit of looking at the clock when I wake up in the middle of the night



Last edited by Silence23 on 20 Jan 2023, 10:18 am, edited 9 times in total.

IsabellaLinton
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20 Jan 2023, 9:57 am

Prescription meds:
One sedative and one pill that stops PTSD nightmares (nightly)

Supplements:
Magnesium and NAC

Other:
20 lb weighted blanket
About six blindfolds at the same time (some fall off)
35 db foam earplugs
Custom-made nightguard for tooth grinding
Very specific types of bedding
Six or seven pillows strategically placed
Dog on my legs
No partner in bed
Pitch dark room (blackout curtains)
No digital clocks or lights
No music or noise
Phone shut off
Bedroom door shut and / or locked
Glass of water nearby
Don't even try sleeping until 5 am when it's dark


I'm supposed to use a CPAP but it was too much with the blindfolds, earplugs and mouth guard.



jimmy m
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20 Jan 2023, 11:05 am

I have found that sleep is really important. I track my sleep cycles each night using a FITBIT combined with a smartphone. The deepest parts of sleep (REM and NREM) are the important parts and I generally have around 1 hour of each type per night.

Around 50 years ago, I worked around 80 hours per week. I worked swing and graveyard shift. I did this for a year. In order to get my sleep, I rented a hotel room that had special features. In a way this is what you need for the room you sleep in.
The floor, ceiling and walls of that sleep room need extra insulation to keep out any noise. The windows need thick window shades that prevent ANY light from entering the room.

You have to seal off both light and noise.

I have slept in a waterbed for the past 50 years. They provide optimal warmth and comfort to my body at night.

I also moved into the countryside. So it minimizes outside noise. It is very peaceful. My nearest neighbor is around 1/2 mile from my home.


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Dengashinobi
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20 Jan 2023, 11:11 am

I deam of owning such a property.



IsabellaLinton
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20 Jan 2023, 11:14 am

OMG I loved my motionless waterbed.
I had one for about ten years as a teenager.

Oh wow. Now you've got me thinking.



Edna3362
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20 Jan 2023, 11:31 am

I don't have a diagnosable sleep disorder. Only that I know I have sleep issues.
Can't afford a check up, don't have a correct lab nearby.

The only method I know, other than the usual sleep routines (sleep and wake at same time of day, less screen time, etc., Which I couldn't maintain yet) and tools (in which melatonin gives me jet lags, yet to try and many yet to afford aides, supplements and trackers) was to fast 12-15 hours, then eat plenty at the particular time I want to wake up and dip into something cold to ensure that...

It's less of a sleep aide with nothing to do with sleep quality, and more of tricking your body clock so it's just easier to wake up at a particular time.

Because I couldn't afford a lot of tools and not enough discipline or commitment to do any other methods consistently yet.

I only have my own room only for about a year now. And I cannot help at the back of my mind that I'd lose all of this privacy and progress by the end of the year because my sister would return from abroad and possibly retain the room.

Still in this scarce mindset where one would be alert and awake as long as possible, consume time and investment with it as much as possible... To 'enjoy' it 'as much as possible'.
Just to get out of something with it as much as possible. It's just this subtle anxiety like insecurity due to living and experiencing too much of lack and not haves.


And very recently, watching humidity levels.
I live in the tropics, in an archipelago country where it's usually humid and in several months a year rainy.
It affects my breathing which was the reason why my nose chronically acts up every whole night for years and every time I wake up from any other sleep unless I was 'lucky'.

On top of that, I'm still figuring out my low blood pressure and intolerance to cold, my hormonal cycles and sensitivities, sensory issues and stress levels that I've been ignoring my whole life...


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jimmy m
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21 Jan 2023, 9:09 am

IsabellaLinton wrote:
OMG I loved my motionless waterbed.
I had one for about ten years as a teenager.

Oh wow. Now you've got me thinking.


I have been married for almost 50 years. When I married my wife I took her on a Honeymoon for a week and we traveled. One of the places that we stayed in had a waterbed. My wife was sold on it after sleeping in one for one night. So I bought one and we have been sleeping on a waterbed ever since. They still sell them but they are not as common as in the old days.

When our grandchildren visit, that is the first place they head for is the waterbed. They jump on it and hide in it and all role around in it.

In a way it originated as a fad and then grew into a way of life for us.

One of the primary reasons why I think these beds are not as common as when I was growing up is because of the weight. A King size waterbed mattress requires only about 235 gallons of water, a Queen size waterbed mattress about 196 gallons. A King size can weigh up to 2000. pounds. All floors built to minimum building codes will support the weight of a waterbed.
Having said this, I suspect many homes and apartments are built to minimal standards and the weight might be an issue.

But in my opinion, if your dwelling can support a waterbed, that is the only way to get a really, really good nights sleep.


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jimmy m
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21 Jan 2023, 9:31 am

Dengashinobi wrote:
I deam of owning such a property.


In the U.S., property is a lot cheaper in the countryside than in the city. Much, much cheaper. The main problem is finding a place to work that allows you to live in the country and still make a decent living.

I bought my land (35 acres) around 45 years ago, it cost me around $13K. I built my own home. My wife and I did 90 percent of the labor. Now prices have gone up over the years, but land in the countryside is still generally much cheaper than in the large cities.


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21 Jan 2023, 10:05 am

Trazadone. I highly recommend it.



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21 Jan 2023, 11:46 am

well exceptionally high doses of melatonin on top of the Tyrptophan i take . Until my sleep stabilized then backed off
tremendously on the melatonin.


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21 Jan 2023, 12:22 pm

Exercise makes the biggest difference for me. I usually sleep ok if I exercise but if not I'll be up most of the night unless I'm very sick or sleep deprived. My sleep also improved when I started using blue light filters on my laptop, phone, and kindle.



offa1996
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21 Jan 2023, 11:21 pm

I find thinking techniques, combined time management (going to bed when it pleases you), and having sensory objects nearby helps.

I sleep with an Icelandic sheepskin underneath my pillows. It has helped, loads.

Also, the noise of a fan or a source of cold helps me sleep better. And using one pillow atop my head, the other under, when I lay on my side.

I am very particular.



IsabellaLinton
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21 Jan 2023, 11:48 pm

jimmy m wrote:
IsabellaLinton wrote:
OMG I loved my motionless waterbed.
I had one for about ten years as a teenager.

Oh wow. Now you've got me thinking.


I have been married for almost 50 years. When I married my wife I took her on a Honeymoon for a week and we traveled. One of the places that we stayed in had a waterbed. My wife was sold on it after sleeping in one for one night. So I bought one and we have been sleeping on a waterbed ever since. They still sell them but they are not as common as in the old days.

When our grandchildren visit, that is the first place they head for is the waterbed. They jump on it and hide in it and all role around in it.

In a way it originated as a fad and then grew into a way of life for us.

One of the primary reasons why I think these beds are not as common as when I was growing up is because of the weight. A King size waterbed mattress requires only about 235 gallons of water, a Queen size waterbed mattress about 196 gallons. A King size can weigh up to 2000. pounds. All floors built to minimum building codes will support the weight of a waterbed.
Having said this, I suspect many homes and apartments are built to minimal standards and the weight might be an issue.

But in my opinion, if your dwelling can support a waterbed, that is the only way to get a really, really good nights sleep.


I actually brought my waterbed to this house years ago.
It was in the guest room for some reason?
I had forgotten all about that.
At least I know the floors can hold it.

I'm pretty sure it sprung a leak finally, and I didn't bother replacing it.
Looking back I wonder what made my parents buy it for me in the first place?
I must have shown some kind of sensory problem back then.
Now I'm curious to know.

I sleep on my belly and get a lot of hip pain from hitting a normal mattress.
The heat adjustment would be great too, because my bedroom is notoriously freezing (bad windows).
I can't believe I forgot all about waterbeds.

My only concern is whether my cats and dog might puncture it.
I had a cat with the old waterbed though ...
Mind you, it popped a leak. 8)



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22 Jan 2023, 6:26 am

thank you for starting this post. getting proper sleep is a constant struggle. it doesn't help the time change is coming up soon. i do sleep with a noise maker, but if the filter gets dusty it starts to make a whirring noise that wakes me so that's not the best solution but otherwise i'll hear all the other billions of noises...



Shadweller
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22 Jan 2023, 7:01 am

I have lots of problems with sleep and lots of solutions. Some of my solutions are:

Medications, supplements, and alcohol - Mirtazapine (now starting to fail after several years of good service for sleep)
Valerian, CBD capsules, Benzodiazepines, whisky!

I have now got to the stage of using all of the above together, so this is quite desperately bad I would say.

Sleeping in whichever bedroom is the quietest. The front of my house is on a fairly quiet residential street, but every time a car or person goes past it wakes me up just as I was about to nod off. So I've moved to the back bedroom which is a lot quieter in general.

If the neighbours are making any audible noise at all when I'm trying to sleep, I play white noise videos on you tube at a loud enough volume to drown out most noise.

I like a cool to cold bedroom and never heat it even in the freezing spells of winter, preferring to layer up with thermals, heavy tog duvets, and as many blankets as is necessary.

Having a regular get up time and bedtime. This is easier during Monday to Friday week where getting up early is imposed on me by having to get to work. I tend to sleep in an hour or 2 longer at weekends, but I probably need the catch up sleep.

Listening to audio books with in ear buds which allows me to comfortably rest my head on a pillow. The narrator must have a steady tone, and not be overly animated or have huge variances in the volume of their voice. Using this along with all of the above allows me to help switch of my mind by listening to the audiobook, and I usually fall asleep within 5-10 minutes.

Without the audio books my thoughts keep me awake and I cannot get to sleep.