SLEEPING & INSOMNIA | autiehd diaries
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As an autistic person I have no issue with sleep at all, I can get a solid 2 hours sleep each night.
🤣🤣🤣
I don’t have an issue with sleep, sleep has an issue with me.,
I was genuinely reading the comment and was like “oh seems like some autistic people don’t struggle with sleep I guess” but than the punch line made me laugh out loud. Good one lol
Magnesium Calm and GABA-Max, added to hot tea, help me to sleep.
Haha- felt ✋️😩
lmaoo
I’m autistic and I have ADHD. While I don’t have trouble sleeping in general, sometimes my brain doesn’t wanna shut off before bed. I’m always thinking. My brain is always up to something.
Edit: I heard somewhere that this is an autism thing, but I can function on little sleep.
I've started to listen to podcasts. At least my thoughts aren't all over the place and I can focus on something.
At night remove all blue lights as our brains due to evolution are wired to stay awake in daylight aka blue sky's....
ASMR does wonders, if you are into that stuff.
Same thing here lol. I have autism and ADHD, and it's been especially hard for me to fall asleep and stay asleep, with both of my brothers being home from college and doing god-knows-what until the early hours of the morning. I ended up getting a sleeping aid and some earbuds, which work perfectly and helped me to fall asleep and stay asleep faster.
yeah so can i, i have gotten through math test and gotten A- with only 4 hrs of sleep
Can definitely attest to the method of “fighting sleep” being SO much more effective than “trying to sleep.” My sleep has been so-so my whole life, but last year I started to get really terrifying insomnia episodes. Like not being able to sleep for over 48 hours, no matter what I tried. It is so soul-crushing to not be able to do one of the most “human” things you’re “supposed” to be able to do. I had to just grit my teeth and white-knuckle through these really bad episodes, but for my general sleep what helped was changing my prescribed sleep meds, working on my mental health, and disconnecting from major stressors that were making my anxiety so bad. I also heard here and there about the idea that people with ADHD might experience delayed circadian rhythms. So I put it to the test, and discovered that my body will usually be ready to sleep around 11pm - 2am. For me keeping some basic rhythm every day helps, so I always have my alarm set for 9am when I don’t have anything planned earlier, and I always wake up a few minutes before my alarm goes off.. for some reason? Anyway, my heart goes out to anybody struggling with insomnia. I think putting conventional advice to the side (like “read a book before bed”) and running some basic experiments on yourself/your habits (like “what times do I naturally start to feel ready to sleep?”) is a great place to start :)
Omg I wake up right before my alarm all the time too I have no idea why that happens
@@harrietokeefe9658
Do you also notice someone will call or message you right before it happens? 0
Or that someone will ring the door bell right before it happens?
I somehow can feel it all
I think insomnia is more of an ADHD thing. Not saying that autistic people don't have any sleep problems. I'm autistic and it takes me about an hour to fall asleep. I have to sleep in the same position too, and I also have a tiny blanket with silky ends that has to go between my fingers. Sometimes I forget how fast typical people can fall asleep. Like, if I'm in the car with my friends, sometimes they'll just say "I'm gonna take a nap," roll over, then start snoring in two minutes. Like, how is that even possible!?
I have a silkie! (I call that the tiny blanket with silkie ends). I have to pull it through my fingers to fall asleep. It is also a huge stimming for me when I m at home reading. I have literally NEVER heard of anyone else doing this other than me or my brothers when they were younger....this is incredible!
@@linnaem.5542 I appear to have found my people because I also call mine a silky.. but it is all silk and I rub it on my face or between my fingers.
EXACTLY. like unless I'm already super tired it takes me 1-3 hours to fall asleep, which can be quite annoying but oh well ig :)
@@jude2032 whaaaaaatttttt THIS IS AMAZING HI JUDE
@Linnae M. @Jude Wow I've also never heard of anyone else doing it! I love the name silkie too, from now on that's what I'll be calling mine😊
I have ADHD and my sleep is very very similar. It’s always been a struggle I need an audiobook to fall asleep,…because having something to engage my attention (but not too much) is way better than my internal monologue about my inability to sleep.
I also suffer way more from not napping. It doesn’t ruin my sleep…it’s a way that I can get some. And I hate total darkness.
It’s nice to realize that these are not personal failures, but common experiences for neurodiverse people. 😂
Hello, I am autistic and I have generalized anxiety disorder, which makes me wake up with any external noise and my brain starts to overthink and I came here to the video to find tips to sleep well. I think the key is to tell yourself "it doesn't matter if I don't sleep" and you automatically sleep, it has happened to me 🤪.
I'm neurotypical BUT I had pretty bad insomnia when I was younger, like from toddler age to like 16. It would take me 2-3 hours, occasionally more, to fall asleep at night and I always had a 9 or 9:30 bedtime and that was definitely part of the problem. Like you said, staying up until you're more tired - that helped me too when I started staying up later.
As a kid I would act out these movies and stuff in my head so that I wasn't bored or worrying while just laying awake, and I would do that until I felt tired, fight the sleep while laying down, then fall asleep. Nothing worked better than that
But now the way I fall asleep is I get ready for bed and lay in bed or on top of the covers watching videos until I get really tired, then take advantage of the fact that I'm already falling asleep and quickly put my phone away and turn off the light and go to bed while still very tired. It doesn't work every time but it works usually pretty well for me. I know you're not supposed to be staring at a screen before bed but it's proven to be the most effective way for me to fall asleep in a timely manner. And if I have to stay up pretty late to get tired enough then so be it, because even if I put myself to bed earlier I won't get any more sleep than if I stayed up
I do the same thing with my phone at night. It’s nice to hear that someone else does the same thing because everyone always has to let me know how bad it is for you. But i need sleep and it works! And it doesn’t have to be for forever. I have some go to TH-camrs to fall asleep to usually.
I relate to so much of this. As an infant I was a terrible sleep baby. My parents would consider it a lot when I slept half the time that an infant was supposed to sleep. I still don't sleep well or a lot but I found that audiobooks really help or as you said shows that you already know (I usually watch HIMYM or Brooklyn nine nine). Also the idea of "So what if I don't sleep" helped me because I would get anxious about not sleeping which then kept me from falling asleep
Just a little heads up! St. John’s-Wort makes birth control ineffective! I’ve heard of people suggesting it for depression and sleep but just know that you can get pregnant if on birth control and taking this
yep, definetly be carefull about any meds interfering with function of birth control. And when in a slightest doubt, consult an MD.
I totally agree with what you said about ADHD meds, it just feels like you can finally do the things you want or need to.
I'm undiagnosed so I don't have any "official" medications, but at one point they put me on something called Quetiapine. If you want a silent night's sleep, that's the ticket. One small tablet of that stuff could render an elephant unconscious.
@@elennapointer701 i spent 5 years tapering down on quetiapin with heroin-like withdrawal. It was HORRIBLE. It's called baby-heroin for a reason and I just want people to know that doctors DO NOT tell you this anti-psychotic is incredible addictive. It's crazy to me that they still give it to people for sleep. It's an anti psychotic that rearranges your brain. My therapist said it could take years to get "back to normal" after quitting. Beware and don't trust doctors blindly.
@elennapointer701
It's not a magic pill that works for everyone,
no sleep medication ever helped me sleep
Except Propofol- used for anesthesia. (Like Michael Jackson)
Yeah I’ve just got onto prescribed melatonin which for whatever reason doesn’t make me feel more tired but seems to reduce my morning grogginess. I would usually fall asleep at like 2-3am but this week for the first time in years I took my melatonin and fell asleep at 11! Honestly having a somewhat healthy sleep schedule has definitely helped me feel a lot better.
I realised now, in my teen years, that taking 2 hours for you to sleep isn't normal( 2 hours if it was good days and sometimes 3). Like people can fall asleep in an half hour?! What!?
Honestly I think it's completely normal for autistics to suffer from insomnia (or sleep problems) their whole life. And that's just how it is u guess?
wait.... scuse me?
I'm an adult and didn't know this. Waat?
@@SunburntComposer the pure autistic confusion when you realise what you thought was normal really isn't 🤣
@@karoline2622 that's been me so many times over the last couple of years 😅🤣
@@hyperfocus1963 yeah i know, right! It's so weird to discover that the things you thought were normal up until this point in your life really isn't . And like that NT's doesn't feel, think or experience things the way you do 😅
I have been called self-aware by many people especially my therapists and I agree it is a gift and a curse. Insomnia is the worst, I have a different issue with it where I do sleep but it is never good sleep because my brain never fully shuts off. I am glad you decided to discuss this because I feel like insomnia is talked about in passing but never in depth.
Im autistic and getting diagnosed w delayed sleep phase syndrome was seriously the actually most validating thing *ever 😂* i got prescribed melatonin and it worked for about a week, (seriously- it was so weird,) now it just makes me not fall asleep at 3am but i am still waking up at weird tmes? always tried to tell everyone ‘help im sleeping at 2am its actually like lowkey distrupting my life’ because i always was known for having a whack sleep schedule but, i get 8 hours? So its fine. But my family were just like ‘everyone wakes up in the middle of the night, you just need to stop staying up’ but like, *im trying 😂* and its still happening? And it was so frustrating because i was getting so stressed during the day if i could sleep that night, so it was just not sleeping bc i was stressed and then wanting to sleep bc i was tired but not wanting to? My neurologist sent me to a sleep person (litterally not related to my sleep problems, although i was very excited about it 😂) and then he was just like ‘oh yeah you have this’ and i was like *IVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR LITTERAL MONTHS* xD
I’m gonna start binge watching your videos, I agree with the not being human and brain just has to catch-up with me a lot of the time. I been taking medicine for ADHD and autism for a very long time most of my life. Also I have photographic memory too that’s funny how similar you are to me
i love us
I've always had difficulties with sleep. Neurodivergent friends also seem to struggle with it.
Personally, I've found sleepy teas to work pretty well, especially when combined with other supplements and daily exercise.
Also, I'm not sure if this is just a me-thing, but I've always had to have one of those thermal hospital blankets. It's warm, but breathable, and the folds provide this really satisfying texture under your fingertips that is just fantastic for stimming. I've even been known to use them as a pillow, making it conform to my neck, as well as creating a small well I can deposit my ear into. Maximum comfort.
At night remove all blue lights as our brains due to evolution are wired to stay awake in daylight aka blue sky's....
All the population in the world need to understand that not all people was born like everybody else. Like a neurotypical person. I am glad that you Paige spread knowledge about this on your channel....💖💖💖 I am sure, a lot of people like me, have found comfort in your videos. Have felt understood. And by a result of that, have gotten some help that may have been needed, for a really long time. You are making a difference 🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
100%. We’ll said! :)
*well
I literally do multiple things at the same time all the time, like I remember watching tv and youtube and listening to music, while also doing physics at the same time. And the tv is also like often times just running in the background while i do other stuff. For example, i will listen to music while reading. I think concentrating on multiple things helps me focus somehow
I need sound to fall asleep. Lately it’s been podcasts I’ve already listened to with intent, so it doesn’t matter if I miss stuff while using it to fall asleep.
The hyperlexia and reading before bed... yes! Everyone always used to tell me “read before bed so you get tired” and I would always be like “are you insane??” I didn’t even connect those two because it has been a long time since I don’t sleep (I have medicine now lol) and I wasn’t diagnosed yet at that time so this just brought up some memories
Just get someone to type random gibberish or the same chapter or paragraph over and over again and read that. You can't get sucked in to a story if you know what to expect and/or if there isn't a story in the first place.
Sometimes when I can’t sleep I accept it and decide to just rest as much as I can. So like not moving my body not stimulating my brain too much. Like laying in my bed petting my cat listening to music and saying nice things to myself
I've been dealing with this for several decades and I've found that IF I do what my body wants to do - sleep for about 6 hours every 36 hours or so - then I have no problems with sleep. Of course that's problematic if you interact with the world in any way. What I actually end up doing is sleeping nightly until after a couple of nights I just have to stay up for a whole night because I just am not tired at all. Fortunately I don't really get tired when I'm running around (sleepy tired) and I NEVER fall asleep. The only way I can sleep is if I stop and tell myself I'm going to sleep which makes it easier I think.
Same, I'm pretty good at trying to get about 6hrs/ night, but it keeps fluctuating as if days weren't actually 24 hours long. I do seem to sleep in multiples of 3 tho: it's either 0, 3, 6, or 9 hours of sleep. Same goes for naps, I've tried setting alarms and taking shorter naps but if I actually need sleep during the day that's a 3 hour nap
I watch the tv show friends all the time just to go to sleep most of the time and I also got a weighted blanket witch helps sometimes
I have never felt more seen in my life. Still working on a diagnosis of AuDHD at 28, but I feel it in the depths of my being.
my insomnia has been so bad since i was a bebe. it wasnt until i got chronic fatigue that i could FINALLY go to sleep when i wanted to, and sometimes when i didnt want to
I'm Autistic and sleep has always been herculean task for me.
My fiance who is also Autistic, has problems with sleep too. Our minds take forever to wind down.
The sleep advice from neurotypicals is so ineffective, it's annoying. But when I hear sleep advice from Autistics, I find that it's more effective.
One tip I got from another Autistic, is stim when you're craving sensory input.
Just reread the comment you made until you fall asleep.
Autism->demand avoidance, ADHD->multiple racing thoughts. I relate.
I'm really enjoy watching your videos , love all the information you talk about, I always struggled with sleep as well and the harder I tried the harder it was to get to sleep, I got a 20lb weighted blanket and that made all the difference in the world, I now look forward to sleep. Best purchase I ever made on sleep!
I know so many people who are not autistic who need a TV on to fall asleep! But I cannot understand it at all as an autistic adhd person! Its interesting how much we all differ!!
It’s honestly a little eerie how much of what you said is all things I used to and still do
I have Autism and ADHD and so much of this video was me just being like: "Yes, this is 100% my experience with sleep." I have also found that my ADHD medication helps me to relax and fall asleep. I think it is just a matter of how it slows down my thoughts so I don't feel like I'm going a mile a minute. I also find that when I'm struggling to sleep doing something that engages my brain like playing a video game is the fastest way to make myself sleepy. Don't know why it works but it does. I also can't sleep in total darkness either. I always sleep with the TV on for some light. I also identified with how you said that when you are awake you are engaged in like three different things at once because I am very much the same. I often will be watching a TV show and playing a video game and reading articles on my phone and be focused on all three.
At night remove all blue lights as our brains due to evolution are wired to stay awake in daylight aka blue sky's....
@@kylereese4822 I've tried that and personally it hasn't done much for me. I don't doubt the science but I also don't think it is the only thing that works especially considering most studies focus on neurotypical brains.
I’ve also heard about ADHDers who essentially microdose their meds so they get the slowing down effect which gives them room to fall asleep but not the stimulant effect which would counteract that
While Ive yet to be officially diagnosed, the past year or so I've been learning a lot about ADHD, especially since my housemates (my partner and his mom) both ARE diagnosed with it, and things in my life, past and present, make so much more sense, particularly when it comes to sleep. I CANNOT sleep through the night without melatonin. Period. I can become tired and feel the need to sleep without the Mel, but if I didn't take it and I lay down, my eyes can't help but close while my brains like "well time to loop that song you've had stuck in your head all day again" or "ok let's recount all of the worst mistakes/embarrassing situations ever in your life" or "ok let's prepare our to do lists for the next 4 months right now at 2AM". So the whole brain not shutting off thing is 200% real and relatable. Though I'm the opposite when it comes to the light thing; needs to be pitch black otherwise any light source, no matter the size, my brain will hyper-focus on it to the point where I feel like it's blinding me and burning my retina. Like "how can anyone sleep in these conditions?! It's practically high noon with this much light!". But I absolutely need noise, dead silence creeps me out and leads my brain to overwork even more. Glad to hear that youve gotten a handle on your sleep. Its comforting to hear your similar struggles to mine and see you've been able to work at it and find a good balance that allows for better sleep. Peaceful dreamin' ✌️
We are quite similar, but I have about a decade more of living with the maelstrom inside my head. Sleep is still a struggle. It all starts with max dose melatonin, I also take tart cherry. They are both supposed to help with sleep, I can't speak to the accuracy of that claim, but I'm still trying. I create a ritual around getting ready for bed with all the steps laid out before me or I'll forget them despite having done this for years. Feeding my sourdough starter, doing last minute cleanup and prep for the next day, I have 3 children, and checking all the doors. Then, pajamas, teeth brushing, and skincare. Checking the doors. I get into bed with a notebook and pen and write down all my anxious thoughts with the intent of ridding them from my head, this works so-so. Then I meditate for 20 minutes while I allow myself to actively fidget with whatever I have nearby. I often choose the pop-its or a slinky. I found allowing my body to stay in motion helps me calm my mind. Meditation is never a shutdown, just an acknowledgement of my thoughts without judgement. Check the doors. I also vacate my bladder like 4 times intermittently because I'm never sure if have to pee or not, especially at bedtime. I play three different types of white noise and have my husband rub my neck until I fall asleep. I average maybe 6 hours a night outside of the intense insomnia periods. I've also been a chronic napper and yes, just gotta give in to that.
Is this oversharing? I can never tell.
i need a text version of this video to send to anyone in my life who asks me about my sleep honestly.
i'm only 10 minutes in so far because i keep stopping and being taken aback by how close to my sleep situation everything you're saying is. i had similar experiences/needs at the same ages, i tried the exact same things (locations, reading, melatonin, lights off (but i needed them on because visual snow), etc) was at similar points with exercise (swimmer+basketball) and not having caffiene until i was older. now blue v energy drinks are just my safe drink lmao
also forgot to mention: i have adhd and autism, late diagnosed in 2021
I recommend that you reduce the amount of coffee and energy drinks if you want to sleep.
Fellow autiehd here :) I relate so hard to pretty much everything you’re saying. Since I can remember, I’ve needed music to be able to fall asleep (along with a made bed, can’t sleep in an unmade bed), but I recently found ‘sleepcasts’ on headspace and they also work! By the way, when I first started adhd meds, I got so sleepy, just like you. When I told my psychiatrist, they raised the dosage bc they said I was having my come down too early, so maybe talk to your doc? Love you and your channel, you’ve literally changed my life
Oh my goodness, so much of this matched my experience and I had no idea other people struggled with this?? I struggle with sleeping so much but especially as a kid. I remember usually being the last person awake in my house and I hated it because I felt so lonely and scared. Not being able to sleep made me panic, as a kid if my family was still out and about after a certain time (usually 10pm) I would cry and freak out because I should be in bed.
Weirdly I never had problems with sleep. I fall asleep extremely fast, if I don't have an alarm on, I sleep 8-9 hours and I usually don't up during the night. I basically have the perfect sleep, despite having autism, adhd and C-PTSD. I do go to bed quite late, but it's not a problem for me, because I can choose freely when I want to study and work.
Ilysm Paige, hope your day brings you joy!
Your sleep journey is so so similar to mine. Insomnia my whole life until I decided to use my awake time for me time. I always wait until im exhausted to go to bed now and im asleep in less than 5 minutes. So interesting to hear someone else go through the same thing
Oh my god these tips were so helpful! This entire video is like a mirror of myself. I don’t have autism, but I do have adhd, and I can also agree that sleeping is never routine. I really liked these tips and I honestly don’t have any because I am to adhd to actually try anything that might help me.
I have ADHD and was recently diagnosed. I can say for sure that I am struggling with insomnia every single day. For me the tv is a big thing as well. as a kid I would always have my door open with light in the hallway and i always made sure i could hear the tv from the livingroom as well. same as you I would know how long it would take for the tv to turn of and if i hadn’t fallen asleep before that i wouldn't sleep that night. For me its all the thoughts in my head that is making it hard to sleep so when there is noise in the background it helps me refrain from my thoughts and just unconsciously focus on the sound from the tv. When I have explained this to my friends they thought it was weird and if I have a sleepover with my friends I have to bring headphones so I can fall asleep without bothering them.
I know the feeling. I also have ADHD and autism, still confused with my diagnosis to this day. I also have sleep disorders too. I don't take prescription drugs for a good reason and I don't trust doctors for a good reason. I rather listen to you. 🖤
i have non-diagnosed adhd & possibly autism??? but i REALLY struggle with sleep. most nights i lay awake from 10- 7am and then i only start getting tired when the sun starts to rise.. then i sleep literally all day. like i wont wake up until 6-7pm & then repeat. it doesnt matter if i woke up at 9am and stayed up all day i still cant sleep until early morning hours. ive tried taking melatonin ( dont like it bc of weird dreams & it doesn’t work very well for me ), benadryl ( works but i use it so often it doesnt do much anymore ) & then i tried marijuana or d8 cartridges which help to relax me but i stopped smoking because i also have terrible anxiety & while i used to love the feeling now it makes me anxious & my anxiety makes me feel nauseous, foggy, increased heart rate that i can feel & sometimes see beating in my chest etc so now i only use the d8 cartridges a few times a week & make sure im in a good headspace beforehand. if anyone has any other sleep medications or advice for me, pleaseeee comment them. i love sleep so much but it doesnt love me
Usually if I have something to do the next day, I will take melatonin and other sleep supplements to literally put me to sleep, but then I would have trouble getting up in the morning (grade school [preK-12] started at around 7:55-9:30AM where I’m from) or getting up at a certain time (nowadays it’s 8AM - 12PM) I would be so mentally exhausted from the day that I would forget that I had to do it all over again the next day and I would just keep constantly reminding myself that I have things to do the next day or that I have plans the next day and I want to make sure that I’m not wasting daylight hours taking naps. I have accepted this as part of my ASD and I have learned to work with it.
i’m having the hardest time sleeping lately too. i’m autistic & adhd, and i know i’m prone to insomnia. it’s like no matter how hard i try or no matter how early i wake up, i can never fall asleep until the sun is rising. ALSO THE PAIN THING??? SAME BRO. ugh it’s so wild. so glad i’m not the only one dude. also, i’ve been absolutely LOVING this autiehd series. it’s making me feel so much less alone.
❤
I have problems sleeping too, always have and I'm certain that I have ADHD. I've always been annoyed that my friends and family could wake up at a set time and go to bed at a set time while I was constantly tired in the day and only awake at night. It feels like I'm being blamed for by bad sleeping patterns, like it's a personal fault but I can't help it. I fell asleep in school a lot and would nap the second I got home but then I'd stay up until midnight. I really related to you when you were talking about none of the advice working. I'm an avid reader and, yeah, I will finish a book once I start it.
At this point I'm just going in a cycle of having a normal sleep schedule and then watching it slowly slide away as I start feeling tired later and later. I'm thinking of getting professional help at some point but for now this was a big help.It's good to know other people struggle with sleeping.
My thing is that my body is much better at falling asleep than my mind is. That was weird and uncomfortable for a long time. But now I kind of just vibe with it, feeling the body falling asleep and disconnecting and letting my mind just do whatever. It doesn’t work 100% of the time though.
And also yes to sound, my partner has the same show on every night, and I have audiobooks, or well mostly one. So I have both sounds simultaneously.
Yes, I'm autistic and also have always struggled with insomnia. I have not had it as bad as you, but it has been an issue most of my life. What helps me is when I am working all day doing physical labor (zookeeping) after I woke up really early that day for work. It utterly exhausts me, and it's much easier for me to fall asleep quickly after work. However, I still wake up 2+ times every night
I have on problems relating to the point where I feel like I'm asleep but actually falling asleep is difficult. I guess that way even if I don't get any sleep I still get rest.
I can relate completely with this. I would escape my house as a toddler and wonder the streets in the we hours of the morning; and usually ended in waking up my neighbor for cookies...at 3am. He was pretty good about it, and took me home. My parents had to security lock my bed room door. I always had sleep issues and was worse in high school, and i would lay awake thinking of all the relationships in school, or planning school projects, or preparing my mind for the next days events. I still experience this as an adult, and now it is relationships relating to my work and music careers. I recently applied and got a new job, which the whole month long of interview process, i slept on average 2 - 3 hrs a night. I got the job though, but once i got that job notice, I crashed and slept for week straight. I use a Hush Blanket, which is super comfy and helps, plus use a heat pad and fan, with a white noise machine; just to try and regulate a better nights sleep. I used tv or TH-cam science videos with some success, but if my brain in turned on, i will indulge in the videos rather than relax for sleep. I used to get frustrated, but being this is always a present problem, i don't let it bother me too much now a days. Love the videos Paige, thank you for another awesome topic!😁
My boyfriend has ADHD and he just magically falls asleep like nobodies business I dont understand. Meanwhile myself who is autistic, I have to have my blankets covering all parts of my body besides my face, lights off but nightlight on, but also an eye mask, and a fan blowing for the noise.
Gosh, I relate to this so much-especially the bit about you counting the “required” hours of sleep and then worrying about that. I slept on my parents’ floor until I was 13 because it was the only thing that helped me (and even that wasn’t always perfect, I used to pretend to be asleep once my mom came in to go to bed cause I knew she’d be like “why are you still awake?” and I wouldn’t have a good answer, cause it wasn’t that I was even thinking of anything coherent/in particular, I was just... still awake).
For me, sleeping is just like my cat as well! It follows me everywhere I go 24/7 doesn't let me get my atention out of it and is super agiteded
Me: tries to sleep
Also me: You may not rest now, there are monsters nearby
i have had horrible sleep problems my whole life. literally nothing helped as much as i needed it to until i started taking propranolol. seems random but i would always hear my heartbeat super loud when i was trying to sleep and it kept me up for hours every night. now that rarely happens. i love my meds lol
also it may not have been the best idea to watch this right before i try to go to sleep oh no
my son’s autism spectrum disorder was completely reversed with the help of Solution Healing Home channel on TH-cam,, th-cam.com/users/shortsh0YncUMye4c?feature=share
The nap thing. Omg. This video is relatable.
I was diagnosed with CPSTD 6 years ago, I have very similar traits even down to childhood apparently. You’ve helped me work around society so much in the last year, I’ve been able to do so much I haven’t done since I can remember, so thank you💞.
When you said you were ENFP and now INTJ...dude wtf
I am the same, it is supposed to be very close in symptoms. Cptsd disruption of core self is linked somehow...
I have to imagine myself on Doctor Who-esque adventures when I try to sleep, because otherwise, I'll end up thinking up something important enough to write down, and I'll have to turn a light on and get all un-tired...
I have to make myself *too distracted to think* in order to sleep.
I find that weighted blankets and a medication called prazosin helps a lot. Prazosin helps with PTSD nightmares and lowered blood pressure
This is literally the most relatable TH-cam video ever!
Ppl say I'm crazy when I say I can feel pain in my sleep! I've had some fucked dreams and I can def feel it lmao.
"I wanna be stupid" felt that XD
sleep disturbances are definitely an autism thing. over the last 50 years I've developed a whole raft of tricks to make it easier, ranging from breath work, to food & environment, sensory meditations - you name it, I've found some way to use it. And now I find the worst blocker of all - I just don;t *want* to sleep. My body gives all the signals, and my brain is just like: nope, wannado. ARRGH. So yes, I totally feel your struggles.
Oh yeah, the best/worst way to fall asleep: driving. Puts me right out unless I stim pretty hard - and even then, sometimes. I've come to hate driving. If I was wealthy enough to hire a driver...let's just say I'm totally waiting for self-driving cars...
A youtuber called Adam Something has a video about why self driving cars are bad. You may want to check out that video before you come to silly conclusions. The gist is, why not improve public transportation instead?
Macey, mikado & I are loving our new mattress :) birchliving.com/paigelayle to get $400 off your Birch mattress plus two free pillows!
aslo... i just got diagnosed with autism and adhd (OCD too but i already knew that) at the age of 30, and i have always been a night owl and have such routines and OCD behavior and sensory issues around my bed/sleeping,.... it takes me forever to be comfortable in the bed and i need lights too... I now use fairly lights and other lights that use battery so i save electricity bill. haha. but i just feel unsafe and weird when i can't see.... i want adhd meds soooo bad.
Your videos are amazing and I relate to almost all of it. Thank you for posting videos!
I'm awaiting a referral appointment for ASD and ADHD.
I've had sleep paralysis and hypnopompic hallucinations since I was a kid. I was also a bad sleeper as a baby. I wake up all night on and off. And I also don't like complete darkness. I used to sleep with my curtains open or the TV on. Now I have light coloured blinds so my room is kinda light. I always slept with my bedroom door closed. But now I own my own place I sleep with the door open as my hallucinations often lead me to think there is someone here and I end up jumping up looking for them. The door closed would surely make that scarier! 😬
I now have a ticking clock which soothes me. Agreed, if i read before bed I get so alert and I hyperfixate on the story and have to finish the whole thing! 🤦♀️ I don't feel tired til about 2am and, like you, tried everything to feel sleepy earlier. And I always fell asleep easier in noisy social situations. I now fall asleep in nightclubs 🤣😆. It's all a big mess!!
Also you could just be a night owl, there are some people that just sleep less for a few days and then sleep more for a few days. This is why I wonder how the DSM decides insomnia, I think they should calculate it on a weekly average versus a daily average of sleep. For example most adults in a seven day period sleep 3 to 4 hours a night on school days than 10 to 12 hours a night on weekends. I’m sure if you add that all up and calculate it it only equals 2 to 5 hours less of sleep a week. And another thing that I learned about sleep is that to go through a full sleep cycle it’s just 4 hours. so there’s nothing wrong with napping and there’s nothing wrong with not sleeping at night. There are people that literally have to stay awake and all community is to keep the community safe. Sleeping is done in shifts and all cities/towns/communities.
This is such an interesting topic. I think that if we at least hurt within 2 to 5 hour margin a week of the hours were supposed to get it should be fine. Obviously it’s ideal for ppl who are AFAB to get 9 to 10 hours of sleep a day. Our hormonal cycles force us to sleep more, yet our jobs literally don’t let us get 9 to 10 hours of sleep as females. No way in hell could I get that amount asleep when I was developing. They fucked us up so bad with the amount of education they force us to learn in the first 25 years of our lives. If they extended the entire education system and made it a slower longer process and then covered all of our living expenses until we’re in our 30s most people won’t develop insomnia. All of our governments should be covering our expenses because the whole point of a government is to take care of people‘s needs. If we didn’t have to stress about money most of us could sleep. Again nobody needs a government to survive and I think we all forget this. I don’t sleep at night because I enjoy the silence and dark and I feel more comfortable sleeping when the sun is out that’s how simple my sleeping schedule is but people think I’m fucking crazy because I live like I’m doing a night shift even though I work from home. But jokes on them I still end up sleeping 10 hours a day on average even though a few days a month I pull all nighter‘s. I just think that the best thing we can all do is educate ourselves on the human body and personal health as much as we can so that we don’t have to feel guilty about things that involve our body.
36 and still can’t sleep unless I am listening to an audiobook (that I have listened to before, new book = no sleep), having a plushie, and little lights.
When I was little I had a tape cassette player in my room that would play music and stories to help me fall asleep cuz I have always been shit at sleeping, I also had a nightlight until high school 😅 I'm still awful at falling asleep it just doesn't matter as much anymore 'cause I work irregular hours. I have both ADHD and autism as well so it's neat to hear from someone else who's in the same boat as me!
I've struggled with sleep since I was a baby too, I used to have meltdowns as a kid almost every night, and I used to go downstairs to watch infomercials on TV at like 3 in the morning until my dad got up for work...
Then when I was a teenager I used to stay on the Internet all night until about 4/5 in the morning, go to bed and only get about 2/3 hours of sleep before school. I have no idea how I survived lol. Probably no wonder I have so many health issues now I'm older from all the stress. It never used to bother me when I was younger though, I never really cared about school so I just muddled by.
It became a problem when I got older though, especially when I went to university in my mid 20s. But it gave me the opportunity to be a guinea pig in a trial for this company called "Sleepio", and over several months they record your sleep habits and encourage you to actually limit your sleep and then gradually add an extra hour every week or month (can't remember), they had a lot of good tips and stuff that they'd teach you in video format. One of them was actually to try to convince yourself that you don't need/want sleep, like you mentioned, because willing yourself to sleep and getting anxious about it isn't going to help you relax lol.
Anyone can sign up for the sleepio course, but you have to pay for it (unless like me you were in the study). It really did help at the time (even though because my insomnia was so bad I was limited to 4hours sleep a night at first!), but now I'm in burnout, and my "autiehd" symptoms are a lot worse, some of the things that used to work, don't anymore.
My current technique is to just stay up watching TV or reading something until I'm soo sleepy that I can't physically keep my eyes open, THEN go to bed. But sometimes even this doesn't work because as soon as I move from the sofa to bed I'm wide awake again for some reason. If I dont w fall asleep within half hour I get up out of bed so I don't associate the bed with the anxiety of not being able to sleep.
Also I usually need to set up a TH-cam playlist to lull me to sleep 😴. I can't sleep unless it's pitch black but I need the sound of someone's voice to focus on. If I try to sleep in complete silence, my brain just bursts into overdrive and I end up thinking about too many things, which gets me overstimulated and I'm wide awake again!
Hey Paige, thanks for your video. Could you please elaborate on your psychologist's or psychiatrist's hypothesis that if your ADHD meds make you manic it somehow could increase the likelihood of not only a bipolar but also a BDP diagnosis? It makes all the sense about bipolar but... What does mania have to do with BPD?.. Anyways, good that you have neither.
Pretty sure that psychiatrist has no idea what they are talking about. You can get manic symptoms from medications without being bipolar, you would already have manic symptoms if you're bipolar, and if you're trying to tell an autistic person they have borderline you're honestly an idiot and don't recognize what autism is or realize how much borderline has in common with trauma. Might as well say every person with autism who masks is borderline if you think that.
Humans are stupid as fuck most of the time.
So relatable. I have ADHD and before discovering Ambien I could go 3-4 days without sleeping. That feeling when your brain can't switch off... THE WORST
I don't nap because i'm very strict with my sleeping schedule 😂. I remember going to friends and being so confused at them taking a nap! I always go to bed after midnight and wake up at 8:30 am lol. When i have earlier classes, it's ALWAYS a struggle. I'm getting to terms with my autism and thinking about assessments next semester. Anyways. I also don't know if i have adhd, so it might be it
I always say I’m going to take a nap but really I’m just having down time and relaxing my brain because there’s no way I can just sleep despite the fact I need to because it takes at least an hour for me to shut off
The struggle with your sleep schedule is def your autism!
You make me feel safe here. Thank you.
I was so anxious over a zoom meeting that I just stayed up all night . I hate appointments they rob me of sleep.
For as long as I can remember (preschool), I always had trouble falling asleep. It always takes me at least an hour to decompress and eventually fall asleep. It used to stress me out and give me anxiety a lot. I remember as a child looking at the alarm clock and realize that I still wasn't sleeping at 3, 4, 5 in the morning. So not having a visible clock helped me, but also over the years, I gained the realisation that... it's fine if i'm tired, I can get through the day, I can still go to school/work fine. I'll survive.
Things that help now : knowing that I need more than 8h in bed, since I know I won't sleep the first one, so I give myself 9-10 hours. No alarm, I perfer, it I can, waking up naturally. Weighted blanket. Going to bed and waking up at the same hours every day. Get up and taking a melatonin pill if I really can't fall asleep that night.
Edit: Also, reading doesn't help me. On the contrary, it overstimulates my brain and I go the entire night thinking of the plot/characters!
I'm autistic and I have sleep problems on and off... if I'm tired enough I will fall asleep quickly (during the semester I don't have sleeping problems because I am so sleep deprived) but during breaks I often have trouble sleeping. I use a sheet, blanket, comforter, and stuffed animals, which have helped me sleep since I was a kid and still do to this day.
I don't have insomnia but I sometimes do think about how many hours I have left to sleep, and I am a clock watcher. I also find that I get really hot when trying to fall asleep but when I wake up I'm cold. My body wants to stay awake when awake and stay asleep when asleep, so I often go to bed late and wake up really late if I can.
That second paragraph is me right on the nose, wow. One thing I've personally noticed is that the longer I stay up the warmer I get (feels kind of like a computer overclocking itself) and that when I fall asleep and then wake up TOO cold, especially if it's my feet, then I can't get back to sleep no matter how tired I am. Has this happened to you?
I also read something recently about the 'sleepy seed' in the corners of our eyes forming because the human body naturally regulates its temperature down whilst we're sleeping and the meibum that collects in the corner of our eyes is liquid at that higher waking temperature but solidifies at the lower sleeping temperature
I've had difficulties falling asleep for most of my life. The only trick that seems to somewhat work for me is counting my breaths in my head. Breathing in I count one, breathing out I count two and so on until I get to ten and then I start from one again. If I lose count I start over from one again. I think the combination of it requiring some concentration while being extremely boring is what helps me get to sleep.
i have bpd and adhd (along too many other things) and this video felt like you were reading my brain and speaking my exact feelings and thoughts
My body just really doesn't like mornings and the only time I consistently got 8 hours was when I could sleep 3am-11am. Unfortunately, that doesn't work in the real world and now I've just learned to live off of 5-6 hours (or less) of sleep a night. And then sometimes I just can't sleep and am awake for 36-80+ hours then will randomly just shut down, lights on, clothes on, wherever the hell I am and not be able to be woken up for 12-24 hours. I wish the world functioned in a way where I could just do everything at a later time; especially since I'm just not fully functional in mornings anyways.
Ah yes, the great canadian tradition of being sent on a wild goose chase to a pharmacy in a neighbourhood you've never even heard of because Canada Post decided that delivering your package was too inconvenient for them. It's the absolute worse thing ever.
Thank you
😂 I have a neck phone holder as well 😂 along with one in the bathroom 😂
I’m autistic and have suspected ADHD. But i also have BPD and bipolar. So my doctors don’t want me on ADHD meds but at the same time my executive dysfunction is so bad. I hate the unknown so much :(
I can relate to needing sound to fall asleep. If I must try to sleep I will put on a space documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman or Samuel L Jackson. Most nights though I don't even bother laying down till I'm very tired because if I'm only a little tired, then when I lay down I will become wide awake.
im autistic and adhd. i used to have sleeping issues as a kid so my parents gave me melatonin and that worked really well, but i dont need melatonin anymore so i dont take it.
i would always sleep with my hair down (not tied) because it needed to be like flipped up because I could NOT handle it touching any part of my body. but if it was tied up it was too tight so i would just flip it and sleep looking like one of those toy trolls.
I’m gona comment as you ask questions because they feels like a natural way to watch? I’ve been watching TH-cam daily for years now so I think I’m gonna start contributing to the comment section more especially for educational purposes. OK so you asked about insomnia and autism. I think there is 100% a connection and correlation there I have noticed it with everybody that has autism in my family. So what’s interesting about the way that autism is perceived in different cultures and countries is very different from what I’ve noticed in North America. For example in Mexico my entire family received a diagnosis of autism without getting tested because my mother has it and one of my sisters has it. So when one person in Mexico in the family is diagnosed with it the entire family is treated for it. So I’m pretty sure I’ve been diagnosed with it but the language barriers have always been hard for me and I am more fluent in English. And honestly it was very very hard for me to receive treatment in Mexico because I would have panic attacks and get overstimulated as a doctor couldn’t speak English. It was very hard having translators and we did all the testing when I was like three or four. My parents just treated us all for it and they didn’t find it necessary to get us diagnosed when we moved to the USA. But that’s a tangent think that most countries are more autism friendly than anywhere in the North America is from what I noticed. It was way easier to understand life in Mexico even though I couldn’t understand the language.
So I have a technical diagnosis for autism but haven’t received formal treatment or anything in English or the USA. And I personally don’t find it necessary quite yet to get treatment in the US. The doctors are way more bigoted and aggressive here and it’s just too scary if I’m being blatantly honest.
OK I’m definitely going to be giving tangents because I feel like it’s important for studies on autism. And if we understand the differences between how it works in all of the countries I feel like we can better understand our genetic make up a lot more. It’s not treated as a disability in Mexico so it’s very confusing coming here and being treated like a disabled person when life is just not as ableist about “invisible disabilities” in central America. Like moving to an English-speaking country has made stemming and existing so much harder than a Spanish-speaking country.
People are just so much more respectful and Spanish-speaking countries about physical discomfort and pain expression. I know that autism causes me a lot more physical pain than a non-Nuro divergent person and most of my stunning is pain response related versus comfort response related?
Does this help anybody else in this comment section who is coming from a multi language and multicultural household? My parents are Mormon polygamist Mexicans. My mom is a mostly normal person, her parents were polygamist but it looked like a strict Catholic house culturally. My moms side is college graduates and doctors, my Dads side is crime, blue collar and Ranching. So my childhood is more relatable to Minona, private Catholic school, nobility, mafia and Amish vibes.
I’m just realizing that my childhood was nothing close to average or normal more I learn about the outside world all of this is so shocking.
i have sucha a horrible sleep schedule... i will stay up alllll night until 6am and get ready for school and then fall asleep when i get home until like 7pm
I always sleep with a familiar youtube playlist/sleep aid compilation on in the background 😂 I require ambient friend noises
I have adhd but I think I might be autistic too and you just helped me make sense of my sensory issues w my hair, clothes, and makeup! For sleep, I def struggle but I heard from somewhere if you can’t fall asleep, don’t try bc trying is going to make it harder. So now if it’s one of those nights, I get up, eat a snack, potty, waste a lot of time being slow about it, and lay back down and sometimes it helps. I also use a lot of those sleep videos on TH-cam. I think this one that has a mermaid on it and some ocean sounds. I fall asleep thinking about being a mermaid in the deep ocean looking at all the cool fish and seascape. That helps when I have too many thoughts-to keep bringing my focus back to the sounds and the image of mermaid- me.
i've been advised i shouldn't sleep with the TV on but i can't i hear everything too much and end up staying awake, so the TV helps, i have to have a lamp on, i am terrified of the dark and always have been, although i slept well when i was younger when i got to my teens i was like sleep what's that and it's got worse, struggling to get help with it.
I also just nap whenever I'm like stressed or not understanding something, I did it today, I was in my engineering class and there was this assignment that was stressing me out, and I almost put my head down to sleep but I asked to take a walk and I hid from class to take a break instead lmao, and in science I almost fell asleep doing my test because I wasn't understanding what I was reading very well, so my brain was like "you sleep now" luckily I pulled through and finished the test hahaha, I also do this half asleep half listening thing, where I'll put my head down and shut my eye's but I'll listen to every word my teacher says, they don't like it because they think I'm not paying attention and sleeping, but I find it's helpful to be in class and catch up on sleep by napping and listening at the same time, idrk how I do it
I have ADHD and self-diagnosed autistic. I had the worst insomnia as a child. It's gotten better; though, recently having more issues again. Some of the things that I have found helpful are lighting some incense, coming up with my own stories to fall asleep to, playing sudoku on my phone (keeps my brain busy enough to not wander but not too active enough to keep me awake), and rain sounds/pink noise has also been really helpful. I also have a face mask on the way to try because I notice I try to close my eyes really hard to fall asleep. I also dislike the pitch black, but the lights through my eyelids are too much when I'm trying to fall asleep sometimes
Fellow autiehd here 😂 The only way I switch my brain off is visualising really abstract and exciting situations like going to the fair with people I love spending time with and doing stuff like riding the merry go round, works almost every time and there’s no pressure to sleep because im just imagining fun stuff until my subconscious takes over.
I got a tv in my room when I was 10 because I can’t sleep otherwise. Now I use my phone to watch TH-cam videos. I also am the same with naps. If I’m tired and I don’t have to do something at a certain time I will lay down and have a nap. This is also because I don’t know how much sleep I will get that night whether I have a nap or not and so that ensures that I get at least some sleep
When I talk really fast like you do in this video, it's an indicator my mood is elevated with bipolar disorder. Also less sleep.
the insomnia is a common ADHD thing. the ADHD brain is kind of a jerk and decides not to spin down for whatever reason, presumably because you told it to turn off, so it's staying on out of spite 👿
but yes, as someone with ADHD, I frequently find myself staring at a wall for like 4 hours before I can drift off without some sort of assistance, be that in pill form, a podcast w/fan noise.
I have ADHD and idiopathic hypersomnia so I sleep at least 8 hours straight without waking up and go to sleep instantly. BUT I wake up excruciatingly tired and have since I was 13. I do have random nights where I can't sleep at all and I end up feeling fine but only when I just accept it and make a night of it. But like the quality of my sleep is so bad that I can get none and feel more rested like wtf. Granted that doesn't happen often. I take Ritalin for both my sleeping disorder and ADHD and have found a balance that helps both. Not perfect for sure, I still need naps sometimes but it has helped. I had to be off of my meds for two weeks in college because of some weird insurance thing and it was horrendous.