SLEEP PROBLEMS FOR PEOPLE WITH ASD

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Do other people here with aspergers/HFA/ASD/whatever have a lot of trouble sleeping sometimes? If yes, why? I'm just trying to figure out WHY I find it so hard to sleep sometimes. I cut sugar and caffeine out hours before bed time, I stop playing video games hours before bed, I don't eat anything that will keep me awake, yet some nights I get a lot of anxiety build up and my thoughts dont stop repeating and I get forced to see images over and over again, it drives me up the wall and it get so much worse when I know I have to break my routine or do something new the next day. It's killing me not being able to deal with this. I have to take Valium pills on nights I know I need to be somewhere important the next day (like school or a job) because then I'll only get 1 or 2 hours of sleep at the most and even with two Valiums sometimes I still struggle to fall alseep, in fact one night I did take two and I didn't get any sleep AT ALL.

I've struggled with chronic insomnia for years, did a sleep study, saw a sleep therapist, and a neurologist. I'm just too sensitive to my environment, and my brain is too active.

Going to bed at the same time every day, and getting up at the same time regardless of how much sleep you get is the best thing. Out of all the things I've tried, it works best. Melatonin helps, too. And some herbal teas.

Avoiding artificial light from computers, tvs, phones, tablets, etc is important, because the type of light emitted from these devices will keep the mind active, fooling the brain into thinking you should be awake. So they should be avoided a couple hours before bed. But you are doing that already.

You'll probably have psychophysiological insomnia, like me. Your anxiety, active mind, and worrying about sleep keep you awake.

I'm still terrible with it though, I have trouble following the rules. And sometimes I'm awake for days.

Just wanted to add a bit more detail. Some times it will be so severe I'll have a complete meltdown. I'll start pacing around the house for ages, feeling completely insane, I'll start stimming like crazy and even break down in tears and scream. Yes a 23 year old man and that's what it reduces me to. I just wish I could sleep properly like everyone else, it's especially hard for me because it's screwed me out of jobs and school before. It's so damn disappointing.

Yes, maybe I should cut the computer out before bed but it's also a part of my routine to be on the internet for a while before bed every night, I just wont feel right until I do what needs to be done. It has to be a certain way, just like for many many years since I was a kid I cannot stand playing video games when it gets dark outside. I dont know why!

I feel the same way. I've felt like I was going crazy at times.Very stressful.

Perhaps you could introduce a new routine to replace the internet?

I've tried replacing it with listening to music, ASMR videos or just any random relaxing sounds, nature, voices, etc... It's a work in progress.

I have had chronic insomnia battles, and did even as a child. Although as a child, it seemed to bother my mother more than it bothered me.

I will take an Ambien at bedtime if I have to work the next day, but not before a weekend or holiday.

OP, you should not allow yourself to get vexed during your sleep times, you are creating a conditioned response of anxiety to occur during sleep time. Get up and do something outside the bedroom, and return to bed when sleepy. I have heard several doctors and read several sources say this.

I sleep with the TV on ... it's a defense against hearing my partner's CPAP machine, which bothers me.

One thing you didn't mention is exercise. It's beneficial to get some exercise several times a week. I find water exercise, especially, to induce a good kind of sleepiness later on in the day.

This topic is very familiar.

Here is what I do. I came up with this regime and started using it a few years ago after realising I am an Aspie, once I understood the connection to my sleep problems:

1. Always wear eye coverings, because I know I won't be able to sleep if there is even the tiniest amount of light.
2. Try to get at least one hour of vigorous exercise per day, because otherwise I won't be able to relax at all, and I will have a really hard time falling asleep.
3. Whenever I am not in a very quiet environment, or when the birds are starting to wake up in the morning ..., I put in tight fitting, noise reducing earphones, because otherwise the sounds are guaranteed to keep me awake.
4. If I notice I am not falling asleep, I'll play a familiar calming piece of music via the earphones, at the lowest level of volume, barely audible. This assists blocking out sounds, and because this is music that I've played many thousands of times by now, it creates a sense of familiarity and relaxation that reduces the unavoidable anxiety that I have, especially when traveling, staying in hotels, and knowing I have a day of meetings ahead of me, which will drain my social batteries to absolute zero.

Each one of these four measures is absolutely essential. If one is missing, say not enough exercise, or if I forget to switch on the music, I will only get less than four hours of sleep, and the next day will be miserable.

The only reason I don't immediately use music every night is that I have noticed the effect is better if used as an additional measure, only if I really can't sleep or realise that I am anxious, for example when traveling. If you don't already have a favourite familiar piece of music, to get started, play the music a few hundred times during the day. Otherwise it might take a week for the music to have the desired familiar effect, and in the mean time it might keep you from sleeping ...

Try mindfulness, I find doing a meditation before sleep helps slow down and silence my racing thoughts. I play sleep music every night, I find this really helps drown out any other sounds or thoughts, because I can only focus on one thing at a time, and the music seems to drown everything else out. I usually fall asleep by fantasizing about my special interest(lego) which helps relax me and start the dreaming process. I still struggle a lot with temperature and tactile sensory issues. I have a heated blanket in the winter to help control the temperature and a window AC unit that I use every night for the rest of the year. I sleep with 7-9 blankets all year round because I feel the weight of the blankets really calms me and helps me sleep.

It's a common subject.
I'm nocturnal / have circadian sleep disorder and an insomniac. I'm currently on to types of sleep medications for this, and though I dislike intensely taking medications, I know that when I don't I'm wide open to starting to drink again just to get some sleep, which I am even more unwilling to do. I wish there was a definitive answer.
I also noted the correlation between sleep quality and emotional state. Which sucks for an alexithymic, because you have no clue about what these emotional states keeping you up might be.
I'm not sold on this computer-related light, either. I used to live in a rural area as a child and used to read a book with a wick lamp at night. No computers, no artificial light, no electricity. And I was still an insomniac.
I find focusing the mind on actively building a dreamworld helpful, as I've stated in one of these topics before. It stops the mind racing out of control, and as an enjoyable activity, I assume it affects whatever negative emotional states are going on.

Worth trying: take a cotton ball, put 5 drops of lavender essential oil and 3 drops of German chamomile essential on it, and place this under your pillow. Refresh after a few days when the smell has started to wear off.

Many people swear by it.

For most of my life, I had difficulties falling asleep when the room wasn't completely dark and quiet, but this changed after I got a new job which was a lot less stressful and a lot less anxiety inducing than my previous job. In the past I was able to minimize my sleep problems by eliminating light and noise from the room, and going to bed at the same time each night, but when I was able to improve my personal life, I was able to sleep better even without those tricks.

OP, I recommend you try whatever you can to eliminate the causes of your stress and anxiety from your life. Also, if you don't already, find a hobby you enjoy and find friends you can connect with; when your personal life improves, so does your sleep.

I usually don't have sleep problems, but one of the reasons for that could be the blankets I sleep with. They have a silky texture that feels absolutely wonderful and helps me fall asleep. I got them when I was a baby, and since I won't be able to bring them to a university without being made fun of, I'm worried that I may have some sleep problems next year.

I agree with others, sounds like anxiety is your main demon.

Sensory is a big thing for me, also anxiety. That means that I don't sleep well the day before something big and then I'm absolutely bagged, will have meltdowns, and guaranteed to just start vomiting.

Someone already mentioned this, but exercise if you can! When I had PTSD, I would walk for 3-6h a day (while listening to music) until I was so tired that I couldn't even think any more. Otherwise I was rocking on my bedroom floor, shaking and crying, all night. I still try to get exercise but was in a t-bone car crash and find it very difficult to hit that level of exercise anymore. My body just starts to fail me and then I'll be in too much pain to fall asleep.

My biggest anxiety is someone breaking in while I'm sleeping, so it's funny to think that a dog (who is noisy and stuff randomly at night) actually helped me to sleep better because I feel like the dog can wake me up if anything is wrong.

I actually often sleep worse if I've been very active during the day, either physically or mentally. My mind is not able to wind down and I still have entirely too much energy. I do exercise regularly, though.

So even if I've had a long day and tried to tire myself out, it doesn't work; actually skipping sleep altogether and trying to be tired the next night doesn't work either. I often get more nervous energy from skipping sleep and am worse off. And then I could be awake 2-3 days straight.

Yuuup! I know this madness too well. Here are some things that have helped me:

1. Sleep on the floor
2. No caffeine after noon
3. Earplugs
4. Sleep mask or black-out curtains
5. Change polar alignment (point bed North, South, East, West)
6. Fan blowing air around
7. Watch a movie I've seen a hundred times (Naked Gun)
8. Hot brown food
9. Porn
10. Chamomile Tea

For me, the biggest problem is that I am unable to turn my mind off. When I do fall asleep, I will wake up a few hours later, my brain winds all the way up, and I have to start over. I just can't stop thinking.