I saw this in the guys' thread and thought the question needed to be asked here too. So ladies, what's your sleep pattern like?

It takes me forever to fall asleep, thousands of thoughts chasing each other through my head. I'm a tosser and turner and wake up umpteen times in the night. Mornings, once awake, I have to get up. The thoughts start right up and I can rarely fall back to sleep.

I fall asleep quickly......and sllep like a rock most nights......

if you add PMS or being out of work !!!! I either can't fall asleep or I do but wake up in the middle of the night not able to fall back to sleep.......No matter what kind of sleep I get I can get up when I have to and make it through the day not feeling to tired......But don't ask me about my mood.. :rolleyes:

waking up about 4 hours into my sleep isn't new, I did it as a kid also.......

I also fall asleep quickly - after I get myself comfortable that is. I have some weird sleep things, I don't like my skin to touch other skin.... my legs can't touch each other, I need to tuck the blanket or a shirt under my armpits because I don't like them to touch (although it doesn't bother me during the day). But then I fall right to sleep, but I sometimes wake up at around 3am for a while, it tends to go like that for a while and then I will sleep well for a while.

During the first half of my monthly cycle, I sleep just fine. During the second half, if I don't use my "GoLite" in the morning, (light for winter depression, etc) I can't sleep at night. Then I stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning, waiting to be completely exhausted so I can fall asleep. Even if I remember to use the lite, I will still sometimes wake up at 5 AM and stay awake for an hour or so.

My brain starts to fire at about 3:00pm and it only gets better from there. It is 10:15pm right now and I feel GREAT!! This would be fine if the entire world were just like me, but sadly it's not...

It feels like I have (at least) three TV sets blaring in my head all channel surfing at the same time when I do try to force my self to sleep. It actually feels (sounds??) like there is noise in the room, I have gotten up before to check if the radio or something was left on in the other room.

Strangely enough, sometimes ear plugs seem to help. (Placebo, ear plugs, who knew...) It also helps to some degree to distract my self from TRYING to sleep. I do this by playing a card game on my PDA with the back light on, then I know it's time to turn it off when my eyes start to water.

Once I'm out, I I'm out. I think I could sleep all day. I actually use to, before my husband and kid came along. (How I miss that!!)

That's my "bedtime story".

Well I'll save myself some typing a ditto Ginger's post- LOL That's me!

I take adderall 10mg at 8AM, 12, and 4. The first 3 months I had no problems getting settled at night (I did before starting on it). Well, now I am in the same pattern- very rarely can I get in bed before midnight- and I have to get up at 6:30 AM with the kids! I am at my best in the late afternoon- early evening. Then I like to have my "no kid" time and if I go to bed, that's less time alone! (I have three of my own and watch 3 more, my house is a mad one!)

I have been telling my Psych this for three months, so finally he told me to not take the last dose and see what happens. Well, um nothing happens- I am the same whether I take it at 4, not at all, or even at 8PM! Then he said he was going to give me clonidine or trazodone, but I think he wants to take me off the adderall and replace it with one of those! I don't need to me MORE tired in the daytime- I just need to get to sleep. He told me if benadryl works, just to do that- but then I get the benadryl "hangover"! Ahhhh!

We'll see what he says next month!

Kelly (new here- hi!)

I work graveyard but had previously worked the 1st shift for 10 years then after back injury put me back on 1st shift unexpectedly. Well, lets just say the only time my body wants to sleep is when it really oughta be paying attention like driving, working, etc. lol I'm a mess I tell ya a big ole mess.

Cherity (old here- HI!)

I'm a night owl, and I like to be an early riser, too. :D Hm, there's a problem there...

I used to have a terrible time getting to sleep as a child. I would toss for hours in the semi-darkness. It was horrible. I've 'grown out of' that somewhat, but I think it's more from falling into bed simply from exhaustion. If I'm not completely worn out, I do spend at least an hour and a half looking for that last bit of stimulation before I can turn off the world. :D

On average, I probably get about 5-6 hrs of sleep/night.

I also fall asleep quickly - after I get myself comfortable that is. I have some weird sleep things, I don't like my skin to touch other skin.... my legs can't touch each other, I need to tuck the blanket or a shirt under my armpits because I don't like them to touch (although it doesn't bother me during the day). But then I fall right to sleep, but I sometimes wake up at around 3am for a while, it tends to go like that for a while and then I will sleep well for a while.

I've been here at the forum a time and still I hear things I do that I thought only weirdo me did....

I do that tucking thing also ! Because of my weirdo sleeping stuff my husband and do not share blankets we each have our own. Poor man would wake up tired from the night time blanket battle that I no clue of... :o

Im a night person and usually stay up late and only get three hours of sleep or so. i always had trouble falling asleep and would wake up every couple of hours. now i take seroquel 25mg at night and sleep great

Im a night person and usually stay up late and only get three hours of sleep or so. i always had trouble falling asleep and would wake up every couple of hours. now i take seroquel 25mg at night and sleep great

next time we're both up late we can meet at Denny's for coffee..... :D

:) i know a LOT of people who go to denny's really late at night....some weirdos go too!!

:) i know a LOT of people who go to denny's really late at night....some weirdos go too!!

Ya I know that's were I met my husband..... :D

I was waitressing at the one near me, he was a customer.......that sounds wrong..... :D

DUDE! im watching King of the Hill and the episode is about ADD!!!! how cool!!!

DUDE! im watching King of the Hill and the episode is about ADD!!!! how cool!!!


i just turned it on..........

its a great show!!

I have terrible sleeping habits, always have. I hate to be stuck in bed wide awake thinking about all sorts of stuff I need to do, want to do, or could be doing at that very moment. So usually I stay up past the point when I get tired (online message boarding, not really processing anything, just existing) so that by the time I force myself into bed, I'm completely exhausted and fall asleep immediately.

I usually can make it til 1 or 2am without getting very tired. Even if I go to bed early, waking up before 10am is really hard on me. I easily stay up til 3 or 4 on the weekends, sleep til 2 or 3pm which is depressing because that's half the day gone. Regardless of what time I wake up, I usually get sleepy around 2pm or 6pm, and get a second wind around 9pm that lasts several hours.
I'm also dead once I'm asleep. To get up I have to use 2 alarms and a husband.

FAN! The only way I can fall asleep is to have white noise, otherwise my ears pick up every little sound and I would be up the whole night. The fan drowns out the background noise and I am out like a light. Now if I could only get to sleep earlier so I would actually get 8 hours! *L*

I have never slept well in my entire adult life. I would lay awake most of the night worrying about everything, I would be up several times and wake up exhausted. I was dx with ADD about a year and a half ago and after trying several meds have been on Statera 100mg for the past 6 mos. At night I take 10mg Lexapro and 50 mg tresadone and sleep like a baby. What a blessing!!!!

Does any of you experince sleep paralysis or lucide dreams ?

Well, for me since I am currently not working is all out of wack but htat is because I have no system in regards to my daily schecdule. I try to have one but it is hard when one is not working to follow a schedule.

Adele

Does any of you experince sleep paralysis or lucide dreams ?

When I have flashbacks or nightmares (even though my mind knows it's a dream) I'm so terrified that I cannot move a single muscle, call out nor am I able to wake myself up. I just have to relive the entire experiance that is haunting me at the time. Usually, this is my minds cue that it's ready to work on getting over a certain issue.

:confused: Am I making any sense?

know what you mean Nucking Futs.

I usually try to scream out, and I think I do , but it is a dream so i cant even wake myself up.

I sometimes wake up and want to turn on the light but it does not light up, and then i realize its a dream and i go back to sleep and wake up, try to turn om the light, it doesnt work, and so on again and again till I finally wake up ( and I know I do because the light actually works this time)

Hi Kelly,
I think your doc wants you on Klonodine, Trazadone, or Benadryl only to help you sleep. These are all good sleep-inducing drugs. It's likely that you would remain on the Adderall & use one of the others at night. Give your doc a call w/ this question. Doesn't seem as if it warrants a visit.
Good Luck! GirlDriver


Well I'll save myself some typing a ditto Ginger's post- LOL That's me!

I take adderall 10mg at 8AM, 12, and 4. The first 3 months I had no problems getting settled at night (I did before starting on it). Well, now I am in the same pattern- very rarely can I get in bed before midnight- and I have to get up at 6:30 AM with the kids! I am at my best in the late afternoon- early evening. Then I like to have my "no kid" time and if I go to bed, that's less time alone! (I have three of my own and watch 3 more, my house is a mad one!)

I have been telling my Psych this for three months, so finally he told me to not take the last dose and see what happens. Well, um nothing happens- I am the same whether I take it at 4, not at all, or even at 8PM! Then he said he was going to give me clonidine or trazodone, but I think he wants to take me off the adderall and replace it with one of those! I don't need to me MORE tired in the daytime- I just need to get to sleep. He told me if benadryl works, just to do that- but then I get the benadryl "hangover"! Ahhhh!

We'll see what he says next month!

Kelly (new here- hi!)

I think Benedryl or whatever is a suppliment just to help yo sleep at night too. It does not work like aAdderall and cannot be sub for it. I think it's for at night to help you sleep. I think he is afriad of sleeping pills cause many can get addictive.

Adele

Does any of you experince sleep paralysis or lucide dreams ?
Used to get sleep paralysis all the time...Its soo scary! I can see my bedroom and not be able to move or scream out! Then I realize Im dreaming...but maybe I wasn't!

Now that I have a husband, this never happens anymore. Maybe b/c I feel safe?

Anyhow, I have a hard time falling asleep and a hard time waking up in the morning.

ZZZZZZZZZ! I used to be a night owl until I started on anti-depressants, now I sleep fine. Excercise helps too. Now for those of you entering "mental-pause" here is a little tip. Estrogen is vital to a good night's sleep and the quality of your memory. During R-E-M sleep,
(that's when you dream and you need,optimally, 4 full cycles during the night) your brain is encoding into short term memory everything you have learnt that day. So if you don't sleep well because you have been tossing with your damp sheets, your memory will suffer the next day. I know-I see the difference if I miss my estrogen...

Does any of you experince sleep paralysis or lucid dreams ?
Your body does that on purpose so that you don't hurt yourself while dreaming. It's an internal safety mechanism so you stay safe and don't act out your dreams. Have you ever watched a dog dream? They run and bark and growl. Once my dog was very vocal and I remembered he had had 'words' with the dog next door that morning!

Has anyone tried tryptophan ( found in turkey and milk) to help them sleep?

Velvetcactus: Yes but less common part is where you are not able to know whether you are dreaming or not. When you think you are awake but cant move.

As for insomnia patterns, I used to lay awake for hours untill i got pregnant and startet falling asleep almost before I hit my pillow. Nowadays I usually fall asleep quite fast, but sometimes I can still keep awake.

I have to say that I have been missing my long awake nights, its not always nice to fall easily asleep.

Did anyone else change when they got pregnant?

when i was pregnant i was a walking zombie
i'm bizarre as far as energy and sleep. i used to have insomnia. i can sleep almost anytime of the day. except early morning if i've already been out of bed. my ideal life, to accomodate my sleepy hell would be: wake very early be productive ..i find myself to be a morning person suprisingly. i hate getting out of bed. i literally have to envision getting fired and losing my house to force myself to get out of bed..(who said negativity isn't a great motivator? LOL) after the morning passes, at about 10 am..i'm ready for a two hour nap. if i did that every day, i would get enough sleep and have a fabulous night...

reality:
i wake at btwn 5-6 begrudingly
wake up and feel realy happy after i'm on the road..and even though i could snooze in my office b/c i'm so damned early i can't b/c i'm too awake

afternoon: tired tired tired. i commute and i want to sleep as i'm crawling along on the highway. get home and want to go to sleep,
but i have to homework, get ready for class, possibly cook dinner...
then if i had class i would return home eat, clean and go to bed WAYY tooo late.

ends up being 5 hrs or less most times and i really need 9 hrs.

I can't go to sleep unless I'm exhausted. I usually have to fall asleep first out in the living room watching TV, then I'll drag my bum to the bedroom, where I have to put the TV on it there too. I don't watch it, I don't even listen to, but I guess it distracts my subconscience mind. Even if I am really tired I just lay awake and think about stuff if the TV is not on the distract me.

Music helps. I really should listen to music before I go to bed.
If my husband wants to go to bed, since we always go to bed together, I will usually just lay there an hour or so before finally falling asleep. I also get up frequently in the night, to go pee, to get water, just wakeing up to change posistions. It've always been like this, never looked at it like insomnia or that I had sleeping problems.

I use to enjoy sleeping, now although I like to sleep in until about 11:00/12:00 on the weekends because I am up until 3:00am in the morning, I don't like to sleep. It's like forceing a little kid to go to bed, I just don't want to. I don't take naps either, I use to as a teenager, but now unless I am sick I do not take naps for any reason no matter how tired I am. I am afraid I will miss something. The something I am waiting for I suppose.

It is very irregular. Sometimes I sleep 5 hours, sometimes I sleep 7 hours. I made myself sleep a certain hours not because I am tired but because I need to accomodate to my time issues. I often sacrifice my sleep to get things done. I also have a problem staying asleep. I wake up often in middle of night but go back to sleep. Like maybe 4 times in a night, sometimes i need to go to toilet, sometimes the temperature is not right, the pillow, the dogs outside my house!!, ...etc.
I am not a good sleeper. :(

I'm a nightowl. It's hard to fall asleep. My mind is so busy.
I have to go to bed when I'm very tired.
I use a sound machine I play the sound of the ocean on it.
That helps me quiet my mind down faster.

Ok, heres a shocker for ya'll. My husband and I have seperate bedrooms. We dont sleep well together at all. I am such a tosser and turner, I drive him nuts. Also steal the covers, push him out of bed in the middle of the night.

As far as sleep paterns, I have much trouble falling asleep, and staying asleep. I sleep best in the morning, between 7am and 11am. That is also when I dream. And lately they have been whoppers. The think I am awake ones, the weird I have been here before, and my personal favorite, somebody died. And to kick it all off, I am taking sleeping pills, and I still cant sleep more then 4 or so hours straight.

I'm a night owl too, on weekends, I'll stay up till 2 in the morning. It makes Mondays hell of course ;) I try to go to be at 10pm but I have to calm my head first, with a boring gameboy game or magazine. I do wake naturally when the sun comes up but I usually turn over and go back to sleep. :D

As I told my husband last night, Either I sleep or I don't. Have been that way since before I can remember. Just as I cycle with all aspects of my life I cycle with sleeping.

My sleep patterns vary. I usually am in bed with the lights out for 8 hour every night, but how much of that 8 hours, I am peacefully unconscious varies greatly. Sometimes it is 7 hours, others 3. And right around my period, I tend to have alot of really vivid, crazy dreams and I've found that the sleep I'm getting when those dreams occur isn't restful. If anything, I wake up more exhausted than when I lay down.:(

Night owl, go to sleep at about 1am & get up as late as possible (usually 7 am). Once I go to bed tho' sleep comes almost immediately.

i get sleep paralysis sometimes. its really scarry! you try to move and scream and nothing happens. you cant move, and you make no sound.

i take forever to get to sleep, and forever to wake up. unless im really excited about something or its very very very very important, then i will wake up very quickly and jump out of bed.

i often have dreams where thing sdont work properly. very often. most common things are that
- things wont turn off (such as tv or computer)
- doors wont close, because they dont "fit" into the door frame (by the time theyre 'in position' they are too small!!) and its usually when somehitng dangerous is trying to get me or my mum is trying to run after me etc in the dream

and i see little coloured dots at night. they swirl around in the air. no-one has ever been able to explain this - but ive always ALWAYS seen them.

my sleeping is terrible seeing as how i have a little girl with adhd and slep insomnia and i have sleep apnea.I bearly ever get sleep and im so tired now,help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

Sandra

Pattern, what pattern?

The only sure habit of mine is the all night thing..................hoot.

I feel like I have time to myself at night.
I don't want to miss anything and I fight my sleep.
It is hard to fall asleep and if I wake up during the night,
I can forget it.....I just get up and go find something fun to do :)

On my list of favorite things are the comfort of a security blanket and a feather down pillow.

It takes me hours to get to sleep, even tho' I go to bed at around 11;00. I keep thinking about stuff. I take a Benedryl every night to help me sleep. If I wake in the middle of the night, I have a lot of trouble getting back to sleep, and I usually wake early - 6 AM.
jazz

i get sleep paralysis sometimes. its really scarry! you try to move and scream and nothing happens. you cant move, and you make no sound.

I get this too and it is very frightening. I saw a brilliant programme on sleep paralysis a few months ago which explained all the experiences such as the fear, the shadowy figures etc.

The show was actually using the sleep paralysis theory to explain alien abduction experiences!

I've been having trouble sleeping lately. And self medicated myself with prescribed Percocet thinking this will knock me out. IT DID!!! I would not suggest it however.

I had one of those slow motion, screaming at the top of your lungs but nobody can hear you, you can't wake up from dreams and I was mad.

I dreamt I was at work and Diane and Ann two of the laziest people you will ever meet were sitting behind the nurse's desk just chatting as the rest of us were running around answering call lights and getting beat on. I finally blew up and went running down the hall in slow motion, screaming at the top of my lungs every female cuss word that I could come up with. I never got to them and they never heard me.

I woke up the next morning with all three kids in my bed. When I questioned my husband he said that he tried to wake me up but I kept slugging him everytime he touched me but I woke all three kids up and scared them by my screaming at the top of my lungs for 30 minutes straight cuss words...that was it cuss words :eek: :faint:

I'm dreading the day my kids come back at me with something I screamed in my sleep. I so need a new job!!!!!

It's really easy for me to get on a sleep schedule that turns my whole day upside down. I'll be having trouble getting to sleep one night, so I'll get up and go on the internet and all of a sudden I'm so interested in something or enjoying my music so much or i'll be drawing a storm, and before i know it it's 5 am.

When I try to get outside and get some breakfast, and not fall asleep, it usually fails as soon as i come home. I used to be able to go more than 3 nights at a time without sleep, when that happens nowadays it's because of insomnia. But most of the time I just end up having to give up and I fall asleep at 8 in the morning. Then my entire cycle is thrown off. That is the problem with being unemployed.