Give me some idea what's it like to have little sleep....

[Justtess]

I'm quite sure my DS soon to be 18 is having trouble functioning because he may sleep for 4 hours twice a day in the afternoon/early morning hours unmedicated.

His psydoc says he needs to sleep 8-9 hours consecutively at night. His med doc says, if he is incredibly sleepy after school he needs to force himself to stay up till 9-10ish then go to bed. This will help him develop a nice sleep habit where he can function much better the next day.

If you're dx ADHD combo type and have been described as a monster the next day if you didn't get enough sleep as a child..... how difficult would it be for you to accomplish this sleep habit unmedicated as an adult?

What is your thinking like with little sleep? Just curious.

[metzfanaz]

Scattered. I tend to become easily unfocused and I get really lazy. Even if there are things that need to be done.

I also tend to become very out of balance, not mentally but physically. Naturally I am clutzy but I tend to get really bad when I am without a good 8 hours of sleep.

On the better side though, I tend to be, how to say it.....romantically charged up? Yeah, charged up.

[StoicNate]

I get only 6 hours of sleep on school days and feel really tired/unmotivated/sometimes moody the whole day.
I feel the best when I get 10-12 hours of sleep per night (on my days off school).

Does your son stay up late or not sleep whole night?

If he has trouble falling asleep at night, I'd suggest trying Melatonin for help to get to sleep, since it's a natural chemical that regulates the circadian (sleeping) cycle.
You can find it at most grocery stores under the "sleep aid" or "vitamin" section.

[RedHairedWitch]

If I don't get at least 8 - 10 hours of sleep my symptoms (unmedicated gal here) are doubled and get worse as the day goes by. Also school was evil for making me think before noon. My natural sleep patterns are from 2am to 10am or noon, end of story, its the only sleep schedule that has ever worked for me. I love working evening shifts!

When I was in my late teens, I'd often nap in the afternoon. But I'd have a power nap for only an hour or an hour and a half and then still get about 10 hours of (terrible) sleep. Sleeping for ADHDers is HARD at the best of times, sleeping for an ADHD teens is torture.

You'll find tonns of threads in the adult sections on sleep problems and ADHD.

[scars]

I wake up 10 minutes before I need to be at work, run out the door, crap turn around forgot the keys okay I got them, lost my right shoe, there it is okay going 3 minutes to get there, hey I'll grab a bagel to go, and I'm off feeling like I got hit by a bus all day long. Every single day. Then on that one day I get a good nights sleep I wake up early feeling like i spent the night in a spa.

[NorCalAndy8]

During my second year in college, I only slept for only 3-4 hours per day for one whole semester. BTW, this was way before I got diagnosed. I was taking an intensive course load, at the time, so I spent most of my studying at the university library. I couldn't afford to let my grades drop. I'd start studying at 5pm or 6pm and then walk back to my dorm room at 5am. It was like a 3 to 4 minute walk back so it wasn't so bad. I'd get a little sleep just before my 9am literature class.

My mind was always jumbled and getting poor quality of sleep actually put me in a worse mood.


This other time, I stayed up for 2 to 3 days straight without any sleep. It's not a good idea. My mind would get easily sidetracked.... My short term memory started to tumble. ...I started to see things that weren't there...it freaked me out. Imagine studying inside a 5 story building in the middle of the night when practically no one is around......it can get a little too quiet and creepy. *chillz*


Now, I still stay up late sometimes. But I'll try to get at least 4 to 6 hours of sleep.

oh yeah....and I ended up with an overall 3.7 GPA so it worked out okay...

[fracturedstory]

I usually get 5-6 hours sleep each night. Once it was closer to 9 and I felt tired all throughout the next day.
My usual sleeping schedule either makes me want to sleep in or I can't stop thinking so I get up. Either way I'm either unfocused with restlessness or lethargy. I'm cranky at people, forgetful, unable to have clear thoughts, etc.

[JVar]

It usually takes me staying up for 36+ hours to actually correct my sleeping cycle. That day is rough, but its tends to be quicker to reset it that way, than to gradually work it so that I am waking up early enough for me to be tired at a decent hour.

I have been battling it for years when I have no schedule and no obligations, I tend to revert to 36+ up followed by 10-12 hours of sleep, repeat. I have been know to stay up for as long as 5 days consecutively. My cognitive ability on the 5th day was non-existent I was begging to hallucinate which finally forced me to sleep.

Every day is a battle between the distracted thoughts, and insomnia induced by my racing mind. It never has mattered what time I force myself to go to bed, if I am not ready for sleep then I can lay there for 2 or 3 hours and still be awake. The only thing that helps is to play a mind game that takes some focus. I usually play sudoku, it helps to wear my brain down in a relaxed manner. I tried reading, but then I notice that all the sudden its light out and I'm almost done with the book.

As for when he comes home from school engage him in something interesting that will keep him awake and alert, after a boring or stressful day, or after a night of poor sleep, having nothing to do will definitely make sleep top priority, but if there is something to occupy his thoughts other than sleep he can be kept distracted and awake. As long as I stay engaged then I dont have a problem, but if I stop, then the thoughts of a mid day nap may start creeping.

Oh yeah, whats a DS?

[Driver]

As someone who's been diagnosed with record-breaking severe sleep apnea, I thought I'd weigh in on what it's like to be ADD with chronic sleep deprivation.

• Can't wake up in the morning...literally.
• Unavoidable napping in the day, esp at 3-4pm
• Having to manage energy levels and plan energy expenditure
• Zoning out is chronic
• Forgetting what you were doing is chronic
• Showers take hours, not minutes
• Yawning all morning
• Time just escapes you chronically.

[JVar]

I can relate to most of those, not taking showers for hours tho. I have however gotten in the shower, washed my hair, having zoned out and got out without actually washing, or at least not being able to recall if I had. Having to explain why your taking another shower to roommates or family can be a little embarrassing, And employers and teachers find it very hard to believe that one can sleep through their alarm frequently.

[DrZoidberg]

Originally Posted by Justtess

I'm quite sure my DS soon to be 18 is having trouble functioning because he may sleep for 4 hours twice a day in the afternoon/early morning hours unmedicated.

His psydoc says he needs to sleep 8-9 hours consecutively at night. His med doc says, if he is incredibly sleepy after school he needs to force himself to stay up till 9-10ish then go to bed. This will help him develop a nice sleep habit where he can function much better the next day.

If you're dx ADHD combo type and have been described as a monster the next day if you didn't get enough sleep as a child..... how difficult would it be for you to accomplish this sleep habit unmedicated as an adult?

What is your thinking like with little sleep? Just curious.

I agree with his psydoc. People are different. Just because somebody had an easy time doesn't mean your kid will have it.

My thinking is fine, I just get increadibly lazy. I make more mistakes.

[Beowulf]

Originally Posted by scars

I wake up 10 minutes before I need to be at work, run out the door, crap turn around forgot the keys okay I got them, lost my right shoe, there it is okay going 3 minutes to get there, hey I'll grab a bagel to go, and I'm off feeling like I got hit by a bus all day long. Every single day. Then on that one day I get a good nights sleep I wake up early feeling like i spent the night in a spa.

Amen!

I do stuff like that a lot. I will sometimes stay awake for 4 days and 3 nights without sleeping one week...it sucks. I feel like I have dain bramage (sic).

Temazepam helps, but I tend to develop a tolerance for it very quickly. At that point, I just need to go off it for a week or so and deal with the insomnia. It ain't fun!

[gnbeg]

Originally Posted by Justtess

I'm quite sure my DS soon to be 18 is having trouble functioning because he may sleep for 4 hours twice a day in the afternoon/early morning hours unmedicated.

His psydoc says he needs to sleep 8-9 hours consecutively at night. His med doc says, if he is incredibly sleepy after school he needs to force himself to stay up till 9-10ish then go to bed. This will help him develop a nice sleep habit where he can function much better the next day.

If you're dx ADHD combo type and have been described as a monster the next day if you didn't get enough sleep as a child..... how difficult would it be for you to accomplish this sleep habit unmedicated as an adult?

What is your thinking like with little sleep? Just curious.

I have difficulty focusing. More likely to to waste time. I tend to drift toward depression. Thoughts like "What's the point?" are more common.

I was always tired in high school. Disfunctional family. Alcoholic father. Friends called me "grandpa" because of lack of energy. Fell asleep in class. Got the usual "your underachieving" speech from my teachers.

I'm in a bad sleep pattern right now. Having trouble getting a full nights sleep, even with medication. :-(

Good luck with your teen. It is CRITICAL that teens get enough rest.

[DrZoidberg]

One thing I forgot to mention is that I get irratable. All emotions become exaggerated. I can start crying or laughing for no reason.

[Offle]

I had sleeping habits like that once and it was a very ugly sight.

-My health started to become very poor because I was too exhausted to properly take care of my self and my body was too tired to fight off illness.

-I became a very ugly person. I switched from giggly and fun to absolutely vicious at the drop of a hat. I was incredibly mean and snappish to people I really liked over stupid things because I didn't have the patience to deal with it.

-I was way more flighty than usual. I couldn't focus because all my brain could think about was sleep, but once I was too tired to sleep or it was a bad time to sleep so I would stay awake. Because if that I never got anything done to the potential I could have done it. I made C's in classes I could have easily made A's in, all my work was way sloppier than usual, and my brain was just mess.