Does Ptsd Make You Sleepy All The Time?

[zeropoint]

I've mentioned in a few posts that I have been dealing with severe PTSD already this year, and then last week there was a fire at my apartment, so my life is totally upside down, especially since I don't k now where I will be living for the next 2 months while they repair my apartment.

I think I've been holding up really well (a bit too well, actually), but one new symptom has appeared, which is that I feel sleepy almost all the time. I am sure the fact that my hypervigilance has disrupted reguar sleep is a factor in the sleepiness, but this sleepiness feels more pronounced than that. I can barely wake up enough to do anything unless there is a place I really have to be. I have tried caffeine to help perk me up enough to do even a little bit, but no luck there, which is odd since I am usually quite sensitive to caffeine.

Has anyone else experienced extreme sleepiness as part of shock or trauma aftermath? I know I need to give in to it to a certain extent, but it's still hard.

 

[Ed Norton]

Now that my nightmares are much less due to prazosin. I am always sleepy. I just never wake up fully anymore. It is true that hypervigilance is exhausting, that's why I sleep immediately after my day program. Being around all of those people makes me nervous and exhausted.

 

[Bickslow]

It can be a number of things, and I'm drawing on personal experience here.

First is the stress is EXHAUSTING. Being triggered, worries, or having you mind loop end on end just wears you out. I can wake up, and in the span of a shower after a night terror, be ready for bed again. Stress chemically and physiologically puts a cast amount of strain on the body, and naturally causes drowsiness through fatigue after all the adrenaline and other hormones wear off.

Second, sleep deprivation is common with sufferers. Nightmares, inability to sleep from aforementioned stress, etc. Anything that prevents rest and REM sleep can easily cause drowsiness the next day.

I'd say most days I'm fighting some form of exhaustion, mental or physical, and it got worse after my recent trauma. If the mind is processing it puts strain on your body and life...and it's very tiring.

 

[Friday]

Sleep issues for sure.

I go through periods of crazy insomnia, as well as periods of sleeping 22 or more hours a day. Wake up. Pee. Eat something. Go back to sleep. The intense sleep usually only happens when I'm deep in the badlands.

It used to be that every time I'd come home from working overseas I'd sleep for 2-3 weeks straight. With the bodily functions thrown in there in pieces. Then I'd wake up, get bored within a few more weeks, and go back overseas. Rinse, lather, repeat.

 

[Deleted member 19804]

It can definitely be because of the stress and hypervigilance. It basically puts you in full survival mode and that takes up a lot of energy.
For me, another reason for being tired all the time is that I do not get enough deep sleep. According to my psychiatrist I am mostly in REM sleep, which is when your brain is most active and when your dreams are the most vivid. So my brain does not get enough rest when I'm asleep.

As for the staying awake problems, try eating an apple instead of drinking caffeine. Apples have something in them that gives you more energy than caffeine. Plus, caffeine induced alertness is like a rush that you eventually come down from. Once it's out of your system, you'll be even more tired than before. And besides that, apparently caffeine even increases feelings of stress. I'm not a great example though, I just had a large cup of coffee myself :whistling: But in my defense, I had forgotten about the apple thing until I saw your thread.

Hope this helps!

 

[anthony]

It is true that hypervigilance is exhausting

Absolutely... if I go out into crowds for a prolonged period, I will typically sleep much longer that night as a result. Like last night, at a party that was really crowded. Wasn't drinking... but slept in this morning due to being tired. Went for a run today, on my day off, just for good measure to boost myself back up quickly.

 

[Anarchy]

Has anyone else experienced extreme sleepiness as part of shock or trauma aftermath? I know I need to give in to it to a certain extent, but it's still hard.

Yes and sometimes within minutes. Taking refuge in sleep is one of the ways which people who use the freeze response, escape.

 

[The Albatross]

Apnea aside, which I have and which causes fatigue ... sleepiness is most often either avoidance (of pain, situations or people) or depression.

 

[shimmerz]

Yes, deeply and for long periods of time. I am fighting it right now but feel it will take me today. I feel that as one learns to manage external stressors and doesn't expose oneself to too much hyper vigilant inducing events that the time and depth of sleep improves. It limits life experiences though.

 

[sun seeker]

I am tired most of the time even when sleeping well. I've assumed it's due to depression but who knows?

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

Totally. I switched from total insomnia to being able to sleep for an absurdly long time in a row. Am very familiar with the being incredibly fatigued thing as well. I just take it easy. To me it feels like a step forward from not being able to sleep at all.