How long does it take you to fall asleep?

Friday

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How long does it take you to fall asleep?

- Normally?
- When your PTSD is acting up?

I have ADHD, which means it usually takes me 1-3 hours to fall asleep, unless I am utterly exhausted, bone weary. That’s completely normal/expected for the disorder I was born with, although I understand most neurotypical people fall asleep within minutes of deciding to… and on certain stimulants I can fall asleep within minutes, as well, it’s a bizarre thing to experience. As it’s not my normal. Also, that the sleepy-drugs are called “stimulants” I find eternally amusing.

I know maaaaaany people, IRL, who think 20 minutes of not being able to fall asleep has completely f*cked them (and their day/week/life) over… so I’m grateful in a lot of ways, that my normal is 1-3 hours. Because when PTSD decides to thunk itself down for a visit? I’m up for daaaaaays. Zombie-Friday, sleeping twice a week for a couple hours at most? Or surviving on catnaps? No fun. Vexing as hell. Needing immediate sorting. And dontevengetmestarted when those catnaps are nightmares. Fawk. Fawk me. No. Nope. Hard pass. Don’t get me wrong, I can DO it, but it’s brutal.

So what does “good” sleep look like, for you? What does “bad” sleep look like, for you?

Just to be extra clear? This is nooooo kind of judgement call or oppression olympics. WHATEVER normal/good sleep is to you? IS GOOD. Full stop. I’m simply curious how PTSD f*cks whatever our baseline is, when it decides to thunk itself down for a visit. That’s going to look different for different people. My own baseline is already wacky, as I’m comorbid. As are many others, in many different ways. As many are not. But whatever our “normal” (good/better/best) IS? PTSD seems to say…. f*ck you. Deal with THIS. How annoying/infuriating IS that? Hilt, I’d say. As it takes normal and… annihilates it.
 
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Good sleep these days, probably 40 minutes to an hour to get to sleep. That's with the help of regular medication that helps to relax me and reduce pain. Even then it's only possible to me now because I was lucky enough to attend an nhs cbt-i sleep scheduling course four years ago that literally changed my life. I wouldn't outright recommend it for everyone because it's brutal when you go through it with mental health challenges, but I can't deny the impact it had for me.

Sleep/night-time is a trigger for me. There has never been a time in my life when I had 'normal' sleep. Fully activated I've stayed awake for five days straight. I used to be able to function for about the first three, then nope. Probably couldn't do that now. I'm sure I micro-sleep at those times but have no awareness of it. I can't nap, so get no relief there. The hallucinations I get by the end of those stretches are pretty wacky.

I get all the variations in between. The past few weeks have been a bit rough and the poor nights have increased my pain levels, which then means the pain is also keeping me awake. But it's nothing like as bad as it used to be.
 
i still haven't accomplished the standard sleep hygiene of 8 contiguous hours of sleep. i broke the pall of sleep-deprivation levels of insomnia by finding the distinction between sleep and rest. nightmare filled sleep is far from restful. when i am unable to sleep restfully, i fill the extra hours with restful activities like writing, sewing, puzzles or whatever. i fill my sleep needs with naps. i often joke that i sleep like a dog: active when life gets interesting. naps when life is boring. sometimes my naps are long enough to look like standard sleep hygiene. how long does it take to fall asleep? who's counting?

for what it's worth
since i lost the chronic insomnia and sleep well most nights, i kinda miss all those extra hours of insomnia. sometimes i stay up all night, just to satisfy the nostalgia. the mild buzz of acute (single incident) sleep deprivation feels kinda like xanax.
So what does “good” sleep look like, for you?
my disposition is calm and clear.
What does “bad” sleep look like, for you?
alert the authorities. wicked things are afoot. life feels like a dreamscape to me. anything is possible.
 
After taking my evening meds it's about 1.5-2 hours before I sleep. And it happens quickly, like 5-10 minutes after putting my head down. I don't really have bad sleep any more, I used to I think?? I have good restful sleep. 6-8 hours a night. I'm lucky.
 
If I am doing everything right, warm shower, 10-20 mg of edibles, thunderstorm white noise, bed sheets are nice and clean, a good 30 minutes before I doze off. I can get a good 6 hours of sleep without interruption doing that. Bad sleep will involve lots of drinking before hand and Ill fall asleep instantly, yea ill sleep for 8 hours but it will not be restful at all. Worst is waking up at 4 am after 2 or 3 hours of tossing and turning and just not being able to to fall back to sleep.
 
Good sleep or bad sleep? All of us would like Good. In the last 15 years I had nether. My Doc stated excusing before bed, walking around or gym equipment no body did better not sleep. My wife said read a book, she though the book. In the last 3 and half years read have read 41 books. I go to bed read for hour and then fall asleep with in hour. This has helped a lot . Don't read from your phone or tablet use soft light.
 
Great sleep for me, I mean absof*ckinglutely cry me happy wonderful is when I manage to get into a sleep pattern of waking in the early hours. Any time after 2 really but prolly ideally 4 am. I get so much time before midday and just get lots more done. And also when this happens, by 9 or 10 pm I actually can't stay awake. I just go to bed and fall asleep pretty bloody quickly. This doesn't happen very often at all. Though it happens more since they gave us sleep hygiene classes for ptsd treatment.

More normal for me is to fall asleep between 1 and 4 am and wake 6 hours later. It will take hours to get off to sleep.

Sometimes I have a period of greater functioning, I feel more with it, less dissociated, have more energy, (relatively speaking - I'm still sloth like compared to most people) when that happens I'll be happy on 3 or 4 hours kip, and wake feeling good and ready to go.

When my sleep isn't so good, I'll not get to sleep till 10am or later having tossed and turned all night. Then I'll be awake after 2, 3 or 4 hours or even worse, oversleep and wake in the bloody evening.
 
Yeah pretty much hate those who can fall asleep in 15 min (okay that’s probably just my jealousy talking) 1-3 hours if nothing is on my mind. Yes I too have ADHD and I know it’s a factor.

If anything is on my mind 2-5 hours. If it’s PTSD related than 3 hours to not falling asleep at all.

But I also need 1-2 hours of low level activity to fall asleep in a normal situation. So if I go to a party, movie, activity then 2-5 hours is normal. It’s like my brain needs to power down in degrees.

If I’m exhausted, either because of lack of sleep or high activity or whatever then it’s 50/50 whether I’m able to fall asleep quick (less than an hour) or not fall asleep for hours.

For bonus, generally if I happen to fall asleep quickly (40-70 min) it also means I’ll be up about 2 hours later with the same 50/50 will I fall right back to sleep or not at all.

Good sleep is illusive when I get it I’m so eternally grateful and hopeful it’s a trend but it never is. This week started with a 2 hour sleep along with 4 hours later 1 more. I was dying and then the next night I slept 6 hours with zero interruptions, it was heaven.

Passable sleep is 6 hours with only 1 wake up that’s 1.5 hours or less.

Anything else is functional and I know I can function for days with 2 hours or less. Why do I know this? It happens, often. I tend to be extra hyper on low sleep until I hit a wall and then I have zero patience and I’m quick to b*tch.
 
A life long inability to drift off is my normal, and with PTSD symptoms flaring it can be even harder. Add stressful events to the mix and i can lay awake with a busy brain all night without significant sleep. Its rare to be totally without sleep but it happens. When i was younger i would just give up and get out of bed and go adventuring, driving miles to destinations where i knew a full day of activity would change my outlook for the following night.
As an adult i changed that up to getting things done around the home or practicing music, I still keep some projects set aside i can tap into if I know trying to sleep has no hope of success.
This past year I have been waaay out of my normal as I struggle with getting clear of drugs I was prescribed to help me sleep. I did a stay in a detox center the first several weeks of Benzo withdrawal and had my first experience with multiple night sleeplessness. It was hell, I was lucky to have good support through that experience. As I get past the dependance on the drugs I am finding sleep is still going to be elusive for me, but is settling into a pattern of 1-2 hours of winding down, followed by 2-3 hours of initial sleep, then another 1-2 hours of sleepless rest followed by sleeping until my alarm goes off at 4AM for work. A nightmare totally messes with this and that seems to be about half the nights.
I will usually sleep eventually and after a few nights of only 2 or 3 hours total I can catch a nap after sex or during the long innings of a ball game or middle third of a formula one race on TV, its very pleasant and is like a reward for those long nights without sleep. Otherwise I am alert and capable for a full day even on just the 2 to 3 hours of sleep days.
I am falling into a pattern of getting a total of 30-40 hours a week and never getting more than 4 hours of it unbroken. Add those hours of physical rest trying to wind down and i have a livable sleep program in place.
All in all, its been a good thing i have come to accept as normal, and i remember those nights of driving to distant spots to fish or go riding or walking beaches in the dawn hours or visit a surprised friend for a fun day as being a great part of my young life, and all of the nights of playing music or doing home repairs as being like a bonus other people slept through. I am settling into living a life of acceptance that rest comes in many forms and patience brings me the needed amount of full on sleep and that the total amount is going to be enough. Maybe in retirement I can go back to driving to distant places for escapes again. Staying married and having a willing accomplice for other nocturnal activities is part of the plan but THAT is not sleep or rest and doesnt promote full functioning on the days after. Hopefully when i throw away the alarm clock she can keep up and we will enjoy long afternoon naps together too.
 
Falling asleep usually easy. Though if stressed, not as easy. Easy is: asap. Not easy is: up to 2 hours?

It's the staying asleep. And whether that's mental health or peri menopause now, or a combination? But I wake up regularly. Several times a night. And sometimes that's awake and back to sleep. Sometimes it's awake for a while. I still get a good few hours every night through.

Back in the day: my head would hit the pillow and that would be me out until morning.
 

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