Hypersomnia

Here’s a link to a hilarious but true TikTok video about mental illness and the demands of life. I’m sure many of us can relate!

www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8NnR8DL

#MentalHealth #Depression #BipolarDepression #Anxiety #AnxietyDisorders #Hypersomnia

Hi, my name is Jill. I'm here because I need some help staying positive. A year of no working, thousands in credit card debt, car is only a few miles away from breaking down forever, waiting for my second appeal with disability to happen, all while my friends and family still can’t understand why I’m like this.

#MightyTogether #Anxiety #Depression #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #Migraine #ADHD #Fibromyalgia #Hypersomnia #OCD #ChronicDailyHeadache #InappropriateSinusTachycardia #PosturalHypotension #DegenerativeDiscDisease

Hi, my name is InaFog. I'm here because I recently started taking xywav for idiopathic hypersomnia and looking to connect with others who have similar experiences.

#MightyTogether #Anxiety #Depression #ADHD #Hypersomnia #sleep-WakeDisorders #RapidEyeMovementSleepBehaviorDisorder #IntellectualDisabilities #polycysticovarysyndrome(PCOS)

Hi, my name is Lizatuesday. I'm here because
And where I live there is no one that I can talk to because no one understands. I have yet to meet anyone with it where I live
#MightyTogether #Hypersomnia

Hi, my name is Caitlin Kindberg. I've been diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia and I want to connect with others that have this diagnosis.

#MightyTogether #Anxiety #Depression #Hypersomnia

Hello everyone! I joined because I became disabled after getting the COVID-19 vaccine and I don’t know anyone else that has happened to. So, I would like to communicate with others about illness and disability and how to make my home safer for a disabled person.
#CognitivelyDisabled #ImbalanceIssues
#Hypersomnia #VaccineHauler
#covid19vaccine

Often in the past, I went to bed at my usual time but woke up at 4:45 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep, no matter what. It was like I had a hamster on a wheel inside my brain.

Other nights I would go to bed early and couldn’t get to sleep for hours. I tried reading, but sometimes I read till 2:00 a.m. with no sleep in sight.

Then again there are days when I feel the need to nap in the early afternoon. I try to resist, but if I give in, there are no refreshing catnaps for me. I’m down for two and a half hours typically. Then the whole sleep-wake cycle gets off course.

And when I’m in the middle of a depressive episode, I’ve been known to stay awake all night, obsessing and catastrophizing. There are also days I can’t get out of bed in the morning, or all day in some cases, though I don’t usually sleep well after them.

What is it with all the sleep disturbances? Well, I have bipolar disorder 2, so that may have something to do with it. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321357 (NIH) says, “Sleep disturbance is a core symptom of bipolar disorder. The diagnostic criteria indicate that during manic episodes there may be a reduced need for sleep and during episodes of depression, insomnia or hypersomnia can be experienced nearly every day.” They also note that insomnia and hypersomnia are early warning signs, or “prodromes,” of a bipolar episode occurring. In fact, sleep disturbance is the number one prodrome for mania, and is recognized by approximately 80% of those suffering from it as an indication of an impending episode.

www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar-disorder-and-sl... discusses a number of ways that bipolar disorder is associated with poor sleep: either insomnia or hypersomnia; decreased need for sleep; a circadian rhythm sleep disorder; REM sleep abnormalities which can affect dreaming; and co-occurring sleep apnea (around a third of people with bipolar also have sleep apnea, which is associated with excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue). Bipolar meds have also been known to affect sleep-wake patterns, as well as co-occurring substance abuse disorders.

What are the consequences? Sleep deprivation has demonstrated detrimental effects on cognitive functioning, particularly in teens and young adults. This has been observed in performing psychomotor vigilance tasks, working memory tasks, and cognitive processing tasks. No wonder a series of sleepless nights can result in a foggy or fuzzy-headed feeling!

Unfortunately, the advice given for how to counter the effects of sleep disturbance in bipolar disorder is almost indistinguishable from the advice given to the general population, such as incrementally moving bedtime and waking time until the desired period of sleep is reached; and not using electronics such as computers, cellphones, and TVs near bedtime. Some preventives that have worked with bipolar patients have included bright light therapy in the morning and the use at bedtime of supplements containing the naturally occurring hormone melatonin that the body releases in response to darkness.

My own experiences with sleep deprivation and #BipolarDisorder have been a mixed bag. For many years before I was diagnosed, I was subject to the difficulties caused by shift work, either third or second shift. Third-shift work made me too tired to drive safely, especially if I was also working first shift the next day, which sometimes happened. My husband pitched in and picked me up on those days. My friends knew never to call me before noon.

For a while I took a prescribed sleep aid, but sometime during the last year realized that as my sleep-wake cycle was regulating to a more “normal” pattern, and that the sleep I got without the meds was more refreshing and conducive to clear thought in the morning. So I quit taking it, with the approval of my psychiatrist. Even though I work at home and make my own hours, my work schedule has become predictable as well. Now I wake around 6:00 or 7:00 a.m., check my emails and timeline, have some breakfast and start my work (when I have some). I break for lunch, then resume work in the early afternoon.

As for getting to sleep, it’s usually not a problem (except when it is). Any more, I take my nighttime meds, read for about 30 minutes, and drift off to sleep normally.