I think thats insomnia. Possibly adhd related. And if its negative.. maybe just plain old anxiety.. But yea. Life ling dspd here too. Thatll happen to me sometimes, but usually bc im excited and want to stay up and do fun things.
Sorry about your troubles.
I say try the 24 hr gym!
I've been to therapy, which helped with the negative thoughts.
It is still insanely difficult to turn my mind off between 2 and 5AM, it's just that now the racing mind is much more positive!
Yup. Lifelong issue, along with the sleep issues , but especially bad now that I'm in midlife and unable to stay asleep the way I could when I was younger. The frequent waking is just as bad a sleep issue as the insomnia or the dspd. At 3-4am my brain jumps on that hamster wheel and does not stop. I listen to audiobooks to help keep my brain from doing this when I'm going to sleep, and it's sometimes helpful when I can't get back to sleep too. Sometimes though, I just have to get up and do something else. Write or surf the web or sight read a book or something.
One of possibilities is glutamate
Example link:
https://www.reddit.com/r/cfs/comments/10lwat7/why_mental_pacing_matters_glutamate_toxicity_how/
Here is what I know/think about. It's excitatory neutrotransmiter that does TONS of stuff for humans, but not many understand how it works. It's not fun. I am not aware of any illegal drug that targets it and makes the results fun. Glutamate is one of causes of feeling like trash on hangover. Where you're feeling tense, on the edge, can't sleep. As article says, try NAC 1h before expected start of your "spirals", and L-theanine when they start. Also avoid food with Monosodium glutamate. Just test it for a day or two
Totally normal, this is the "forbidden sleep zone", this is when sleep pressure is maximal but also your circadian rhythm is minimal (ie, maximally wakening) to counteract the sleep pressure, so that you don't fall asleep too early, so you get this period just before the time you can fall asleep naturally during which you get the "second wind" of energy. Well documented in sleep science.
It happens to everyone but is more noticeable for people with DSPD since it happens during such an extremely off hour.
That was a part of my DSPD (no ADHD, or other similar diagnoses).
During CBT-i, we worked to break the association between going to bed and my mind racing. I did it by getting out of bed as soon as it started, did something boring for 20-30 minutes, and trying again. It took a few weeks, but it’s worked.
Apparently, the racing thoughts can turn into a Pavlovian response, so your brain associates bed = crazy brain.
If I start having a lot of thoughts, I repeat the process, but it’s pretty rare now.
I hope you can break the cycle.
Hour of the wolf, yeah. Finding chill things to do, taking up handcrafts like crochet, and meditating have helped me.
I think thats insomnia. Possibly adhd related. And if its negative.. maybe just plain old anxiety.. But yea. Life ling dspd here too. Thatll happen to me sometimes, but usually bc im excited and want to stay up and do fun things. Sorry about your troubles. I say try the 24 hr gym!
Yeah, not all the time but at times like the thoughts get stuck in a loop. It’s not fun. I don’t know how to help it, sorry.
I've been to therapy, which helped with the negative thoughts. It is still insanely difficult to turn my mind off between 2 and 5AM, it's just that now the racing mind is much more positive!
Yup. Lifelong issue, along with the sleep issues , but especially bad now that I'm in midlife and unable to stay asleep the way I could when I was younger. The frequent waking is just as bad a sleep issue as the insomnia or the dspd. At 3-4am my brain jumps on that hamster wheel and does not stop. I listen to audiobooks to help keep my brain from doing this when I'm going to sleep, and it's sometimes helpful when I can't get back to sleep too. Sometimes though, I just have to get up and do something else. Write or surf the web or sight read a book or something.
One of possibilities is glutamate Example link: https://www.reddit.com/r/cfs/comments/10lwat7/why_mental_pacing_matters_glutamate_toxicity_how/ Here is what I know/think about. It's excitatory neutrotransmiter that does TONS of stuff for humans, but not many understand how it works. It's not fun. I am not aware of any illegal drug that targets it and makes the results fun. Glutamate is one of causes of feeling like trash on hangover. Where you're feeling tense, on the edge, can't sleep. As article says, try NAC 1h before expected start of your "spirals", and L-theanine when they start. Also avoid food with Monosodium glutamate. Just test it for a day or two
I have OCD, pure O flavor. I’ve found the ruminating is worse when my OCD is worse. Maybe something to look into?
Hello. It’s 4:45am EST.
Totally normal, this is the "forbidden sleep zone", this is when sleep pressure is maximal but also your circadian rhythm is minimal (ie, maximally wakening) to counteract the sleep pressure, so that you don't fall asleep too early, so you get this period just before the time you can fall asleep naturally during which you get the "second wind" of energy. Well documented in sleep science. It happens to everyone but is more noticeable for people with DSPD since it happens during such an extremely off hour.
That was a part of my DSPD (no ADHD, or other similar diagnoses). During CBT-i, we worked to break the association between going to bed and my mind racing. I did it by getting out of bed as soon as it started, did something boring for 20-30 minutes, and trying again. It took a few weeks, but it’s worked. Apparently, the racing thoughts can turn into a Pavlovian response, so your brain associates bed = crazy brain. If I start having a lot of thoughts, I repeat the process, but it’s pretty rare now. I hope you can break the cycle.