Sleep issue - sleeping at a bad time

[Honzík]

Hello, I am currently having troubles with sleeping. To give you some context, I am being treated with major depressive disorder for 4.5 months, while being ill for over 10 months. I have a "selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor" medication which works perfectly, now that me and my doctor found the optimal amount.

While being depressed, I have always had troubles with sleeping. When the depression hit heavily, I would sleep 2-3 hours max. I also survived a month of just 3 hours of sleep every single day. However, when I started taking the medication, my sleeping was improving significantly.

Lately, I couldn't really control my sleep. I would sleep between 8-14 hours straight at random times of day. I could control when I go to sleep (I had never passed out), but waking up at desired time was impossible.

I tried a lot of methods to help me sleep - limiting blue light and noisese, listening to realixing music before and during sleep, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, going to sleep and waking up at exactly the same time every day, exercising (which I do anyway), cold and hot showers...

Last week, I found out that I can sleep very regularly and wake up better when I go to sleep at around 6 am and wake up at 1-2 pm. I tried it during my short 4-day holiday and I could maintain this pattern easily, while also finding myself feeling much happier and more productive.

However, there are some issues with this circadian cycle:
-I cannot really go to school, apart from 3 afternoon lesson a week (I have an individual plan, so I don't have to go to most lessons and can have higher absence than other students, but still...]
-I can get lonely at night when everyone sleeps
-I miss a lot of food (I go to a boarding school)

Do you have any ideas what to do in this situation?

 

[Petal]

Have you tried taking melatonin? Aka Circadin in some countries.
Try taking vitamin b12 at night? (a doctor suggested that to me when I couldn't sleep a few years back)
Have you tried sleeping pills hat you take at like 9pm? Such as ambien or zopiclone?
You are sleeping at the wrong hours, your sleep pattern needs changing as you know and you seem to have tried various things.
Perhaps do some more intense exercise training to make you tired enough to sleep at a decent hour? One that exhausts you.
If all fails you don't have to be lonely at night, we are here and the chatroom here has a lot of members at night time.
I really wish I had some wiser advice but that's all I got and I hope you can break this cycle and get into a health sleep routine!
I am glad your anti depressant has helped you so much, that is fantastic!
Good luck to you.

 

[Honzík]

Thank you!

I mean, I can fall asleep early if I am tired (my strength exercises are quite difficult). However, since I am tired, I also sleep longer, so I wake up at noon anyway
I haven't tried taking sleeping pills, but I don't really want to, since I am 17 and would like not to make myself immune at this age in case I have trouble sleeping when I am old...
I think I will stick to my routine for now, as I finally feel rested after a really long time.
My doctor said it is ok from a health perspective - definitely better than my previous one. The only issue is that I sleep when I am supposed to be at school. As I said, the school is very understanding of that, but it is not practical, especially for languages.

 

[Petal]

You are very welcome
You are very right to try alternative first rather than jumping onto medicines at 17.
Glad you feel well rested and its superb that your college is sympathetic towards your issue.
Best of luck in the future

 

[may71]

If you haven't consulted with your doctor yet about these problems it might be good to.

I think there are some doctors who specialize in sleep issues, so that may be worth investigating.

 

[Walker]

hey, what's up? It's good that you're thinking about your future health at a young age. That's commendable.
Check it out, man. Fact is, you're probably a night time kinda guy, that's all there is to it. BUT - for now, since you're in school, that's just not working out too well for you. So what can you do about that NOW? It's a problem. You don't have too much school left that's on a set schedule, right? So if you can just try to get through this short burst of what you have left then you can set your university schedule to your liking - late classes with a night job or something. It's just a matter of not driving yourself crazy for the next little while. Hang in there for the moment. Check with your Dr and see if there's something that can be done at all. And Melatonin is a good herbal option if advisable.