Less sleep = more stable...?

If I get 7-8 hours of sleep a night, I feel sooooo sluggish the next day. Last night I only got 4 hours and I feel really good. Yes, it was still hard to get out of bed, but I was forced to do so because I had to get my kids somewhere on time. Once I was out and about I ran by the store, the post office, came home and did some laundry....I feel GREAT! I don't have the overwhelming feeling of "go-go-go, have to get everything done at once". No racing thoughts. Just chill.

So I told my friend (who deals with anxiety and depression) that oddly less sleep makes me feel normal. She said no, this is mania. You shouldn't be feeling better with less sleep. My lamictal is nowhere near working yet as I've only been on it a week. My lexapro does nothing for me. So the only med I have to somewhat level me out is klonopin. But it makes me slow down and right now, I don't want to slow down. I don't want to fall back into depression. So she said this is where the consistency comes in. I have to be consistent with the klonopin until the lamictal is working.

How do I tell if I'm stable or manic? I just can't figure out my own mind and it's so confusing and frustrating

(I see my pdoc again 1 week from today)

Hi-
A few things to consider:

1). Loved ones, friends who you trust- sometimes are better than at spotting a manic episode than you. They'll notice the changes in your tone of voice, attitudes, before it becomes apparent to you. So you do need to assess how well your friend knows you- have they been successful in spotting a manic episode starting before, do they have your best interests at heart, ect.

2). The amount of sleep you get is a very common trigger in bipolar. What triggered your previous manic episodes? Was it sleep- was it a diet change- change in kids schedule. Identifying your triggers is crucial to being able to distinguish what is manic vs what is not.

I know you mentioned you'd see your pdoc in a week- one lesson that I learned recently is that I can call my pdoc when I am not sure if what's happening is normal. Take ownership of your health- it might hurt financially- but if you truly trust your pdoc- make that call today- let your friend know that you called your pdoc for input.

With me- the manic stage starts feeling as a relief but it can spiral out of control quickly. For what its worth- I've heard that you can detect some improvement in lamactical after a week. Be careful and continue to take care of yourself!

I do not believe that klonopin will make you depressed. I find that when my time in bed suddenly decreased, I can feel great. I look at it as an elevated mood, not a baseline normal mood. But I find that continuing this practice of cutting my hours for sleep does not work for me.

Less sleep can be a sign of heading into a hypo/mania .. But not 100% .. Everyone is different . Just keep an eye on your moods .. Start charting them if you dont already .. Can be done on paper or there are apps for you phone ..If you see a pattern of less sleep and increasing activity beyond your normal Then is the time to be concerned .

Just do a self check daily .. ( just note how your feeling) and go about your day.

Do you have someone that is close to you that can toss up a flag if you seem to go too high ?

Everyone is different, some people function better on the recommended amount of sleep, some function better on more and then there's the (apparantly) smaller group which I fall into that function better on less sleep.

I tried the whole 8hrs sleep schedule and I just could not keep that going for long even though it was recommended by my pdoc. It made me feel sluggish and wanting more sleep. The only time I can and do sleep longer is when I'm depressed.

So I went back to my normal which is between 4 and 6. I function just fine on this schedule whether I'm working or not. When I'm hypomanic I sleep between 0 and 2 hrs per night, so I don't let my 4hr nights worry me.

Sudden changes in sleeping patterns can definitely be an indicator of a mood shift, so what you should be looking out for is additional signs / symptoms which will help you identify if you're heading up.

Thank you everybody. My friend and husband both know me very well so I do trust them to be able to tell when I'm changing moods. Maybe I'm on the rise into hypomania but today just felt more relaxed than my usual manic state. I never did take a klonopin. I did just a couple chores, and then relaxed on the couch and after an hour or so got tired enough and took a nap. I was still able to let go of some of the chores that needed to be done which when I'm manic is impossible. I feel too overwhelmed if the house isn't cleaned top to bottom. I guess I'll see how tomorrow goes and discuss with my pdoc.

I work nights from 7p-3a so I routinely get little sleep. I will feel really good for about 4 days and then I crash and have the depression soon after. Realizing this and verbalizing it to my doctor was one of the big factors in finally finding my diagnoses.

It sounds more like hypomanic to me. I get that way on my meds no matter what at certain times of the year. But the meds keep it from escalating into mania. Call your pdoc.

Also in times when i have gone into mania i have no idea that anything is different even if its from straight depression to running around full of energy thinking i am Gods gift to men and believing God speaks to me and uses me for good. I never realize until someone yells me or its over. The fact that you can tell you feel better says to me its not mania but hypo. Again ask your doctor bc hypo can turn into mania in a flash. If your meds arent working and you dont sleep at all its a bad sign. I always feel better with just 4 or 5 hours of sleep. I feel like my body doesnt require the full 8 they recommend.

I can relate to feeling sluggish when I sleep for 7 or 8 hrs, as opposed to 4-5. I will feel almost hung over if I sleep too much. It is a fine line for me though between hypo and manic, it seems. The last time I was manic I was running great in a hypo state, and all of a sudden I was off to the races, with a great deal of paranoia, visual,, tactile, olfactory and visual hallucinations.

As other have said, everyone is different. Personally even though I like sleeping in because it means I can stay in my bed away from noise, I feel a lot better during the day if I only get around five hours sleep as opposed to seven hours.

This has been the same case for many years now and it's regardless of my mood. I've only been getting around four hours sleep a night this week and I feel better than I did when I was sleeping about eight hours a night last week. I'm looking after a relative's house while they're away this week and that means getting up earlier.

This is what happens to me!

Well here we are at 1:20 am and I'm wiiiiiiiide awake. I'm afraid I'm getting borderline manic because I've had a definite upswing in energy today. I've been kept busy with my kids so I haven't had the chance to go crazy and start cleaning the house from top to bottom like usual.

In my 20 year experience with Klonopin I have found that it can cause depression.