[wiretwister]

This a rant with a question. Stayed up way to late last nite, once i layed down took an hour to drift off. Woke up in two hours, then up at five. Was hypo and started my pacing and of course xanex. Nothing helped at least i got some busy work done. Why do I do this to myself. I know the results as it always is the same. Later today I will crash and burn. Bit my wife"s head off threw things and I had been so stable for so long.
Question is, those of you that keep a sleep schedule do you become effected by missing it....Do you go hypo or worst,,I can't be the only one like this...

[Blue_Bird]

Yes, lack of sleep messes with me which is why I try to stay on a good schedule

[Capriciousness]

Yes totally. Sleep is like a med for me. I get all off and funky in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, it is a constant struggle to get it right. I use melatonin, benadryl, and klonopin to help out when needed. All pdoc recommended.

Good luck with your current stuff. I was a head biter yesterday

[Hopeful Camel]

I have a sleep schedule, and yes, I too, get crazy messed up if I fall off of it. It can throw me off for weeks and send me into a hypomanic state like that, if I fall prey to the urge to get up and listen to my inner demons. Lately I have been FORCING myself to stay in bed when the urge to get up strikes me. It is the only way to hold off the inevitable bad run of luck that follows getting off schedule.
I hope you feel better soon. Rants always help!

[StayinAlive]

I need to get on a better sleep schedule. I often stay up too late, surfing the web, clicking on just one more thing, then just one more, OK, last one... Like you, I know better and do it anyway and feel like crap the next day.

If I'm hypo, I can function OK. Otherwise, I'm very grumpy and irritable and barely able to function.

If you figure out how to make yourself stop, let me know.

[Tucson]

A good sleep schedule usually happens when I am OK. A chaotic sleep schedule usually happens when I am not OK.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Erratic sleep causes me great issues with my moods.

[Crazy Hitch]

I second all of the above.

When my sleep schedule gets disrupted it can throw me into all sorts of moods.

[sakura08]

Yes, I'd ruin my day or week easily when my sleep schedule is off

[Capriciousness]

Yeah internet before bed always jacks my sleep. I really try not to do that but you know in my Bipolar brain sometimes the "**** that!" Voice wins out. Sigh.

But I love my blueblocker glasses. I think they do help my brain understand that it is nighttime. I recommend to anybody having trouble calming down at night.

[LadyShadow]

Sleep is so important. I am trying so hard to get on a schedule, but I'm up late at night, chatting, relaxing and watching tv. Then I'm tired all day and nap all the time. Its a real pain in the neck. Don't know what I am going to do when I have to go back to work.

[~Christina]

Good set sleep times are a must for most Bipolars . I know its hard and I deal this with Chronic Insomnia...

Even if your not able to sleep. Force yourself to stay in bed laying down.. If you think sleep is impossible lay down anyway . Sometimes you fall asleep anyway.

[BipolaRNurse]

My pdoc literally set a curfew for me late last year---I was not allowed to stay up any later than 11 PM on weeknights and 11:30 PM on Friday and Saturday nights, and I had to be out of bed by 8 AM. I was pissed off about it at first and we had quite the argument over it, but I made myself do it because nothing else was working.

I have had much less trouble with sleep since I've been on a schedule. It was hard for me during the summer because I love staying up late on warm nights and watching the stars, but I've stuck with the script and as a result, been stable most of the time. There are times when I'll be awake late into the night because something's bothering me and the night is the time to over-think everything. But if I take my meds at 9 PM, I'll be ready for sleep by midnight 90% of the time, and that saves me a lot of mood swings because lack of sleep really messes me up.

[wiretwister]

Post script for my orginal post...stayed up late fri it's now wed have kept complete sleep schedule but this am, so groggy, unable to drive safely, lost a day of work. When will this end. I have days maybe weeks apart maybe months when for no known reason I wake (or at least rise) to a sleepy mess that coffee will not touch. I feel its meds but why so erratic. I use a cpap and get eight hours religiously wtf is going on,,always wake hard and slowly but this is like a hangover (I do not drink) and it lasts for hours, ps during these i find it hard to feel my legs they wobble under me.. i wind down for an hour before bed time no caffine maybe an easy read of a fav book..take my ambien 9 hours before rise time..I sleep the whole night just wake like a bear coming out of hibernation any body else have this happen..any suggestions...

[lolitahiddleston]

Yes it's very hard trying to maintain a schedule when your relaxing. But taking my pills in the morning with something hot gets me going for the day. There's still plenty to do indoors. i always find something that has to be done in my apartment. When are you returning to work? You were probably so exhausted from your job you never had Enough hours of sleep, your body is telling you something.

Originally Posted by PlatinumHeart

Sleep is so important. I am trying so hard to get on a schedule, but I'm up late at night, chatting, relaxing and watching tv. Then I'm tired all day and nap all the time. Its a real pain in the neck. Don't know what I am going to do when I have to go back to work.

[wiretwister]

thanks for renewing this thread, it was a treat to read something I wrote last year, and I am still not sleeping much better

I'm up its 1am. I can't fall back asleep and I've been told that when I can't sleep get up and do something for awhile and try again later. But I will be tired around 12-2pm.

All I know is its hard to keep a good schedule for me. And in the summer I stay up way too late. One bad habit at a time though. Right now I'm working on keeping the house clean....

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

My pdoc literally set a curfew for me late last year---I was not allowed to stay up any later than 11 PM on weeknights and 11:30 PM on Friday and Saturday nights, and I had to be out of bed by 8 AM.

This would kill me.

Originally Posted by wiretwister

.. I have days maybe weeks apart maybe months when for no known reason I wake (or at least rise) to a sleepy mess that coffee will not touch. I feel its meds but why so erratic...I sleep the whole night just wake like a bear coming out of hibernation any body else have this happen..any suggestions...

Yes, I have this too. Physically, but also there are days spent in the mental equivalent -- completely zoned out-- can't put a thought together, am disoriented, can't follow what people are saying etc. I've never been able to find a common denominator of those random days. It's frustrating, isn't it?

Not exactly a suggestion, but some thoughts….With your med theory, do you take your sleep med consistently at same time (or at least consistent to the number of hours before you are to get up)? One thing I've found is if I take it too late, it is absolute hell getting up. Walk into things, the whole bit. There are nights when I want to skip it, because I'm very tired and figure I'll be able to fall asleep. Sometimes it works. But when it doesn't, I get into a certain span of time that presents a quandary. Don't take = no sleep (or maybe 1 hour). Do take = sleep that I cannot get up from.
Getting up is always hard, no matter how many hours of sleep I've had. (Unless I wake up bouncing off the walls, but that's pretty rare.)

I am a nightowl. No two ways about it. 4, maybe 5 hours seems to be about right. If I get a "normal" amount of sleep, I am exhausted the next day! And it doesn't shake off.

So, I am a bad example. BUT. There are things that mess with me, and recognizing them helps a lot. 1) Bright lights. If I'm working on a project amidst bright lights, it will wind me up up up like a freight train. 2) staying up over 24 hours. Problem is, it's as easy as can be. Even 48's do-able. But the results? Not so good...

[fingers1]

Dark Therapy and resetting your Circadium rhythms seems to sort out
all these problems for me. I have learnt to have control of all my mood swings which now hardly ever happen. Don't get me wrong life is not perfect as I am in a semi low mood (zyprexa 5mg) but I am comfortably numb and relaxed about things.

fingers1

[Jerry9977]

Sleep is very important for recovery for our brain and keeps our mental state well.

[LadyShadow]

Originally Posted by lolitahiddleston

Yes it's very hard trying to maintain a schedule when your relaxing. But taking my pills in the morning with something hot gets me going for the day. There's still plenty to do indoors. i always find something that has to be done in my apartment. When are you returning to work? You were probably so exhausted from your job you never had Enough hours of sleep, your body is telling you something.

I actually returned to work right after that post I made. Oh did I get thrown off schedule after that! I had a job from 1 - 5pm Monday through Friday and I was a complete and utter disaster. I couldn't even handle four hours every day! It was so nuts. My sleep was totally messed up, my eating was even worse (gained an extra 10 pounds).

They let me go though. Not because of my work performance but because someone came back from maternity leave. It was a blessing. Now I am not working again, but at least I am sleeping. It gives me more time to think though which is totally messing me up too. My sleep schedule is 5am to 11am or noon. Its totally unhealthy, but its the best I can do. Sigh. I don't know how I am ever going to go back to a 9am - 5pm job. Sigh again.

To get back on a schedule, I'll set the alarm for 6:00 regardless of what time I went to bed. I'll be wore out by midnight and able to get up at 6 the next day.

[loophole]

Working mid nights is a flat disaster to me.. I get to go again for a month or so... F ing blows.... Get someone trained and back to 7am to 3pm.. I hate getting up early but it keeps me on a good sleeping schedule

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[BPgf]

Has anyone else experienced a full manic/depressive cycle (as in weeks or months) brought on by sleep disturbances (IE: midnight shifts for a couple weeks)?

[scatterbrained04]

http://time.com/3183183/you-asked-wh...o-go-to-sleep/

My pdoc has told me how it's better to go to sleep early versus later, even if you get the same amount of sleep. The thought being that you are likely to get a good amount of non-REM sleep before midnight. Here's an article about it. Something to think about!