Tips to stay awake?

Sep 16, 2019, 04:18 AM

I am so depressed. I want to go back to sleep, yet at the same time, I need to stay awake to be productive. I can't be sleeping all day; that's not good.

I'm at work right now and ready to doze off. I am having a difficult time staying awake, even though I got 13 hrs last night! I wish I could sleep, but I dragged myself to work so that I wouldn't; however, admittedly, I HAVE fallen asleep at work before, and I do NOT want to do that again!

I do not drink coffee or tea. Too bitter for me, even with sugar.

scatterbrained04 · Sep 16, 2019, 04:59 AM

One of the things I find helpful for me is to write a doable to do list out when I get to work. After each task I complete, I'll get up and take a short break and get up and walk around for a few minutes to try to get my blood moving a bit.

Also, I don't usually have strict deadlines for a lot of my work load. On my bad days I'll tackle all the stuff that I can practically do in my sleep, and then on my better days tackle all the stuff that needs more concentration and social interaction. I do this as much as possible. It's not always possible, but it helps me.

Sep 16, 2019, 04:59 AM

Hi bluebicyle. In my experience, sleeping 13 hours in a row was part of the problem leading to daytime sleepiness. It's important to get the right amount, meaning 9 hours max, in my case. Have you tried forcing yourself to stay up later and get up with an alarm? It may initially seem tough, but it's possible after an hour of getting up you may feel better.

I have had cases in the past when I was stable (or even a bit depressed) when lowering my sedating med's dose (Seroquel XR, in my case) helped not only cut hypersomnia, but even depression. I only did that with my psychiatrist's approval, though.

How too much sleep makes you tired: Are you tired from...too much sleep? - Harvard Health

Sep 16, 2019, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scatterbrained04

One of the things I find helpful for me is to write a doable to do list out when I get to work. After each task I complete, I'll get up and take a short break and get up and walk around for a few minutes to try to get my blood moving a bit.

Also, I don't usually have strict deadlines for a lot of my work load. On my bad days I'll tackle all the stuff that I can practically do in my sleep, and then on my better days tackle all the stuff that needs more concentration and social interaction. I do this as much as possible. It's not always possible, but it helps me.

That’s a great idea. I used to make to-do lists for organization purposes, but haven't done that in a while. (I think I got lazy...) I should pick that habit up again to see if it helps today. Thanks!

Sep 16, 2019, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BirdDancer

Hi bluebicyle. In my experience, sleeping 13 hours in a row was part of the problem leading to daytime sleepiness. It's important to get the right amount, meaning 9 hours max, in my case. Have you tried forcing yourself to stay up later and get up with an alarm? It may initially seem tough, but it's possible after an hour of getting up you may feel better.

I have had cases in the past when I was stable (or even a bit depressed) when lowering my sedating med's dose (Seroquel XR, in my case) helped not only cut hypersomnia, but even depression. I only did that with my psychiatrist's approval, though.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm sleepy from oversleeping.

I would talk to my psychiatrist if he weren't inept. Virtually everyone here agreed I should just get a new one because he was saying bizarre, nonsensical sh_t, and his weird assistant kept recommending weird OTC stuff to fix sleep, when the sleep problems should've been solved with med changes, not with Benadryl etc. I'm actually going to work with my therapist this Friday to transfer to a new pdoc.

TimTheEnchanter · Sep 16, 2019, 06:13 AM

You are oversleeping because that is how your depression manifests. I was the same on 900mg lithium. While manic I slept a little, but on the other end, I slept 12 hours including naps. That is a sign of depression. I started on Abilify and now I don't sleep that much. 7-8 hours or less is more to my age (62) - lucky I do not have a job to perform or I would have been in trouble.

Sep 16, 2019, 07:11 AM

do stuff with your hand. wave it about, post on here (like I'm doing now), find a rubix cube or something and have a go at that

you could even make yourself laugh by saying random **** that makes no sense (just to you). I do that litirally all the time

I'll randomly say something along the lines of,

" the cat sat on the mat", and burst out laughing, because for me that is just hilarious

Sep 16, 2019, 07:12 AM

plan some kind of project and sit their thinking how you're going to acheeve it

like: the card I did for a friend, or what you're going to do for halloween, that sort of stuff

Sep 16, 2019, 07:13 AM

watch youtube videos of stuff that really interest you

(so for me, theme parks, cats, and harry potter)

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