Does PTSD interfer with sleep?

Can any of you give me an answer on this?

Thanks,

Bluemellon

Hello Bluemellon,

In my experience yes it can interfere with sleep. For me nightmares made it scary to sleep plus a heightened state of awareness made it hard for me to settle down for the night.

PTSD definitely affects sleep. There are three symptom categories found in PTSD: re-experiencing the trauma, avoiding thinking or feeling about the trauma, and being hyperaroused as a result of the trauma. Two of those are reflected in sleep difficulties. People with PTSD may have disrupted sleep, or avoid going to sleep, because of nightmares (this is considered a re-experiencing symptom). They may also be unable to relax enough to sleep, instead attending to every noise in their environment or being concerned about being safe enough to sleep (this is a hyperarousal symptom).

I hope this information helps. There is more information at the National Center for PTSD.

I've had all of the above. Also, I'm constantly angry at the person who attacked me, and it's so easy for me to slip into obsessional thinking about everything related to it, right before bed, which keeps me awake at night too.

I hear you, Earlier this week I felt the same way. I forced myself to stay up all night, event though I was sooo tired if I layed my head down I felt like I was going to be attacked. I had to wait until 5:30am to lay down. (that's when my brother wakes up) and didn't fall asleep until about 6:30am. I feel your pain, and wish you the best of luck.

Try listening to some relaxing music you like before you sleep, sometimes that helps me out.

Yes, PTSD can affect your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. I have had dreams about my trauma and had trouble falling back to sleep. Interestingly, one of the best treatments for PTSD is getting REM-type sleep. A good, deep sleep can help one recover from PTSD because it helps a person deal with stress better afterwards and helps our subconscious minds process problematic thoughts and memories. As a treatment for my PTSD, I have been trying to sleep more and longer. I stay in bed when I can't sleep with the light off - sometimes it helps promote falling back to sleep. I find reading in bed helps me fall asleep and return to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night. I now sleep with magazines at my side. And, I eat foods at night that help me fall asleep, e.g., pasta because it increases my serotonin level.

Ugh, I have that same feeling so often. It starts in about 9 or 10 and a lot of times I am in and out of bed trying to make the feeling go away so I can get some rest.

This is so, so true. I take a med that almost always helps me sleep, and as long as I take it regularly my symptoms stay fairly manageable. Of course, when my symptoms are triggered, I get too scared to take the meds, so my symptoms get worse...vicious circle. But the biggest boost I have ever had in my recovery was when I started getting a regular 7-8 hours of sleep. I like your list of sleep-encouraging activities.

In the first couple of years after the onset of my PTSD I slept MORE to avoid feeling the pain of the trauma. I slept 12-16 hours per day and was stoned all the time when I was awake. A decade later I still sleep for many hours as the date of my BFs death approaches.

No trouble sleeping here. Just takes a long time for me to fall asleep but when I do, it's more like a coma!

I always wonder if I sleep like the dead as a protection thing since I was routinely molested in my sleep. I can sleep through anything!

It's NEVER restorative sleep!