Sleep, Again

Greetings and salutations.


Alright kids. I've already posted a post about this subject . . . but things have changed and new twists have been added to the fun game that is my sleeping habits. I don't want to sound like a broken record about the whole sleeping disorder thing, but well, this is a space where I put some of my thoughts and sleep happens to be on my mind frequently. 


As previously mentioned in my first post about this particular subject, as found here if you need a refresher course, I mentioned Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. DSPS is a circadian rhythm disorder and like the name implies (context clues, kids), my sleep is delayed. What that means for me is I have trouble naturally falling asleep before two or three in the morning. It's basically impossible . . . unless I'm just exhausted or have been up all night without any sleep. When I wrote the first post, I wasn't specifically diagnosed with anything, it was all speculation and self-diagnosis, which I don't do often. After seeing a sleep doctor, who is wonderful and I really like her, I was given the diagnosis of DSPS. Which was a huge relief for me because I now have someone who specializes in sleep telling me there is something wrong.


Oh, and did I mention she also diagnosed me with psychophysiological insomnia? Because she did. 


From what my doctor has told me, psychophysiological insomnia is caused by high levels of stress and anxiety. My particular stress and anxiety came from my sleep, my attempts to force myself to sleep before I was ready to, my anxiety over my inability to fix and control my sleep, and my reactions to other people commenting on my sleeping habits . . . which were mostly critical (and brought on even more issues for me).


And what am I doing to accommodate my unusual sleeping schedule and school? Well, I have two classes each day and the classes don't start until after noon thirty. Which has worked out relatively okay. I mean, I've missed classes, but my professors know what's up and that it's somewhat out of my control. I'm also on a prescription sleep aid . . . not a sleeping pill. My doctor put me on trazodone, which is actually an anti-depressant, to induce drowsiness, which will help me fall asleep sooner. It's been okay so far, I haven't had any really adverse reactions to it. My jaw would be locked when I woke up and would pop when I tried to open past a certain point. That hurt. I told my doctor about this and she said that it was probably me clenching my jaw at night that caused the locking and that it was probably a side effect of the pill, since I've never had this problem before.


But the combination of the DSPS and insomnia is an interesting mix . . . I've noticed I've been falling asleep later than I normally would (which is already late for polite society). I've also fallen into a bizarre habit of crashing at like eight or nine in the evenings and waking up again at say, two or three in the morning, staying up till about eleven, crashing again, and waking up for class . . . this has been me for the past week. I blame Grease. But not really . . . kind of.

Speaking of the Fine Arts, during my initial meeting with my doctor, we were talking about what I was studying in school. When I mentioned I was a Theatre and English Writing double major, she was like "As much a night owl as you are, that's perfect for you." She meant perfect in the sense I wouldn't have to worry too much about the whole 9-5 shift nonsense. She also didn't say those exact words, I was getting to the essence of what she meant.

Anyway, that's all I really have to say about this at the time being. I'll keep the world updated with my sleep stuff as I have more to say about it. 


With that, goodnight and sleep tight.