Autism and Sleep Problems #MomOnTheSpectrum #actuallyautistic

❤️ 🧡 💛 MY FAVORITE THINGS 💚 💙 💜

[hannahreynolds]

Middle of the night research is a frequent thing for me. I'm glad it's not just me

[shelbylue]

Creatures of 3am unite! 👏 Middle of the night research usually gives me my most creative problem solving but Lordy does it constantly mess up my days with the rest of how the world turns. 😞 Sigh. (I just saw a Temple Grandin talk where she references her 3am research.) It helps sooo much hearing lovely women like her and yourself speaking up and sharing, thank you 🙏

[sueannevangalen]

Life is one giant quest for a mystical something called Enough Sleep. I feel like I almost never get there. 😴

[carole]

sleeping is a 'special interest' for me, well almost, but i have to have white noise, and if the schedule changes (like my husband is in bed before me) it makes me so mad! then i feel guilty about it. when i was like 6 i remember waking up in the middle of the night, going into my parents room, and having to put my moms watch in a drawer because it as keeping me awake. no analog clocks allowed in my house!

[julie]

A must: sleepmask, earplugs, weighted blanket, (favourite) cuddle toy, (quiet) fan. Busy brain needs chill & nourishment

[cass_p]

I use podcasts or audiobooks to basically talk over the noise in my head - they have to be soothing without being boring enough for my mind to think over them, but not so engaging that I just follow along and never get to sleep. Plus white noise, because otherwise I'll hear every. tiny. sound.

[MJFish]

I love hearing this. My daughter is on the spectrum and I never get any sleep because she never gets any sleep, and I KNEW it was because her brain couldn’t shut off! I just knew it! She’s only seven… Sometimes she will read when she wakes up, but often she needs to discuss something with me because she doesn’t know if we have any books that she can reference etc for her thoughts. But she knows she can bounce ideas off her mama. And she knows I can help her regulate sensory issues if she desires that.

[sarahv]

I’m so relieved to have found something that’s helping me understand myself. Especially with the sleep issues - even if my brain allows me to get to sleep (usually have to be REALLY tired for that to happen) it will wake me up at inconvenient points in the night and start racing with thoughts that simply don’t let me get back to sleep easily. I end up reading for ages just to get my brain to chill out enough for me to get a small amount of sleep before I have to get up for work. Really frickin annoying.

[indigobunting]

All my life I had sleeping problems and now pain wakes me over and over.

[whitneymason]

When my son was a baby until 2 yrs old he needed to be swaddled and rocked to sleep. We're definitely both hypervigilant sleeper and wake up to the slightest noise.

[ThePortalTheory]

Yup. 4am wake up and immediately start researching especially if I've gotten stuck on something. Causing issues in my current relationship. I used to go to pool and swim. Water is the best place for me. ❤️ to all.

[asaldanapr]

Wow! The researching part really hit home, this happens to me when I can’t fall asleep, my brain wants to keep active and all these strange questions come up that I just need to know NOW!

[acmulhern]

What helps me is to have something to work on in my brain. It can be a puzzle or something I need to find a solution for. It has to be something that makes me hyperfocus, because that's when I'm at my most relaxed. I like spelling with a pillow on top of my head and only have my nose sticking out.
This has helped me sleep.sonce u was a child. Highly recommend and hope this helps someone else.

[agentjjg]

I dont work good with medication, and thats not a solve for time.

But I found out that creating complex since fiction scenarios in my mind help me sleep.
Creating ships.
Naming Planets.
Make big Storys .

I do this for 10 years and it's worked wery well.

Sry for my bad english but I'm german.
My best greetings.

[smicketysmoo]

Black out curtains, blindfold, earplugs, weighted blanket... and still have problems! Aaargh! 😫

[dianajunus]

I have not been diagnosed but I can relate to everything you say

[cowsonzambonis]

This is relatable I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning, but then I thought about doing more research on autistic burnout, and THAT’S what got me out of bed! 😂😂 So funny to know I’m not the only one who does that!

[KicknAsphlt]

I figured my issues were just because of the ADHD - I didn't even think ASD could also be a cause. I've always been a night owl, even when I was a kid, and often stay up until I pass out.

[pileotires]

Also the crazy dreams. Lol my inner mind is so huge it really goes off. I struggle with zoning into my environment all of the time when I'm awake. It makes the change into testing and sleeping challenging. It takes me a long time to fall asleep.

[cornishmaid]

After decades of insomnia I finally found something that will put me to sleep really quickly, and when I awaken, will put me back to sleep. It’s Bluetooth headband-headphones. That way I don’t disturb my husband and are comfortable. I listen to mindless stuff so It doesn’t start me thinking. Usually judge Judy, who I don’t even like, but it stops me from thinking. My brain would rather opt into sleep than hear her annoying banter 😄👍