Is this a form of insomnia?!
Question: And if so, what can I do about it?
Lately I feel scared to fall asleep sometimes. I will be so tired, but just as I am drifting off I jolt myself awake like I am scared I won't be able to wake up ever again. This does not happen every night, maybe once or twice a week. Any thoughts?
Answers: And if so, what can I do about it?
Lately I feel scared to fall asleep sometimes. I will be so tired, but just as I am drifting off I jolt myself awake like I am scared I won't be able to wake up ever again. This does not happen every night, maybe once or twice a week. Any thoughts?
Despite "RyGar" 's lengthy answer, which doesn't seem to answer your question as best as I can read, and as a mental health professional with 20+ years experience, now retired, your complaints seem more of an anxiety disorder as opposed to a sleep disorder. In the diagnosis of "Primary Insomnia" (307.42 in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders, the difficulty of going to sleep is a criteria for that diagnosis BUT, in the "Differential Diagnosis" section, it warns against this diagnosis without first considering an Anxiety Disorder diagnosis or a "Sleep Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition, Insomnia Type", or a "Substance-Induced Sleep Disorder, Insomnia Type", whether the substance be medication or caffeine or other substance. An Anxiety Disorder diagnosis is also possible with the scant information you have provided, so, you'd have to tell me more for me to be more accurate in my "diagnosis", which I wouldn't do without seeing you in person anyway. I just tried to provide some thoughts on the subject. God Bless you.
Insomnia is an inability to sleep well. It's a common problem, affecting almost everyone at one time or another. A person with insomnia may have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, wake up frequently during the night, or wake up earlier than desired the next morning, resulting in symptoms such as daytime fatigue, irritability, poor memory, loss of productivity, and decreased enjoyment of family and social life.
Most people have an occasional restless night, often related to short-term stress. For some people, however, poor-quality sleep is a recurring or even a lifelong problem. Temporary insomnia, lasting days to weeks, affects about 50% of adults. Insomnia that lasts more than 6 weeks may affect up to 10% to 15% of adults.
The symptoms of insomnia vary. You may have difficulty falling asleep, so you may toss and turn for what seems like a long time. You may wake up and have trouble falling back to sleep, perhaps several times during the night. You may wake up too early and feel unrefreshed in the morning or tired or irritable during the day.
Temporary insomnia, which can last anywhere from a night or two up to several weeks, may be caused by:
* A single stressful event.
* A period of emotional stress.
* Illness.
* Temporary pain or discomfort.
* Disturbances in the sleeping environment, such as noise, light, or sleeping in a different bed.
* A change in the normal sleep pattern, such as might be caused by jet lag or working a late shift.
Temporary insomnia usually resolves in less than a month. But it's important to pay attention to it since excessive daytime sleepiness can have serious consequences, such as accidents while driving or at work. Also, temporary insomnia can develop into chronic poor-quality sleep, particularly if you begin to worry about your inability to sleep.
Chronic insomnia can last months or even years, and may be caused by:
* Mental or emotional conditions, such as depression or anxiety, or stress. These are the leading causes of insomnia in adults. 3
* Poor sleep habits, such as watching television in bed or keeping an irregular bedtime schedule, or apprehension or excessive worry about falling asleep, which often plagues people with insomnia. 4
* An underlying medical condition such as a breathing problem, heart condition, hormonal or digestive disorder, or chronic pain.
* Use of stimulants such as tobacco and caffeine.
* Alcohol use.
* Lack of regular physical activity. 5
* Prescription, nonprescription, or illegal drugs.
* A different sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea.
It is important to talk with your health professional about your sleep patterns and to have any health problem or sleep disorder diagnosed and, if necessary, treated. Insomnia can contribute to depression, automobile and industrial accidents, loss of jobs, marital and social problems, increased alcohol consumption, and poor health.
what he said !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It seems like your under a lot of stress. I've experienced the same when I'm tensed about something, it becomes so difficult to fall asleep. An when you get up in the morning it feels as if you've never slept.
no it sounds like some kind of phobia instead, and reminds me of my job on midnights, how i am forced to stay awake no matter how tired lol, any other reason would mean unnecessary stress put on oneself for fear of not completing intended tasks that needed 24/7 attention or thought could complete or enjoy the moment too much to notice and thought was worth more than a nights sleep, if can accomplish such a task great. good 4 you, and for fear of never waking up again sounds like my excuse, just kidding, i don't need a reason, or have one but i do like the quietness, and non interrupted destinations that your lucky to have only a few hours of on any given day. That is if u work and get your 8 hrs sleep, chorus, errands and just the thought of puts me to sleep and if i have free time i tend to take advantage, even if once a week. It's not insomnia its caffeine(pop), at present, at late hours, (i am outta coffee, and no hurry to buy since its been a few weeks,)and already sleep loads and 12 hrs all week, and does make me feel guilty and a waste of my life, and which i feel afternoons does to me as i do not have to get up and not forced, makes me lazy as can be, and not called sleep deprivation or insomnia but an environmental factor such as sensory deprivation or sensory overload can cause psychosocial factors such as depression, loss and grief, or stress and anxiety and linked to environment already mentioned and can be first linked by pharmacological factors anticholinergic and drugs with central nervous effects and only possible cause of fluctuations in sleep or no sleep but merely a choice rather than a medical condition and wiser choices are the solution. Any bad habit is breakable if person is willing to change it and that goes for insomnia. Yes i got information from notes, from school on disturbed wake - sleep patterns manifestation and possible causes. But i think the answer is in the solution more than the cause and that would be habit forming of positive modes, and daily, and started today with attending my gym and should break habit of too much sleep on days i work and plan to go tommorrow whether i sleep or not tonight since routine does work and i can sleep after since i don't work tommorrow but day after that i do. I think if insomnia or intended lack of sleep is harmless if done very few or say 1 day a week and does not affect your job, since have day off and does not effect your daily routine and a nap of a few hours is at least taken the day or morning after, and if have no trouble fallling asleep next night since deprived and oh ya can't forget for the advantage of catch up. Since i find myself always doing that after procrastination and another insomnia trigger but not a cure as procrastination is another story and topic not intended for question unless is one of the reasons and something can be done about it and that would be lifestyle change and hard work. Leaving no reason to be scared to drift off to sleep since the work is already done. And working on it , slowly but surely, and also moderation instead of one extreme to the other. And easier said than done.
If I had to take a guess, I would say you have night time anxiety. Talk to your psychiatrist.