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INSIDE PERSPECTIVES of AS & Neurodiversity |
SLEEP
Sleep disorders seem to be much more prevalent among autistic people than in the general population.
“The aspie sleep pattern has recently been a focus of research at the Astrid Lindgren paediatric hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. The study isn't completed but so far they have been able to state that sleeping disorders and autism are very linked. The amount of children with sleeping disorders and autism were as high as over 23/33. In the control group (children without autism) sleeping disorder was as low as 3/33. That shows a MAJOR difference.” - Lotta Abrahamsson, ADHD/Aspie teacher, lecturer and author from Sweden
ATYPICAL SLEEP PATTERNS
According to the latest sleep research, one’s sleep type is regulated by specific genes.
“15-25 percent of the population is made of B-persons. 10-15 percent are A-persons. The rest of the population are more or less either one or the other, or something in between.” - From B-Science
· Early birds (A-persons) have been found to have a 23 hour diurnal rhythm (also called ‘Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome’). Usually fall asleep early at night and wake up bright and early in the morning.
· Night owls (B-persons) often have a 25-27 hour rhythm (also called ‘Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome’). Tend to be more nocturnal and function best at night.
“I tend to push the day forward with one hour per day. The 25-hour rhythm is most noticeable when I don’t have work/school.” - Emma, adult Aspie from Sweden
“My body clock doesn't run on 24 hours. My body clock runs closer to 25 hours or slightly longer. Because of this, my sleep/waking pattern wraps around the clock if I'm not careful. This isn't a problem for me. The problem comes because the world runs on a 24 hours clock as do most of the people in it.”
My sleep cycle seems to fairly consistently follow the moon’s 24,8 hour cycle (I’ve kept a sleep diary, that’s how I noticed the similar pattern), which usually coincides with the sun’s (or rather the earth’s) only during the time of the new moon. In the summertime it is somewhat easier to keep a 24-hour rhythm, in the winter all but impossible. - Inger, site-author
“I work best at night, then it’s nice and quiet for a change.” - ‘Underjord’, male Aspie from Sweden
“I normally go to bed at 6 AM and sleep until 1 or 2 PM. Sometimes I’ve gone to bed later too. And sometimes – on rare occasions – even earlier, though not before 4 AM. That’s what my rhythm looks like. But I think it feels wrong to sleep away the night, because that’s when it is finally quiet. No people walking in the stairs, no cars passing in the street etc. It is at night I can concentrate on things, for example my studies. So it feels really wrong to sleep at night because that’s when I come alive and am most alert.” - Maria, adult Aspie from Sweden
· Some have even more unusual sleep patterns.
“I haven’t had so-called normal sleep in all my adult life, I think... I sleep so that every second week or so I’m awake in the daytime, and every other week I’m awake all night... - ‘FreeSpirit’, male Aspie from Sweden
“I have a weird sleep rhythm, I’ve noticed, it seems natural for me to be awake 48 hours and sleep 14 - 16 hours... doesn’t at all take a toll on me oddly enough, but I’m not allowed to keep this rhythm because of all the things one has to do every day. ‘musts’.” - ‘skruw’, Aspie from Sweden
“The day should preferably be 28-30 hours. Often takes many long hours to go to sleep, but once asleep I usually sleep 10-12 hours. (If I can.) When I’ve had enough sleep I’m usually awake for 16-18 hours before I get tired.” - ‘Leon’, male Aspie from Sweden
· Among those with non-24-hour sleep rhythms, there are many whose internal clock is easily reset by light so that it stays synced with the sun and follows the 24-hour cycle if they only get enough daylight (in the morning for B-persons, in the afternoon for A-persons).
· Others have an internal clock that stubbornly follows its own cycle, no matter what.
Having a non-24-hour sleep rhythm is often an inconvenience when living in a 24-hour society, but that may be changing. Some schools and work places have specialised in catering to those with atypical sleep rhythms and more will probably come. Especially for studying, factory- & office work, there is no reason whatsoever for it to have to be done early in the morning. In those cases where B-person students and employees have been allowed to choose hours that fit their type better, the results have been very positive (surprise, surprise).
INSOMNIA
Some are born with a high energy level and just don’t seem to need as much sleep as others. Others really need to sleep but can’t. I know Aspies who have hardly had a single good night’s sleep in their entire lives, unless aided by sleeping pills, alcohol or drugs.
· Mental hyperactivity/clarity. Some of us find that our minds work extra well at night, especially when it’s dark & quiet and one is lying snugly in bed. No visual or other sensory distractions to interfere with visualising or pondering on things.
“I feel as if my brain has very much difficulty winding down before sleep, so I will lay awake for a long time with thought and ideas going around in my mind. It as always been like this since I was child. I used really like going to bed as a kid, since I could then lie there musing and thinking up good ideas.” - Emma, adult Aspie from Sweden
“I have tremendous problems sleeping, because I find it very difficult to stop thinking and analysing intently. Imagine a condition at night when your otherwise normally active mind becomes hyperactive and there is nothing you can do to switch it off. The thoughts I tend to have are of academic subjects, and the level of detailed analysis is them are phenomenal. It's as if I have been mysteriously administered a drug to turbo charge my mind at night. I ferociously delve into the most minute details in rapid succession, quickly coming to conclusions. I tend to study a particular subject or idea in the daytime and then analyse it at night; and it affects me like a desperately uncontrollable addiction. - Archit, adult Aspie from India/UK
- Inger, site-author
· Going to bed is a problem for many, especially if one’s head is clearest at night and one is so hyper-focused on a special interest that it’s impossible to let it go.
“I’ve always had extreme problems sleeping, and on top of it that problem with postponing sleep endlessly. Could go to bed at 7 in the morning and get up at 4-5 in the afternoon.” - Zooey, female Aspie from Sweden
“I feel sometimes that I get so hyperactive that I can’t fall asleep, that the interest gets so strong on something that I can’t let go so I skip food and sleep so that I can keep at it.”
“As a teen I suffered insomnia - hardly sleeping at all - my mind was just racing all the time - it got to the point that I was so deprived of sleep I was hallucinating; but it was also an extremely productive and creative time in my life. I am more of a night person anyway and would be up until early hours of morning writing and drawing, because I just could not sleep. I could even tell what time it was by where the moon was through my bedroom window.” - Julie, adult Aspie from England
“When I’m hyperfocusing on something and starting to feel tired, I keep thinking, “Just a few minutes more...” <fast forward to several hours later> “Hm, why am I so hungry? And stiff in the neck! *ouch!* And what is the sun doing up already?” - Inger, site-author
· Melatonin. Insomnia may in some be due to a deficiency/irregularity in melatonin production. Taking synthetic melatonin works for some, though not necessarily for everyone.
“They have suggested that melatonin helps, as research has shown that Aspies seem to have irregular melatonin production in their bodies. On trying melatonin, I found it helpful. Apparently melatonin is an enzyme, which regulates your body clock and regulates your sleep as well as initiates it. Research seems to show that Aspies have irregular melatonin production and, in fact, some Aspies reported the opposite problem to me of needing a minimum of 15 hours' sleep in every 24 to be able to function. So, apparently, this sort of sleep disorder is due to irregular melatonin production in our own bodies, which has now been shown to be a physiological problem that Aspies have been shown to have!”
“I have big problems with sleep, mostly with falling asleep, and total insomnia, but also hypersomnia and constant awakenings.” - ‘Mardröm’, male Aspie from Sweden
· Stress & worry are well-known to produce insomnia. Stress also creates cortisol which is an antagonist to the sleep-hormone melatonin.
· Fear. Many children, especially sensitive children (and even adults) are extremely afraid of the dark and can’t sleep without a light on or would prefer to sleep close to their parents. This is actually a very normal and legitimate need that has been made ‘abnormal’ by modern culture. Every other mammal sleeps with their offspring and wouldn’t dream of putting them in a separate chamber for their own convenience. Since Aspies are generally less susceptible to cultural restrictions, some Aspie parents allow their children to sleep with them and from the examples I have seen myself, their children grow up more harmonious because of it.
“I’ve never understood that nonsense about children having to sleep in their own rooms. We let our children sleep in our bed until they were quite big.” - Leif, adult probable Aspie from Sweden
· Stimulants. In some cases insomnia may be due to consuming too much sugar, coffee, soda, orange juice etc – especially if one is extra sensitive to sugar and stimulants.
“I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine. If I drink, for example, a 20-ounce bottle of Vanilla Coke in one sitting, I'll be unable to fall asleep until late in the morning and feel very energized. I might even have slight tremors.”
· Sensory sensitivity. Some supersensitive individuals can’t sleep if there is the least bit of noise and may be kept awake even by very slight sounds from air conditioning, birds etc. (Earplugs may really help in such cases!) Others can’t sleep with/without a window open or if it’s slightly too cold, warm, humid or light. Or if the bed linen is not soft enough for one’s hypersensitive skin. Some might be sensitive to the earth’s magnetic field and sleep best in a North-South position. Many hypersensitive people sleep better with a weighted blanket.
“I have come to realize that any kind of sheets feel like sandpaper to me, even the really expensive ‘egyptian cotton’ is like a fine sandpaper.” - Ruth, adult Aspie from USA
“I sleep SO much better when I use my weighted blanket as opposed to regular blankets or sheets.” - Tracey, adult with SID from USA
· The full moon can make it impossible for some people to sleep at night and push one’s sleep rhythm forward even more.
Yes, yes, I know this is supposed to be utter nonsense, but the week leading up to the full moon I still can’t sleep, no matter how tired I am. If I miraculously manage to fall asleep before midnight, I invariably wake up again after a couple of hours and am wide awake all night. I’ve been aware of this for 30 years (and got sent to the school psychologist for falling asleep in school at those times when I’d been up all night) so I really don’t think I’m imagining it. Patterns I notice usually get a scientific explanation a few decades later, so I’m sure this will one day be explained too. - Inger, site-author
HYPERSOMNIA· Temporary excessive sleepiness out of the ordinary can be a sign of illness or infection (in which case it is excellent to get as much sleep as possible so as to give the body time to repair itself), or other medical condition. First day(s) of the female period can also cause extra sensitivity and sleepiness and a natural need to rest.
· Prolonged excessive sleepiness may be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
· Daytime sleepiness. Daytime sleepiness may in some cases be due to having a naturally atypical or irregular sleep rhythm so that one’s natural sleep period starts at odd hours.
When my natural sleep time occurs in the daytime - which it does approximately every 4 weeks during the dark season - it is extremely difficult/impossible to stay awake at that time. I’ve always had a problem with falling asleep in school, at work, on trains & buses, in clubs & restaurants, at the dentist’s. I’ve fallen asleep in the middle of conversations, and can even walk and sleep if someone pulls me along by the arm. - Inger, site-author
· Narcoleptic attacks (in people not born with narcolepsy) can be an allergic or toxic reaction.
Some airborne irritants, especially mould, make me almost narcoleptic within an hour. That kind of irresistible sleepiness I experience then is different from normal tiredness in that it is even more impossible to fight off than normal fatigue; it is as if someone had literally turned one’s brain and nervous system off at the switch of a button! - Inger, site-author
· Slow awakening. Sleep studies have found that A-persons tend to wake up well after their period of deep sleep, when the levels of the sleep regulating hormone melatonin are already receding. They therefore often wake up fairly quickly and feel alert and on the go right away. But B-persons tend to wake when their sleep is at its deepest, so that it takes longer for them to wake up. Such a person should be awakened gently, preferably starting 30-60 minutes before they have to be out of bed. Some are helped by a dawn-simulating clock-radio.
“I cannot easily wake up. I can start to move and get on my feet, but that is not the same as being awake. To wake up, I have about 4 alarm clocks. I put them al on a different time and never on the same place. That way I need to think a little about where to find them. It mostly works that way. I also always ask my daughter to wake me up when she has showered.” - Lida, adult Aspie from the Netherlands
“The alarm clock CAN NOT wake me up in the morning. It's like, I push snooze, and my brain isn't thinking of the purpose of the alarm clock. My body might respond to the noise only enough to push the snooze button, but I go right back to sleep and I actually dream for nine minutes, before it goes off again. On a good day, it will wake me up in a half hour. On a bad day, it takes an hour and a half to wake me up. I'm trying multiple alarm clocks at once, and that gets me up in half hour.” - Rachel, adult Aspie
links
Sleep disorders Wikipedia
Sleepnet.com “Everything you wanted to know about sleep but were too tired to ask.”
B-Society Advocacy site for ‘B-persons’ (Night Owls)
DSPS very extensive and informative blog about atypical sleep patterns
Were you born to snooze? article by Dan Roberts
An Examination of the Relationships Between School Start Times and Adolescent Behavior and Learning article
Melatonin Wikipedia
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