Its not insomnia if you don't want to sleep right?

So I have bipolar I and my doctor keeps telling me that I need to get more sleep. That I need to get on a regular sleep schedule. The problem is its not that I can't go to sleep, its that I don't want to go to sleep, I don't like to sleep.

He's prescribed sleep medication, and anti-psychotics that basically have the same effect on me, but I find myself just fighting them until they knock me out. To top that off the only time I don't feel rested when I wake up is when I sleep because of medication. In fact the only reason I stop taking my anti-psychotic (Seroquel) is because I don't want it to interfere with my lack of sleep, not because I don't think it helps.

My ideal would be to not sleep at all. I've gone as many as 6 days without sleeping without being tired, now granted I had to come down from that because I became a bit delusional, but really I just don't want to sleep and don't see a need for it. Anybody have any ideas?

To be more clear has anyone found anything that helps them sleep without making them extremely groggy? If my kids wake up in the middle of the night I need to be able to care for them which I currently can't because I'm so out of it with the Seroquel. I would definitely appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

Unisom or Simply Sleep. Though I'm pretty sure the ingredients in those are basically what is in benadryl. These will make you sleepy but I've found you can still wake yourself up and function if you've taken these medications. They're over the counter too. I'm not sure if benadryl would affect bipolar moods, so you might want to talk to your psychiatrist/doctor about this.

From what I've heard most bipolar sleep medications will knock you out pretty hard even if you try to fight the sleepiness.

Thanks, I'll bring those up at my next appointment.

Sorry that I'm just now replying. I hope that you have found something that works for you by now. I use to love going on next to no sleep as well but finally realized how important sleep is to health. GABA was the ingredient that I added to my more natural health plan that had the greatest impact on more refreshing sleep. I also take Calcium, magnesium, 5HTP and occasionally Melatonin to aid sleep. Putting a blindfold on 30 minutes before I want to be asleep has also helped me to fall asleep more quickly and stay asleep longer. www.psycheducation.org has an interesting article on dark therapy that you might enjoy reading.

there is in fact, a way to be able to never have to sleep at night again. But it takes practice. you would have to take power naps (so like 20-30 minutes) evry 4 hours throughout the day. this way your brain will eventually go straight into the repair stage of sleep, and you will be ready to go after each nap. it take a lot of practice though.

i myself hate sleeping, and i know several people who are up constantly days without sleep.

I use to be able to do something like that but I personally don't think it is a healthy practice. I think are bodies and brains were designed to need sleep and eventually we pay for depriving them of it. Some people do appear to get by fine on about 4 or 5 hours but I have found that I need 7.5 to function optimally.

Cottongin (and caw13), knowing your age from a previous post, I wanted you to know that I have had sleep issues for more years than you are old--it will ultimately be destructive to your body and your brain--in more ways than I can describe. Check out all the info and research before you decide it is the right thing for you to do. Keeping to as regular a sleep schedule as possible can make a dramatic difference with bipolar and power naps won't make up for a lengthy sleep--you need REM sleep for it to be benificial. REM doesn't happen with a nap.

To anyone who is bipolar--take your meds as prescribed (they don't work if you don't take them), listen to your doctors--no amount of advice helps if you don't follow it-- you might even discover your docs aren't as incompetent as you once thought (yes, there are many docs out there that aren't so hot). Don't get me wrong, I continue to struggle with keeping to a sleep schedule but it is worth the effort if it keeps the swings away. Sorry for the long post--I understand the desire to avoid sleep but I have also experienced the positive affects of a good night sleep.

I am rapid-cycling BPI. I've struggled with insomnia since I was a toddler. I know it sounds silly, but also my mother even says as a baby I wasn't fussy, I just stayed up most of the night. I'm 31 now. My pdoc gave me Seroquel as a last resort effort to "get my sleep straightened out first" (I've been seeing her for 2.5 years, surprise surprise it's not working) and all it did for me was shut down my system, as if I was a computer and turned off for the night. I never felt rested. Not once, and I'll include my med data below so you can see. I just think that so many of us with these diseases *can't* get regular sleep.

Anyway, when I went off the Seroquel (and I did this because I was tired of it knocking me out but it never being good sleep) I immediately noticed a drastic change in my head. It was as if a zombie program had been running in the background and stopping the medication turned it off -- the drug kept me in that state of mind ALL DAY. Plus, I find no need for an anti-psychotic added to what I am already taking.

My pdoc then suggested Melatonin. Since I've had this condition for so long, she suddenly thought it was a problem with the hormone secretion. It didn't work so well at first, I was not sleeping through the night, but I persevered, taking my Klonopin (I would increase the dosage then as a help), taking a couple of Melatonin and even a little Theanine as a boost. Now I only need the Melatonin to sleep, unless I'm going through a bad bout of insomnia (like now) where my brain just refuses to shut my body down. I refuse to take the Seroquel, eventually I will pass out from lack of sleep and it will be enough to go on until the next pass out.

Melatonin and Theanine (which I don't need anymore) are supplements you can find at a drug store. I had to go to a vitamin shop for the Theanine, and there are formulas containing Valerian Root that help as well. Please do some research before you take them (there is a lot of good information on the internet, just mind what kind of website you're reading) but you never know -- my brain eventually got used to the Melatonin and now I get through the night (if I can get myself to bed, ha).

Good luck to you, I know what you're going through.

Have you researched GABA. I slowly increased from 500mg to 2000mg per night and that finally stopped the racing thoughts that kept me awake. I have decreased to 1000mg and am still sleeping more regular than I have in my life.