Less sleep=more alert/more energy

My name is mike.Ive been keeping my journal and it seems that sleeping 7-9 hours has the most positive results on my mood, energy, mind, and appearance. For years i have easily sleep 12,13, 14 and even more hours than that. I attribute that now to the lack of social structure. I would go to bed wake, say screw it, go back to bed and do that for how ever long i could. As of now i go to bed at 10pm and wake at 5am-6am and i feel great. When i would sleep tons of hours i would be what i called "blank" its was basically just going through the motions of everyday life but getting nothing, and i mean nothing, out of it. It felt like i was on auto-pilot. And some of you may think, hey that sounds like it would be great. Its not, its terrible. I prayed and prayed so that i could focus and pay attention to what was going on around me. I basically didn't even know myself at the time. More often now, its not that way. I have a sense of who i actually am and i can make decisions based on that. I wake up feeling great, healthy, run, get back and eat a bowl of whole grain bran cereal while listening to much on VH1. I can imagine going back to the way i used to feel.

Hope it helps,

Mike

Hi Mike Im new to this site. I am having alot of problems with my sleep at the moment. I can understand what you mean. I prefer to sleep all day if I could. It seems to block out everything I cant or dont want to deal with. I hate feeling tired all the time. Is there a trick to it all? How did you change your sleep patterns? Im definantly running on auto pilot here.

Kay

Hey Kay, it was very hard for me to change my sleep patterns. Im just like you with sleep. Right now im a little down in the dumps and am sleeping 11-14 hours again. I know how nice it feels to just not have to deal with life. I would also prefer to sleep all day. Unfortunately my body's like, dude wake up gotta eat, c'mon *growl* get out of bed and make me a sandwich.

I definitely know what its like to feel tired ALL THE TIME. Im sure your irritated when you wake up with no energy and in a fog even though you slept twice as long as other people. Its like wtf?

These are things that helped me.

First you gotta find some motivation to wake up. Something that you like to do, something that makes you laugh, something positive.

(Example. For me im determined to do well in the air force once i leave in July. I woke up, ran, ate, and watched music videos on television. All while my family was still asleep so i didn't have to deal with them. It was peaceful and it was like a reward to me going through life's crap.)

Second, don't wake up to BEEP BEEP BEEP. I use my cell phone alarm which is some nice acoustic music. Its not obnoxious and wont make you wake up and say %&$*, another day.

Third, have your clothes and morning stuff ready so when you wake up its like wow, something in my life is actually in order.
(Example. I put my clothes for the next day on my chair, and set my toothbrush, razor, etc, on top of my clothes.)

Lastly(what i find hardest to do), have stuff to do during the day.(find anything to do that you will have something to show for) Get social interaction.(talk face to face and hang out with someone). Wear your self out before you go to bed.(exercise during the day, hanging out usually wears you down, anything that uses energy).

Waking up the old way.
BEEP BEEP BEEP. $%^, im still alive. *hits snooze button*. BEEP BEEP BEEP. *Tries to fall back asleep but cant*. Crap now i actually have to get up with nothing to do all day. Already in a negative mood. Where is that shirt i wanted to wear. Cant find it so have to pick a shirt i don't look good in. Go into bathroom to take shower. Forgot my toothbrush. Found it, came back to bathroom. Brush teeth, take shower, where are my boxers? Go find some of those come back. Wheres my deodorant? *&^#, go find that. Eat, chill on couch watching tv rest of the day and act like a zombie. Ready to go to bed. @#$% my life nothing ever goes my way.

New improved morning.
LA LA LA BUM DE DUM. Today's going to be sooooo exciting. Im going to do something today. Grabs clothes and stuff. Teeth, Shower, Dress, Eat. BAM. Went and did something constructive with friend. BAM. Exercised. BAM. Ready for bed. Wow what a great day. I did that and that and that and i have a friend who really likes me. Im exausted, another great day tomorrow.

Basically wake up to nice music knowing im somebody who's doing something to better myself and not lay around wishing things would happen when i don't take the opportunities im given. Know that there are real possibilities for me. Everything organized which makes things go much more smoothly and makes me feel in control of my life. Doing constructive things with my time so i feel i have accomplished something. Getting positive reinforcement from a friend. Knowing my life is going somewhere, and that im a great person trying to improve my life. Not worrying about health cause exercise is making my body happy and so is a good diet. Going to bed knowing i can do better tomorrow.

Its not easy, but nothing worth having comes easy in this life. It sucks, but that's the way it goes.

Thank you so much for your reply. Its about 1.00pm here so I just got up. I have started the day off with your advice. I have made plans to have dinner with some friends (I never do this) Hopefully its a start in the right direction. Tomorrow Im helping a friend move. I have a reason to get up. So far so good. Thanks again.
Kay

Your more than welcome. And that's awesome that you've already implemented some of the things that worked for me into your life. Im sure that its a step in the right direction. Im super happy for you! Im excited to see you overcome your obstacle. Im kinda self-conscious so i don't go out much unless i think i look good that day. But those days when i do go out, its great. The more you go out the more you'll have to say and the more comfortable you'll be. Of course that's by speculation from me cause i don't have extended amounts of social interaction. Its ups and downs for me real quick. But can't be a loner in boot camp haha. Ill be forced to converse with other peeps. Anyway good luck again. Post back and tell me how things are going.
Sincerely,

Mike

As for me, it seems I sleep more when I am depressed. A poor nights sleep seems to start the manic phase and I don't sleep much until I get depressed again. My cycle seems to be every 6 to 8 days and I rarely see a baseline day. Also, I have moderate back pain that I deal with due to bruxing (teeth grinding) at night. Usually after a few hours of sleep my clenching jaw causes my whole body to tighten up and I cannot get comfortable to get back to sleep. I am trying some sleep aids that pdoc recommended and, although they keep me asleep, my muscles are just that much more tense when I finally do get up. I'm hoping to find more baseline days with the medication and therapy treatments.

I am totally new to this site. less then one week diagnosed with Bi-polor. i am in my mid 40s (no one could figure me out befor this) Not to mention i am scared of it. And I have been seeing the same Dr. for about 13 years.
But sleep? What is that? I have not been able to sleep for over 20 years. Up and down all night. Cleaning, playing games on the computer, brushing my dogs, watching t.v. etc. I was given a script to help me sleepabout 3 weeks ago! WOAH! my hubby told me one night i got up and got dressed, and I was on my way down stairs to sell my dogs! WHAT? I would never sell my dogs. The next night i did other strange things, so 3 nights on the meds I was totally un aware of what i was doing. The fourth night .....Nothing. No sleep no bizzar actions. NOTHING. So my DR.gave me a stronger dose. It seems to work pretty well, but about 15 min to 1/2 hour after I take it, I am miss bubble head. Sleep pretty darn good. But i am scared of taking it. (i am an X drug user 24years clean) So last night I desided not to take it. AGAIN sleep what sleep? I forced myself to stay in bed. But it was of NO use. I could have cleaned my house or given the dogs a bath. And I have been wanting to paint the guest room. but i stayed in bed. (feeling all mental, I wanted to try to be as normal as my hubby).
My question is? how can I get a good night sleep, without addicitng meds? and how do I stop the wheels? painting, cooking, cleaning, dog knotts, dirty car? and the speck of dust i saw on the big screen while i was trying to be a normie, with my hubby?
FOR anyone who is offedned by be calling my self crazy janet, or using the words normie, and for anything i may say offensive, please forgive me. It is my way of coping, i have no intentions of hurting anyones feelings. I am the one who is feeling a little lost. and i hope to use my own humor on myself to help deal with something I know nothing about.

CrazyJanet-

I am new to the forum too, and bipolar disorder, for that matter. From your post it sounds like you are looking for a good nights sleep without medication. I've heard of many things in this area from diet to self talk. Look for certain foods that might be adding to your symptoms, stay away from these foods at night. Of course excerisize always helps to get the juices flowing, even the ones they think are "out of balance" (abnormal). If you are not doing so already, you should track your moods. It will help pdoc with direction for medication adjustments. Wow! 24 years! Congrats! I would be careful to assume that taking prescription sleeping aids, in order to help balance your symptoms, will lead to abuse. Make sure you tell both your pdoc and tdoc about your situation and there are many ways they can help. Maybe even hubby will help dispense meds, having someone very close helping can make a difference. The main point is, everyone supports you in your recovery success and I'll bet those same people also support you in your bipolar treatment success. There is no such thing as normal, just as common sense is not very common. I would not try to be normal, try just to be yourself and do the things you need to do to be able to be yourself. Do lots of research, get informed. If you're like many of us, despite your inabilities that seem abnormal, you have great abilities that allow you to do some things really well, focus on these things. Good luck to you and your family!