I've been struggling with this for years now and I thought about posting this few times and I always backed down because I didn't think it was common or important. But I just saw a tweet about it and said "fu*k it, I'm writing it down" and here we are.
It all started in college.
I was almost 18 years old when I started college. Until then, I had more or less normal sleep pattern. I did stay up longer than all my friends, but my parents always let me as long as it wasn't causing problems during the day, in school and as long it wasn't affecting my focus. I loved that. And I have to jump 10 years later, to now, and say I still need only few hours of sleep which is absolutely awesome!
But, that aside, I think I was in my second year when I noticed I had troubles sleeping. It would take me hours to fall asleep and I woke up at least 3 times during some nights. I also felt some nervousness in my body. I couldn't fully understand what was going on. I always thought it was the stress before some exams or some social things like birthdays or presentations at college. Anyhow, I didn't pay much attention to it that year. It would happen once a month or maybe even less than that, so I just brushed it off.
At that point, I couldn't take it anymore.
A year has passed and I was in my third one in college and the symptoms were just becoming worse and worse. We have exams twice a semester and in that last exam period for the semester, in February, I realized my sleeping pattern was just terrible. I was always studying at night as it's just easier for me, but I couldn't sleep when I actually went to sleep. And the weirdest part was that I was actually really tired. So, I took some pills I usually take for longer rides as I get nauseous during car rides. Unfortunately, those are quite strong so I would feel like crap all day the next day. I also took energy drinks to stay awake. This combination took a toll on me pretty fast and I realized something was terribly wrong. I couldn't live like that anymore. I was exhausted without being able to sleep.
My fiend told me her friend had the same issues and her advice was just to not take anything for sleeping. She thought I would have to crash sometime and my body would want to sleep. I thought that was a reasonable thing to think, but she didn't know the full story. I went 4 days without closing my eyes. So 96 hours. And I felt OK for some strange reason. So no, my body didn't crash. It just learned to live without sleep. Don't get me wrong, I know it would have crashed at some point for sure, but I couldn't wait for it. I still had college and exams to pass.
I got other pills.
So I went to the pharmacy, explained my problem and they gave me some pills that help you fall asleep. Now this is not a post about the pills and I really don't need advice on that. I'm not an addict, I know my body and what I can and can't handle. Now I found those pills and I have to say I still buy them, 4 years later. They are really mild and, unless I'm laying down, being all calm, they won't work. I never had any side effects either.
Surprisingly, this thing, that nervousness I feel sometimes before sleep is more common than I thought. More and more people I know have said they have it too. I have to say it happens a lot (!) more rarely than it did few years ago, but if it happens, I have my pills next to me.
So, how do I fall asleep now?
I'm sure stress college was causing helped this problem develop faster. Now that I have a normal job, I'm pretty much happy all the time, I have less issues with sleeping. However, there are also some things that I know would help me fall asleep. I like drinking hot cocoa before sleep, working out in the evening also helps. I just wanted to write this so you would know, if you can't explain your falling asleep problems, you're not alone. Also, there are pills to help you, but definitely get them at the pharmacy and ask people there what works the best.
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| Source: https://www.centeronaddiction.org/the-buzz-blog/sleep-deprived-teens-are-increased-risk-substance-use |
How is your sleeping pattern? Do you have any issues with it? I'd love to talk about it...
See you next Sunday ♥
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