Sleep Deprivation Depression?

[Pudd]

Well, lately I haven't been getting much sleep - well enough sleep.
5-6 hours a night.
I have a tough time concentrating, staying awake in class, getting up in the morning, being active or caring about things.
But as of late, I've been getting really depressed and upset over things that normally wouldn't upset me.
I've also been getting upset over my schooling. Feeling a sense of hopelessness and failure over my exams and life in general.

But here's the catch. I go to bed early, 9:30 - 10:00 and I end up not being able to sleep, and staying up later than I would if I went to bed at 11:00 - 12:00.

Help please?

[Iceman]

Do you get any kind of exercise?

[Pudd]

Tuesdays and Fridays I play badminton and go for a walk, but lately with the exams and feeling like a zombie, nothing much other than badminton on Tuesday and PE on the same day.

[MrZero]

Not getting enough sleep on a regular basis can make you feel crappy.

I recommend you 'stop' going to bed early and just go to bed when you feel sleepy. Then wake up at the hour you want to be up at, or are usually up at. It's hell for about 3 days but if you keep it up it helps from my experience.

Can you usually manage to get up when you're supposed to? I had something that helped me out a lot on that, but i need to dig for the link ^^

[BlackenedSilver]

This could have alot to do with a problem relaxing, if you have alot on your mind you can be thinking about so many different things and not actually getting your mind to rest therefore not getting a proper sleep. I have this problem alot xD
You could try:
- Relaxation CD's (Im sure theres one on the internet.. My counsellor gave me one once and it worked slightly)
- Just try breathing slowly and clearin your mind (But this is alot more difficult than it sounds)
- Try exercising just before bed so that you generally go straight to sleep when your that tired.. but that may not let you have a good nights sleep as you are so tired anyway if that makes sense.
- Try just an hour before you go to bed.. forget school work (Get that done before) Get a nice cup of warm milk, horlicks or hot chocolate or something and relax watching tv and forget everything. (Again last part harder than sounds)
- Become more organised, Ive found that once you've got your organisation sorted then everything else just slots into place, if you get all school work done early.. revise throughout the term then you just feel better about everything.

Just wondering but what year are you in at school? Hope this helps :)

[Pudd]

Not getting enough sleep on a regular basis can make you feel crappy.

I recommend you 'stop' going to bed early and just go to bed when you feel sleepy. Then wake up at the hour you want to be up at, or are usually up at. It's hell for about 3 days but if you keep it up it helps from my experience.

Can you usually manage to get up when you're supposed to? I had something that helped me out a lot on that, but i need to dig for the link ^^

I can get up, but I have to literally force myself up. It's always at the last possible minute that I can get up, rather than earlier (Even just 5 minutes).

[PJay]

Really sympathise Jay - had the same thing. I find tiredness and hunger both make me really depressed / grouchy.

The only way i've dealt with not sleeping now is a combination of things:



good routine - i have a 'go to bed' alarm set and i have an alarm set for the same time every day and usually dont 'lie in' on a weekend.
avoid caffeine - no coke, red bull or anything like that at all ever
exercise - especially out of doors for some reason
dont lay in bed if you aren't tired - get up and do something that isn't too stimulating (i.e. avoid computer games etc) and set a timer to remind you to try again in eg 40 minutes.

To be honest when i was really bad I had to get meds off the doctor, because i was worrying about things and couldn't turn my brain off. The meds helped me get into a routine.

Without the sleep i was finding it was a vicious cycle where i got more anxious and worried and fed back into making it hard to sleep.

[MrZero]

Alright so i went through my cluttered bookmarks and i found the links i was talking about.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/
about sleeping/waking up the right way

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/10/how-to-wake-up-feeling-totally-alert/
stuff about a more generally healthy lifestyle... I've never been able to do that kinda stuff:)

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right-away-when-your-alarm-goes-off/
and this one was a really interesting way to get learn to wake up by alarm

All those are a nice read I think. Dunno what other advice i can give i have trouble with this too, i miss a lot of morning classes...it's just so damn tempting to stay in bed xD so warm...and my willpower sucks.

[Pudd]

Really sympathise Jay - had the same thing. I find tiredness and hunger both make me really depressed / grouchy.

The only way i've dealt with not sleeping now is a combination of things:



good routine - i have a 'go to bed' alarm set and i have an alarm set for the same time every day and usually dont 'lie in' on a weekend.
avoid caffeine - no coke, red bull or anything like that at all ever
exercise - especially out of doors for some reason
dont lay in bed if you aren't tired - get up and do something that isn't too stimulating (i.e. avoid computer games etc) and set a timer to remind you to try again in eg 40 minutes.

To be honest when i was really bad I had to get meds off the doctor, because i was worrying about things and couldn't turn my brain off. The meds helped me get into a routine.

Without the sleep i was finding it was a vicious cycle where i got more anxious and worried and fed back into making it hard to sleep.

Thanks for the advice.
I find that I can't sleep because of thinking and it really irritates me. I'm going to try and rise early. 5-6 am ish. I hope it works.

Thanks for those links MrZero. I'll try them all out.

[Raynes]

I feel your pain. I've never been a fall-asleep-when-my-head-hit's-the-pillow kind of guy. I lay for an hour or so if I'm not tired when I go to sleep. I've got a few tips.

If you aren't already tired when you go to bed, prepare to just lay there until you're hot and your whole body is aching from staying in the same positions. You'll toss and turn and become frustrated and bored because you wont be able to fall asleep. I consistently feel like shit in the morning after a night like this.

The problem is trying to balance waking time and sleeping time in order to make sure that you get enough sleep but are also tired when you go to bed. That one requires fine tuning. For the first night, I'd stay up until I was actually mentally and physically tired. Though, not at the computer. Watch television on the couch or, hell, even on the computer. Maybe exercise a bit. Just don't do anything that requires serious mental focus, like typing replies to messages on virtualteen. Just chill out.

When you go to sleep, you may only have a few hours to sleep before you have to wake up, but that's okay. You'll be tired whenever you're ready to go to bed on the next night, and you'll almost certainly be able to fall asleep faster. I've done this sort of thing a million times.

If you drink caffeine, just stop. I promise you, it isn't worth it in the slightest. I was virtually immune to caffeine, and everything I drunk had caffeine in it. 6 months ago or so, I stopped cold turkey, and within two weeks, I could get to sleep much faster. Now, a 5 Hour Energy or cup of coffee early in the day is fine, but ditch soda. I drink diet caffeine free soda whenever possible, and water when I don't have anything that is caffeine free available. Ditching caffeine doesn't necessarily mean you have to give up tasty drinks. The caffeine free alternatives are actually pretty nice. Even water can be quite a treat, given that Crystal Light has a huge selection of various flavory mix-ins.

Furthermore, there is a very specific technique to sleeping. Don't go to bed and wait for sleep. You can't 'see' sleep coming. If it is going to happen, it'll just happen. The hardest part of all of this and the reason that I have trouble sleeping is because I have trouble getting my mind into the specific state it needs to be in to allow me to drift to sleep. It usually suffices to just stop thinking and let your mind wander where it may. You'll eventually start thinking about random things and talking in your head. When you're close to sleep, these result in very vibrant and vivid images, and sometimes that'll shock you back to consciousness. If it does, just repeat. Just don't force thoughts. Let your mind do whatever it wants to do.

Limit movement in bed. I find that if I switch my position radically (back to belly, left to right, etc) every time I'm uncomfortable in a position, I jolt myself back to total consciousness. I found that if I just laid on my back and shifted my body to the left or right whenever I got uncomfortable without moving all the way onto my side, I fall asleep faster. The more you move around in bed the more force you exert. You need to keep relaxed and comfortable, but you don't have to reverse the earth's polarity just to get into a new comfortable position.

Find the perfect room setting. Try out different blankets, sheets, pillows, etc, and make sure you find a set of them that keep you happy for a long period of time. You're in that bed for quite a while at night, you want to have the things that make you feel good.

The room temperature is important as well. I'd keep a thermostat around and possibly a heater (or fan in the winter) and try to get that temperature where you want it when you go to bed. A heater where you can set the thermostat will be helpful here. Also, remember that you need to be comfortable *under* the blankets. Not walking around your room. Set it a little on the cool side.

How much sound is in your room? Do you live somewhere where you can hear cars go by at night? The faucet dripping down the hall? Ambient noise like this is a very easy way to get no sleep. I live on a highway, and thus vehicles go by all the time and I can hear them, mostly because there are some bumps on the ground to warn of the upcoming 4 way stop. In my room at all times is an electric heater with an adjustable thermostat. Also in my room is a fan, for when it's all together too hot to have a heater on. Both of these devices make ambient noise, but that noise is static. It's white noise. It doesn't change. It isn't a knock in the corner and then a drip from the faucet and then a car alarm going off down the street. If you have complete silence, you can hear a siren-like sound in your head. This sound doesn't really change and doesn't jerk you awake, so you can fall asleep easily in complete silence. This works the same way. It gives you a solid static sound that covers up the other ambient noise, so you have nothing to jar you awake. This is very important to me. I have a lot of trouble sleeping without white noise.

Furthermore, if nothing works for you and not sleeping is having a serious impact on your life, health, and general well being, seek medical attention. Insomnia is a serious medical condition that can be treated with medication if necessary.

Good luck.