Severely nocturnal, waste of heating and energy

Raspberry_Queen

I have delayed sleep phase disorder, and have been struggling with being almost fully nocturnal since I was 15. We estimate that this is costing us at least an extra 33% in energy bills a year, from having to have the lights and heating on. 

Has anyone else been able to fix this? I have blue light blocking glasses, and wear them for 2-3 hours every night. 

They're very helpful and feel really good on the eyes. 

But I can't seem to fall asleep before 5am each morning at the absolute earliest. I usually go to bed even later.

Then I wake up late morning, and nap in the evening because I'm so tired that I can't think. Then after the nap I am wired, and can't sleep again until the morning. 

I have tried forcing myself to not nap, but it is infuriating because despite being deprived, I still end up wired and not able to sleep. 

It has ruined my life. I really need to fix this now because of the energy crisis. 

theoretica

That reads to me like a description of jet lag.  Perhaps combined with the pattern of taking your sleep in two lots, just more widely spaced than normal.

What works for me with jet lag is to concentrate on getting up in the morning - even if I would really rather sleep - and getting as much outdoor daylight during the day as possible - especially early.  Concentrating on when I need to be awake, rather than asleep, if that makes sense.

MovingForwards

I gave up getting stressed over not sleeping years ago. Pain, getting comfortable and sleep are not a good mix.

My weekday routine is start to wind down about 8pm, bed at 10pm and a couple of games of cards. If I'm still awake a few hours later, I get up, grab my pillow, PJs, dressing gown and hot water bottle, pottering off to the lounge where I make a nest and wrap up in blankets. Returning to bed for an hour's nap before my alarm goes off and I get up again and go to work.

Weekends I'm up til about midnight, if I don't sleep I build my nest. I grab a couple of hours sleep at some point in the day.

It's the closest I can get to some form of routine.

The evening naps won't be helping you. Although it's hard, you need to retrain your body and speak with your Dr to see if there's anything medical causing it.

Raspberry_Queen

@theoretica Do you mean like focusing my sleep hygiene on the earliest part of when I'm awake - so if I wake up at 11, ensure it's a priority to get bright light straight away, and as much as possible, and ensure I do this everyday. Then gradually make it earlier. 

Raspberry_Queen

MovingForwards said:

I gave up getting stressed over not sleeping years ago. Pain, getting comfortable and sleep are not a good mix.

My weekday routine is start to wind down about 8pm, bed at 10pm and a couple of games of cards. If I'm still awake a few hours later, I get up, grab my pillow, PJs, dressing gown and hot water bottle, pottering off to the lounge where I make a nest and wrap up in blankets. Returning to bed for an hour's nap before my alarm goes off and I get up again and go to work.

Weekends I'm up til about midnight, if I don't sleep I build my nest. I grab a couple of hours sleep at some point in the day.

It's the closest I can get to some form of routine.

The evening naps won't be helping you. Although it's hard, you need to retrain your body and speak with your Dr to see if there's anything medical causing it.

Do you get tired in the day time and have to force yourself to stay awake? 

You're right about the naps. I don't know if it's a lack of willpower or if I'm just physically unable to stay awake when my brain wants me to sleep.

Annoyingly, if I try to make the evening naps my proper bedtime, I just wake up after a few hours. 

It's caused by ADHD, unfortunately it's very common because our brains are 15x more sensitive to blue light which ruins our circadian rhythm. 

theoretica

Raspberry_Queen said:

@theoretica Do you mean like focusing my sleep hygiene on the earliest part of when I'm awake - so if I wake up at 11, ensure it's a priority to get bright light straight away, and as much as possible, and ensure I do this everyday. Then gradually make it earlier. 

Focusing sleep hygiene early is indeed what I mean - but I don't find gradually making it earlier works well for me.  I really don't enjoy setting 3 alarm clocks and scheduling important things from 9am onwards mixed with walks, but it works for me.  But more than that, I intended a suggestion you look at what works for long haul jet lag for different people.

If you simply reset the heating to be off at night, would a warm bed become more appealing?

Spoonie_Turtle

MovingForwards said:

 Although it's hard, you need to retrain your body and speak with your Dr to see if there's anything medical causing it.

That's the problem though, if your body functions a certain way no amount of trying to train it will actually change anything.  The circadian rhythm is complex and poorly understood, but we do know hormones and neurotransmitters contribute to the biological processes, and that our cellular clocks are involved.  It's not as simple as retraining always makes it sound.

@Raspberry_Queen I assume you've been officially diagnosed, and they ruled out any identifiable causes?  You could go back and ask if there have been any advances made in treating or managing, but don't be surprised if the answer is no.  So many chronic conditions have labels describing the symptoms (the diagnosis) but with no useful understanding of the underlying causes.  I can only extend my sympathy, having always been semi-nocturnal anyway and now with a completely messed up circadian rhythm from chronic illness.

Might it be worth talking to your energy supplier to explain your situation?  I doubt you'd qualify for any disability benefits if this is the 'only' problem you have, because they assess physical and mental ability to carry out daily living activities, so you are unlikely to qualify for any passported help, but it may be possible your supplier has some sort of discretionary fund.  Or if you're managing to pay the energy bills okay now, still talking to them might lay the groundwork for if you need help after the price cap increases.

MovingForwards

@Raspberry_Queen

My OH has a power nap, one minute he's awake, a split second later he's asleep. We've a blackout blind, he won't put a curtain up as the walls are a pain to drill into. He reads for upto 30 minutes, turns over and that's him off to sleep. He has 4 - 5 hours sleep at night and gets up just as I'm drifting off in my nest, hence I go to bed to grab an hour before getting up for work. 

I'm permanently exhausted and work FT, there's no option but to stay awake during the daytime Mon - Fri. Come the weekend I'm like a zombie, a breathing body sat on the sofa, trying to conserve energy and get me through the next week.

Even the nights I stay in bed are not refreshing as every move / turn hurts, which wakes me. I'm convinced my health would begin to improve a bit, if I could start sleeping properly, as a body needs sleep to heal itself.

@Spoonie_Turtle CR is on my to do list, see if I can gain any useful info to help me.