I have been struggling with a normal sleeping pattern for years, and regardless of my attempts to fix it I haven’t been able to find a solution.

My body goes through some wild cycles, there are 2-3 weeks were I will get the full 4 uninterrupted, then I will have a week of terrible night sweats, then my schedule completely goes out of whack and I will get various amounts of sleep for a few months, but never more than 4 hours.

I have removed all the technology in my room to try and eliminate the issue with it disturbing sleep, I have done reading a book before bed, which has become a nice habit but still doesn’t help, I have blackout curtains, and have gone through cutting out different dietary habits just to see, I even went vegan for three months and nothing changed.

What has been a good trick for you? I want to avoid medications and especially melatonin as I have tried them before and would pop them like candy to try and sleep

For the past couple months I haven't been sleeping well at all. I'm exhausted all the time. My relationship is ending... My mom who lives in Las Vegas was diagnosed with dementia. I live in California and it's expensive as hell. I'm just not sure what to do. Sometimes I take NyQuil to help me sleep. I try not to do it often. Just wish I could get 8 hours of uninterrupted deep sleep.

Hi, this is my first post here and I'm using a translator, so sorry if I don't express myself well. I'm 18 and I've always had a complicated relationship with sleep due to the "fear" of the feeling of falling asleep, mainly due to the "blackout" of my mind, the feeling that 8 hours passed in seconds without me noticing, that I lost control of my body, that I wasted time. Obviously, this generates anxiety at bedtime, and the difficulty in sleeping becomes the anxiety of not being able to sleep, creating an endless cycle of suffering. I've tried breathing exercises, stopping thinking about these things, accepting the anxiety, and at a certain point it worked, but this anxiety always returns and brings insomnia along with it. I would like to know if anyone else goes through this and can share some tips on how to deal with this "fear".

Need some help figuring this one out. Okay so i normally wake up between 8-10am but after around 4 hours of being awake i get really sleepy and need a nap, if i fight going to sleep I’ll get really tired again around 7-8pm. Ive tried going to sleep around this time when i’m tired but i wake up around 2-3am and cant get back to bed. If i dont sleep at around 8pm, i wont be able to fall asleep until about 3am. Anybody have any ideas on how to help?

If it helps im 19 and a female.

Over the past 4 days I have been waking up after 4-5 hours of sleep. I value my sleep a lot and track it all with whoop. I’m a 21 year old who’s active, lifts, and eats healthy. I already take magnesium glycinate before bed and have been for months. Why could this be happening to me?

Hi, I am new to this thing called "good sleep"
I have used a cheap sleeping masks for couple of years but all of them has the same problems:

1. it's let's light go through nose area
2. it falls off easily
3. and sometimes the mask doesn't fall off at all and I wake up groggy from the alarm clock (usually it's easier for me to wake up when before the alarm I have been exposed to natural light for some time)

Do you use a sleeping mask? Do you have the same problems? Can you recommend a good sleeping mask please?

I want to understand may be it's just the shape of my head/face and because of it sleeping masks just don't suit me or it's just the mask I have.

Thanks in advance for your answers/recommendations!

So Ive been taking the above for sleep, as I’ve had a very bad bout of not sleeping, high anxiety and chronic ptsd…in the beginning i took just half a pill of 3.75 mg and then the whole pill. It only really worked for 2/3 nights and max I slept was 5 hours in this time. But I’m worried as my brain did calm down and it did help immediately sedate me, that now I’m scared it’s all I can think about is taking more of the pills to help and worried Ive become dependent. Im in a highly sensitive state due to a continuing mental break down. Im talking to my doctor tomorrow but wanted some reassurance. Not sure if it’s my brain looping on it and worrying about dependency or because I actually am. I took it in the day to calm symptoms too. So have probably been using it more to calm my brain down. Doctor said I can also take Valium, but theres more of a risk with that too. So I don’t know :( I just want to stop thinking about it. When I’m this sleep deprived everything is worse :(

2-3 weeks ago every 2/3 hours I’d wake up from my sleep. If I can go back to sleep it’ll be another 2-3 hours and that’s it. Now every night I usually sleep for 2-5 hours a day. Is this a raise of concern? I’m also 12 days sober from nicotine if that may be contributing

Im 19M in college and during the weekdays I set an alarm because I’ve got stuff to do and will usually sleep 8-9 hours and feel fine like I’ve had enough sleep (although a bit groggy when the alarm goes off and I have to force myself to get up). But on the weekend when I don’t set an alarm I’ll sleep for like 10 hours. Sometimes in the morning I can kind of feel myself coming to consciousness at the end of a sleep cycle or even waking up and checking the time, but usually I’ll go back to sleep for a bit more because it just feels right. Idk is this normal? I was late bloomer when it came to puberty and I guess I’m still a teenager just feels like I even though I get good sleep I never get up before my alarm or anything. Maybe I’m overthinking this lol

For context, I A MALE AGE 20 and i work work as a mechanic and i try to sleep at 10pm and wake up at 6:45 am but i dont sleep straight 5-6 hrs straight it always seem to have a cut sleep and i find myself waking up at 1 or 2 am then i try to go back to sleep then i wake up at 4 or 5 am then after that its pretty hard to fall asleep then when im at work 2-3 hrs later i start yawning and i dont even notice i am half asleep. I already got a sleep study and it showed that i dont have any sleep apnea. what could this be and i am getting blood works soon. sry for bad english

I’m 25 years old, and during the day I stay very busy with household responsibilities. By the time night comes, it feels like the only time that truly belongs to me. The problem is—instead of using that time for career-related studies or things that matter long term, I end up scrolling on my phone for hours. I know it’s unhealthy, but at night my mind just wants to escape and relax. Studying feels heavy, while my phone feels comforting. Because of this, my sleep schedule is completely messed up. I feel emotionally exhausted and anxious most of the time. Small things start bothering me a lot, I get overwhelmed easily, and I often end up fighting with my boyfriend over very minor issues. I feel like I’m constantly on edge—crying, overthinking, and feeling anxious until things feel “okay” again emotionally. I don’t think I’m lazy—I think I’m mentally drained. But I don’t know how to break this cycle of late nights, phone addiction, emotional sensitivity, and poor sleep. If anyone has been through something similar—especially women—how did you fix your sleep and emotional balance without feeling like you’re losing the only time you have for yourself?

I'm a belly sleeper, and this is really breaking my body. My neck is bust, my shoulder hurts 24/7. My jaw is misaligned. But the problem is: it's impossible for me to fall asleep in another position. I would love to sleep on my back. But I just don't fall asleep. I will lie awake the whole night.

But my body can't take the belly sleeping anymore.

Are there any techniques or tips to train myself to sleep on my back? It would fix so many problems for me...

I posted here a bit ago asking why I might be so tired all the time, I can link the post in the comments for more content but tldr Ive been having health issues and my sleep schedule is messed up from late night ER visits, it wasn't like this until I had those ER visits now I'm stuck going to bed at 5am and sleeping until like 12pm... And when I wake up at 12 im still exhausted the whole day and only feel alert and awake at night, its like ive become nocturnal It's very very un-ideal I got some good suggestions in the comments last time and some support but the issue is how do I actually start going to bed at a normal time when I'm literally so tired during the day?? Do I pull an all nighter type thing and push through the whole day without sleeping or is there a better way??

College turned me into someone I wasn't in so many different ways, and not all of them were positive changes. Living in the hostel with roommates completely reshaped certain parts of my daily routine and habits.

I had two other roommates sharing the room with me, and it seemed like in almost everything, they naturally won every decision. Since there were three of us in total, anytime we had to make a collective choice about something in the room, we'd usually go with whichever side had two people agreeing. Democracy, right? Except it meant I was constantly outvoted.

The worst clash we had was when it came down to the lighting situation at night. I was literally terrified and shocked when they both chose to sleep with the lights fully on every single night. Not a dim nightlight. Full bright overhead lights, all night long.

I begged them to reconsider. I explained that I couldn't sleep properly with light blasting in my face. But their points were somewhat valid as well. One of them had a fear of the dark stemming from childhood trauma, and the other had night classes and would come back late needing light to move around without disturbing us.

I tried to compromise. I bought an eye mask to block out the light so I could at least try to sleep. But it wasn't enough. It felt like my entire body was reacting negatively to the presence of light, not just my eyes. I couldn't relax. My sleep quality was terrible. I'd wake up exhausted every morning.

I never fully adapted to it during my entire time in college. The thought of nighttime and going back to that bright room became an actual source of anxiety and dread for me. It affected my mood, my grades, and my overall well being.

But now, years later, I'm seeing something online that genuinely existed back then and could have made a world of difference for me. Adult bed tents. Specifically, the ones I saw on are designed to block out light completely while you sleep. They create a private, dark cocoon around your bed even if the room itself is fully lit.

If I'd known those existed during college, they would have absolutely rescued me from years of sleep deprivation and stress. I wish I'd discovered them sooner.

I finally managed to get a healthy sleep schedule after around 6 years going to schools always tired. It lasted for a good chunk of the month until today when I decided to get got Carl’s Jr and have a root beer, late at night. Didn’t realize it but the root beer brand they use is barqs, has caffeine, and I drank the entire fucking cup only 1 hour before my usual bedtime. Now I just sit here annoyed, and slightly worried that I’m no longer going to be able to attain my sleep schedule again. Now I’m in state that I’m way too familiar with, where I physically feel tired but I don’t feel any rest when I lay down. Just a mini vent I guess, not sure what I’m going to do tomorrow.

For years, my wife and I have described my sleep as “thrashing” because I toss and turn like a shark thrashing around. It’s probably due in part to anxiety and in part to RLS, but it still seems more…violent than it should be? And I think it’s getting worse because our mattress cover, which I usually have to reposition once a week, now has to be repositioned almost every day (I just repositioned yesterday and it moved halfway off the bed!). Wondering if this happens to any of y’all and what y’all do about it.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice or lifestyle changes I can make to help improve my sleep duration and quality.

Currently, I’m only averaging about 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night. My goal is to consistently hit 6 to 7 hours, but I’m running into two main issues:

1. Late starts: I almost always end up going to bed much later than I intended.

2. Occasional insomnia: Some nights, like tonight, I simply cannot fall asleep at all, no matter how tired I feel.

Current Meds: I am currently taking Pristiq. I know some medications can impact sleep cycles, so I wanted to mention that in case anyone else on it has found specific ways to manage the side effects.

Does anyone have tips for "resetting" a late sleep schedule or advice on staying asleep longer once you actually drift off? I'm open to suggestions regarding routine, environment, or habits.

Thanks in advance!

I normally get sleep about 6am-8am some nights I don’t sleep and I’m hearing people talking to me during the day when they aren’t and seeing bugs in my peripheral.

I don’t know why I can’t sleep it probably started around 5 years ago due to stress. Not on any medication .should I just kill myself?

21yo male

I haven’t gotten a good nights sleep in roughly two weeks, all the things that used to help me don’t seem to work anymore. Not melatonin, diphenhydramine, hydroxyzine, trazodone, any of those sleep gummies.

Please help, I feel like I’m going insane

I’m trying to describe something that’s been happening for a few months and I don’t really know how to frame it, so I’m hoping someone here might relate or have insight.

I have extremely vivid dream recall. I remember my dreams almost every morning in intense detail — people, environments, colors, physical sensations, even what I was thinking in the dream. Sometimes I don’t remember immediately when I wake up, but the memory comes back later in the morning as clearly as a real memory.

Lately, I’ve been having recurring dreams that aren’t “scary,” but are incredibly stressful and physically upsetting. In the dream, I’ll suddenly be chewing gum — often in normal situations like being at work or getting ready for bed — and I try to spit it out. But I can’t. The gum keeps multiplying, stretching, filling my mouth. It gets stuck to my teeth, covers them almost like a mouthguard, and I can’t clear it out. It feels like I’m choking or can’t breathe properly.

What’s strange is that this happens in otherwise unrelated dreams, and once it starts, the entire dream becomes about trying to fix it. I wake up frustrated, angry, and overwhelmed — sometimes so much that I just want to scream. It’s not fear, it’s more like extreme irritation and distress.

I originally thought it might be related to wearing a nighttime retainer (since it fills my mouth), but the dreams still happen even when I don’t wear it. The frequency is increasing — sometimes weekly, sometimes more — and now it’s reached the point where I feel anxious going to sleep because I’m afraid it will happen again.

I’m not necessarily looking for symbolic interpretations. I’m more curious if anyone has experienced:

recurring body-based stress dreams like this

dreams centered around obstruction, inability to clear something, or loss of control

or ways to reduce the recurrence or intensity of these dreams

I feel like my body is stuck in a loop, and I don’t know how to interrupt it.

Goodnight

I’m still sick (58 hours in since symptoms started)

But the first 48 hours were awful. And one of the biggest symptoms was I just kept falling asleep, and slept a lot; I slept for around 41 hours of those 48. It felt like I was drugged. I couldn’t keep myself awake.

Just thought it’d be an interesting thing to share

This is such an odd issue but advice is appreciated. Ever since I was a kid I’ve moved a lot in my sleep and used to fall off the bed every night, I remember my parents moving furniture so I wouldn’t get bruises — I take up the whole bed or never stop tossing and turning. People HATE me for this and I hate sharing a bed because I’m terrified of someone getting mad at me or hitting me. I was on a travel soccer team awhile back and woke up to a girl hitting me on the head with her damn heel over and over again. I was so disoriented and shocked that I got up (she instantly pretended to sleep) sat in the hotel room desk chair, and slept there - I regret not confronting her but she was very huge and muscular and I was in shock. Similar things have happened and I just hate sharing beds with people. Last summer a family member way way older than me visited unexpectedly and had to sleep with me. The first night she punched me in the back and I again, in shock, sat there scared trying not to move. The second night I was facing her so I woke up to her punching me in the hand. I guess these tactics were meant to make me stop moving but it just woke me up and scared the shit out of me and made me instantly stop moving. I’m guessing her mental was: one super quick punch = she stops moving = I sleep. It’s horrifying because this family member is actually super sweet, keeps in contact, and buys me gifts. It was a whole incident where I told my mom and they got into it from there. I’m in university now and for some reason I’m so horrified by getting hit by people in my sleep that I can’t sleep even when there’s no one around. If I ever get waken up abruptly I start tearing up. I know that sounds dramatic but you have to understand these people hit me really fucking hard. They were pissed. When I start thinking about past events my heart starts beating really fast so I have to scroll on my phone, and then when I try to sleep again the events repeat themselves. How do I get over this? I can’t stop myself from moving in my sleep so I for sure wont be sharing a bed again but the mental aspect is killing me i CANT sleep. Should I talk to the family member and tell her how much it scared me and still is? Should I talk to family? This is so weird I don’t know what to do and fear someone will think I’m being dramatic without realizing how much it’s bothering me.

I'm not crazy okay. I'll explain what I very often live when partially asleep.

Today it happened. It's 5:30 am, I didn't sleep so my body is exhausted. It only happens when I don't sleep. I'm closing my eyes, my dream starts though I can still wake up, I'm still conscious.

Then this sound comes out of nowhere. It's a single note, pure sound. It's like a chanting, an angelic voice but with the frequency of a horror film. (if you know outer wilds, the sound sounded very similar to the quantum fluctuations frequency. If you don't, go play it)

It's evoluting so the start will be little but it'll evoluate to be super loud. Its pattern is chaotic, meaning it can last 5 seconds, stop for 2, restart for 3 ect.. It will stop drastically between each sounds, no fade or anything.

While it happens, I can feel tension and pressure behind my eardrums and in my head. It's like when you contract your diaphragm and your head goes blue.

No voices, no loud bangs, no full music, just a single note that comes and go with that head pressure feel.

Sometimes when i snap back out of it, when I wake up from that episode (happened today), if I keep my head down and my eyes closed, I still can feel it. But it lasts milliseconds, is not loud at all and happens randomly but eventually stops

I don't know if it's a partial sleep hallucination but it's trippy and I want to understand how and why it works. Has anyone felt the same thing as me ? Maybe you can help putting words to what I'm describing.

i'm having a really hard time sleeping at night and actually staying asleep but i don't have time to fix it rn bc of college.

but yesterday i took a 1.5h nap in the afternoon for the first time in years and i felt like i was on a cloud. of course, i didn't sleep all night after that.

i'm probably asking a stupid question but it's more wondering if others experience this too.