[straytheoriesiscool]

I hope this is not too off topic to bring up, but I really need help.

My abbreviated story:
I was suddenly cut off from taking a benzo nightly for sleep.
What followed was pure hell for 5+ months.
I was getting exactly 2 hours of sleep for 3.5 months, and slowly built up to 5-6 hours at the end just recently.

Now, however, the opposite is happening…I can sleep the whole day…on and off. It’s hard to even get up.

Is this my body/brain recovering from all the sleep deprivation?
Anyone else experience this?

[Martin Reed]

It’s hard to say for sure what is going on here.

Are you spending a lot of time asleep at night, too, or is sleep happening primarily during the day?

I wonder if, after stopping the sleeping meds you tried compensating for poor nighttime sleep by trying to sleep during the day and, after repeated attempts to sleep during the day, you are now sleeping during the day rather than at night?

If you are spending most of your day sleeping then sleep drive is likely to be too low for you to sleep at night (in other words, by sleeping during the day you aren’t going to be sleepy at night).

You might find it helpful to implement a regular and appropriate sleep window in an attempt to shift your sleep to a predetermined window in the evening. This will likely take time, though, and you might find it helpful to seek the help of a behavioral sleep medicine specialist with experience in circadian rhythm disorders.

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[straytheoriesiscool]

Thanks so much for the reply!
Actually I still sleep at night…usually around midnight to 5-6 am. But I can go back to sleep and, if I don’t force myself up…the next thing I know is it’s 11 am.

Hard to imagine getting too much sleep…that was a non-existent idea just 1 month ago.

Btw, I was on Clonazepam nightly for 1-2 years…I can’t even remember how long. My memory is shot. I can hardly concentrate/focus. Fatigued even after finally sleeping.
But I know these are symptoms of benzo withdrawal which can take months or longer to recover from.

I developed DSPD 4 years ago which I “fixed” using a lightbox and melatonin to reset my circadian rythym…it worked wonders btw for those with that issue.
But this time it hasn’t happened.

So I guess I need to try and establish a regular sleep/wake cycle…and exercise daily…and maybe I will return to normal.
I know it will probably take time…patience is hard to come by after the nightmare I’ve been through.
Thanks so much.

[Joyous56]

I don’t know if this would be helpful, but since I retired and have no reason to get up at a certain time, my sleep/wake habits have gotten crazy. I don’t like to go to bed, anticipating that I won’t sleep, and I don’t like to wake up when I have no reason to. I began to stay up later and later, sometimes all night, and then sleep from 6am to noon.

I’ve only begun to try and work through this. I know that getting a good night’s sleep is important to my health, and for making the most of my waking hours.

The problem happened gradually, and I don’t expect to solve it overnight. It’s just good to have a plan and making progress. (I want a nap right now, 3:35 pm, but I’ll wait until nearer my bedtime, when I am sleepy, get my 6.5-7 hours sleep, and wake up, get out of bed, and get on with my day). Waking up too early, and getting out of bed when it’s still dark gives me the creeps. I don’t know why.

[Author]

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