A great place to start Disorder information source Rated and Reviewed Sleep Links Entrance to all monitored Sleep Forums Search all of Sleepnet.com


Rest of the Sleep Disorders Forum Posting


Archived Rest Forum10 viewing only. To post a new topic go to the Rest Forum Homepage.

Problem maintaining sleep patterns

Posted by Henricho R. on January 11, 2005 at 02:32:08:

I am sorry for the length of this message but I would really appreciate any thoughts you might have on my problem.

I have a problem with my sleep that has been haunting me for years. During my undergrad years at university it badly jeopardized my g.p.a. because I was not able to attend classes since I could not wake up in the morning. This demotivated me and caused me to perform even worse. I somehow managed to get my act together and cope with the situation (without really solving it) and I eventually made it to grad school. In grad school after going through my courses and nearly failing out of school because of missing my morning classes I got to the research phase where I could pretty much make my own schedule. After doing this for months it occurred to me that part of the problem was that my daily sleep cycle might be longer than normal, it seems that my biological day is 26 or 27 hours long. I got this estimate by observing how many more hours my sleeping and waking times drifted every day.

I am now about to begin my career and I am afraid that my sleeping habits could cause problems. I did work full time during summers and I had varying success at coping with my sleep. I did get into trouble quite a few times because of making it to work late and was given the opportunity of flex hours to help me cope with my problem at one of my work places.

The biggest problem I have is in waking up. It seems I can never wake up at a time I set for myself. I experience an intense grogginess that almost forces me to continue sleeping-- more often than not I give in to the urge. When I do manage to get up it's often 15 minutes before the bus arrives or before I have to be somewhere and I run around like mad trying to get ready-- a very horrible feeling.

Over the years I have tried different things. I have tried going to bed at a strict time but this did not work because I would sleep for more hours than planned the next day somehow. I talked to a counsellor who gave me the feeling that he thought I was just lazy. Physicians I talked to did not think it was a medical problem. I set 4 alarms to wake me up but my roommate would often have to come and turn them off for me so that I don't bother the neighbours with eternal alarm rings. I have asked people to force me to get up by "whatever means necessary" but this just created unnecessary distress for everyone.

I have looked into this problem quite a bit and I am surprised at how little literature there is about the process of getting up. This is surprising because today 6 billion people do it daily! I only came across obscure references such as motivations for waking up given in Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations".

It really scares me, could it be that I am the only human who has not figured out how to wake up?

Follow Ups:


Archived Rest Forum10 viewing only. To post a new topic go to the Rest Forum Homepage

  • IMPORTANT : Information not intended as medical advice. If you suspect that you have a sleep disorder you should seek care from a qualified professional. Read Terms of Use.
  • The Sleep Forums are not to be used for commercial purposes.
  • Commercial products and services are not endorsed by Sleepnet.com.
  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


Copyright ©1995-2005 Sleepnet.com., All rights reserved