**Note: I wrote this blog post back in December 2023 so it’s not chronological with my other posts, but still has good information so I’m posting it now in April, 2024. It was during a time when I was in a much more anxious place in my life**
Read time: 10 minutes
TLDR:
- sleep is fundamental to mental health
Preamble:
Hello Readers,
Today I’m going to discuss how sleep affects me. It’s been an interesting and tiring week after some late nights at the hostel such that I decided to have a go at sleeping early. TLDR…I didn’t hit my goal of sleeping at 9pm sleep 6 days in the week; however, I got enough sleep such that I was able to notice the profound difference in my brain function and thinking patterns.
Before you read more, I know you’re thinking “Dude WHAT? 9pm? That’s so early!”. Yes, it’s early and it’s not like I wake up at 4am either. The goal is to sleep at 9pm and wake up at 7am. I haven’t done it consistently enough for more than a month to see if I actually need that much sleep, but at this current time, it’s what I need to function during the day and to fix my sleep dept so…that was the goal.
The GOAL:
– GOAL Attempt: I’m going to go to bed by 9pm for 6 nights this week
– what actually happened: 9:30pm, 9:45pm, 9:15pm, 11:00pm, 9:20pm, 11:30pm (one day is missing…lols)
Now my plan was just to get 6 nights of early sleep and then reassess in 1 week…no writing planned, but I found such a profound difference in my brain thinking patterns/physical being that I had to reflect about it. Yes, I’m a reflection/self-awareness nerd, but that’s why you’re here too no? To learn?
These categories may not make a ton of sense, but I’ll try to do my best to explain them. I could have put up my journal table later, but for you folk (and for my own organizational mind), I’ve decided to make a table.
| Category | Well Rested | Sleep Deprived |
| Ability to go to bed on time | Know I need to go to bed early and can get to bed on time | Know to go to bed early, but get hyper-fixated or have thoughts of “I’ll be fine, it’s not that late”. I forget how tired I was that morning |
| Distractibility | Aware of the minds’ distractibility or thoughts and can come back to the task at hand | Jumping from task to task. Hard to hold thoughts for longer than a couple seconds |
| Ability to utilize self care strategies | Know when I need to meditate or be away from others to recharge | Know I need self care (e.g. sleep, meditation, time alone), but I forget the thought and instead stay around others |
| Feeling Present | Feel present and aware | Feel like time flows by and I’m a bit dissociated |
| Feeling of safety | Feel safe | Feel hypervigilant. Concern about people, more second-guessing peoples’ words or intentions |
| Time staying asleep | Can sleep 9 hours throughout the night and able to fall back asleep if woken up in middle of night | Time asleep shortens to 6-7 hours. Immediately upon being woken, have trouble falling back asleep due to constant stream of thoughts |
| Naps | Able to fall asleep in 30 minutes and sleep deeply | Unable to fall asleep. Brain is in a cascade of thoughts. May lay awake trying to sleep for 2 hours |
All of the above factors provide challenges for catching up on sleep. Individually, they’re okay, but together they become an overwhelming tidal wave that I’m not (yet) able to manage. Just like positive actions work off one another, my sleep deprivation cycle does too.
Description of Sleep Deprivation Spiral:
Low sleep -> more distractibility > more thoughts > more time spent separating from thoughts > more time taking thoughts seriously > feeling overrun by emotions > harder to give self compassion/self care > look to others for more comfort > become overstimulated/adrenaline/want to be around others > stay up later > more low
These are just some of the things that happen with my brain when I’m low on sleep. I used to think it was just me, but looking at the list, I know others experience the same. On little sleep, everyone is more sensitive and overthink more. It’s completely normal and important for me not to forget.
As for someone with ADHD though, where it differs slightly is that it’s a little easier for me to fall down the sleep deprivation cycle. Because those with ADHD don’t have as many filters as a neurotypical, the surroundings – sounds, tastes, light etc. – all take more of a toll on my brain and I need more time for quiet and to recharge.
Okay so now what to do? Well, perhaps positive sleep cycle habits and purposefully avoiding risky situations:
Factors and Effect on Sleep:
| Helpful Factors | Potential Risky Situations | Why Risky? | How I Decrease the Risk |
| Sleep Early | Going into the common room of the hostel past 8pm | End up on adrenaline chatting with others or getting hyperfocused on conversations/music = further energy depletion | Earlier in the day, let other volunteers know I’m going to bed early so there’s no expectations. Set multiple alarms earlier in the day saying “go to bed, you’re tired” spaced 10 minutes apart. |
| Quiet alone time/meditation | Getting distracted after shift and staying talking with others | End up chatting with others, more auditory and visual stimulation = more tired | Schedule in my phone that I’m going to have quiet time from 1:30pm-3:00pm in my bed. Set an alarm. Block my phone from being accessed with an app. |
| Giving myself extra time to complete tasks | No extra time | Believing I can do what I need to with the same efficiency as when I’m well rested | Plan my day in my calendar so I can see visually if it’s a reasonable amount of time (taking into account meals, rest time etc.) |
Summary:
So in summary, keeping myself well rested helps me to continue feeling at a better mental health state and keep myself on a good cycle.
Tracy
**Note: I finished writing this post in April 2024 (4 months after I wrote this originally, but didn’t post it). What I think is important to note that I didn’t know then is that sleep deprivation will happen in life at multiple times. How I deal with it now is feeling how my body feels and not reacting the sensation of feeling tired (i.e. sluggish, achy etc.). This stops the negative spiral of “Omg I didn’t get enough sleep, my life will suck today” thoughts. If you want to learn more about Vipassana, please see this link: https://worldofwanderingminds.com/2024/04/03/blog-post-10-my-mental-health-past-and-vipassana-meditation-my-permanent-ticket-out-of-depression-anxiety-ptsd-and-negative-habits/
World of Wandering Minds 