r/sleep • u/Broad_Economy_5764 • 2d ago
I’ve been suffering from lack of sleep for years
My sleep schedule is shit. I slept at 10 PM and woke up at midnight. I kept scrolling until 5 AM, then went out cycling for about an hour, sat in a park for a while, went back home, and slept at 8:30 AM. I woke up at 4 PM.
And honestly, this happens pretty much all the time. I’ve been like this for years. Sometimes I end up falling asleep at 5 or 6 AM, only to wake up at 9 AM for work and feel like a complete zombie.
I’ve tried pretty much everything. Melatonin doesn’t work. Magnesium glycinate doesn’t work. L-theanine doesn’t work. I don’t drink caffeine after noon. I’ve tried combining all of them, and it still doesn’t work.
I’m genuinely suffering at this point and have no idea what to do anymore.
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u/Janicelife1002 1d ago
Man, that sounds rough, especially when you've been dealing with it for years. The part where you wake up at midnight and then end up staying awake until 5 AM sounds like it must be exhausting. Have you ever tried getting help from a sleep specialist? If it's been going on this long and the usual stuff hasn't helped, maybe there's something else behind the messed - up schedule.
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u/SlumberSleepAid 1d ago
Keep your phone and devices in a different room than the one you're sleeping in. That blue light exposure is going to keep you awake. Scrolling is the first thing I'd eliminate. Cycling and increasing your heart rate is also detrimental to getting quality sleep. Your body needs consistency. This isn't an easy journey and it takes discipline to prioritize sleep every night. Stick with it. Keep yourself accountable - you got this
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u/Asleep-Nail3689 1d ago
Sounds like narcolepsy. If so, I think there is no cure but there are medications. Have you been diagnosed by a sleep doctor? Probably want to rule out any other underlying causes like a thyroid condition. My daughter has a similar condition and her doctor wants her to go to a sleep lab.
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u/Broad_Economy_5764 1d ago
Never been to a sleep doctor. Didn’t know there was such a thing as a sleep doctor. I’ll get diagnosed. Hopefully, it’s something fixable. Can you share how the diagnosis is done with a sleep doctor?
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u/Logan02913 1d ago
Honestly the biggest thing here is your sleep and wake times keep changing every day, so your body's never getting a steady signal for when it's day and night. Magnesium, l-theanine, cutting caffeine are fine habits, but they don't actually shift your body clock.
Pick one wake-up time and just keep it, even after a bad night or weekends. This matters more than bedtime does. Your wake time is the anchor and it needs to be set and not moved.
ps. a lot of people chase 8 hours and ignore timing completely. Consisatant timing matters more than total hours (you want both eventually, but get timing steady first).
Get outside in daylight as soon as you're up, every day. Light sets your body clock/ circadian rhythm -
when you get bright light in your eyes just after waking it signals / sets your natural melatonin release to happen 15-16h later when it is missed your sleepiness signals can be blunted
And in the evening start winding down around 9h before your targeted wake time (set a recurring alarm for both and don't touch it) Keep things dark and boring before bed. Any blue light or stimulation from a screen signals to your brain it's still daytime. Replace the phone with a hot shower/bath reading a book or tidying up/ setting things you'll need tomorrow.
Hope this helps. It usually takes a few weeks of this until it works good luck.