Any diagnosed insomniacs out there?

I feel like I’ve spent most of my life on a sleep-improvement world tour.

I’ve been through the UK sleep specialists at Guy’s Hospital, completed all the CBT-i courses, and I’m on prescription melatonin. At one point they did a polysomnography and told me my brainwaves were so busy all night they’d “never quite seen anything like it before.” Apparently ADHD brains like to host a midnight rave. My total sleep - 19 minutes! They hadn't seen that before in a dark room with zero stimulus...

My issue isn’t getting to sleep — it’s staying asleep. Classic maintenance insomnia. The ironic bit is that my sleep efficiency is about 98% because I’m so deprived that when I do sleep, my body clings to it like a lifeboat. During CBTi treatment (which the hospital said was the worst thing the doctor could have advised me to do) I was prevented from lying down at all in the day and actually went to sleep standing up!

So yes, I completely agree with Jim that sleep is the key to everything. If only following the advice automatically unlocked the result! Sometimes listening to seminars about sleep can feel a bit like being told to “just relax” while your brain is juggling flaming bowling pins.

If anyone else is in the “I’m doing all the right things and still awake at 3am” club, please tell me your story. I promise strong empathy and absolutely zero judgement. ❤️

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