this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2025
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Do all of us neurodiverse folks have sleep issues? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 2 days ago by Seigest@lemmy.ca to c/autism@lemmy.world
52 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I'm not great with details, but I remember reading that many of us in the neurodiverse community struggle with sleep or energy levels.

Back in my early 20s, I went through the whole sleep clinic process. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and mild narcolepsy. They prescribed me a full-face CPAP mask because my mouth doesn't stay closed at night. That didn’t last long I dumped it after 2 months. I’m not a still sleeper — more like a rotisserie chicken — and the full mask just made me choke on my own drool. The doctors were frustrated and not very helpful. It felt like they expected me to control my body even while unconscious.

Now, over 10 years later, I’m going through the process again. Apparently, my body still isn’t getting enough oxygen during sleep, and it’s causing problems.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if the doctors are missing something — like autism as a potential root cause of sleep issues. In my neurodiverse friend group (both autistic and ADHD), I’m the only one not sleeping 12 or more hours a day. So now I’m left wondering what’s really going on — with me, and with them.

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[–] darthelmet@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

My sleep has been all over the place over the years. There have been times when I couldn't fall asleep and even now I tend not to go to bed until like 2-3 AM. I also tend to wake up pretty early relative to how much sleep I end up with. In school I'd have an alarm set so that I could get up for class and I'd regularly wake up before the alarm even when I definitely didn't get enough sleep.

I actually had doctors suggest a sleep study to investigate causes of my depression, but I couldn't complete the study because the equipment they make you wear to go to sleep is so uncomfortable to me that I couldn't actually fall asleep while wearing it. So we gave up on that.

I never particularly feel well rested, but it's a chicken and egg situation. Am I tired because I'm depressed or am I depressed because I'm tired?

Then later I learned about the autism and lately I've suspected that I might also be ADHD, but still waiting on my appointment to actually figure that out.

[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 5 points 2 days ago

I never particularly feel well rested, but it's a chicken and egg situation. Am I tired because I'm depressed or am I depressed because I'm tired?

Very relatable comment in general, but the above was the most relatable.

[–] Seigest@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago

I wish you the best with getting your diagnosis. I absolutely dreaded the sleep studies. They were always scheduled on work nights, and I’d get almost no sleep. Then they'd kick me out at 6 a.m., and I’d end up stumbling back to my office since it was closer than going home.

Thankfully, my next one is on a weekend, so at least I can go straight home afterward.

When I get those strong, sudden urges to sleep and can’t actually fall asleep, I feel awful. Even worse, I can get irritable with the people around me. So, at least in my experience, the sleep issues came first. And the more I’ve done to address them, the better I’ve felt overall.