Insomnia

[Moccu]

Both my spouse and I have had insomnia, it seems that its linked to Asperger's syndrome disorder. Here are some things I found in some research studies:

Insomnia is a frequent finding in adults with Asperger's Syndrome:

.. Clinicians with substantial experience in AS have noticed that anticipatory anxiety is a nearly universal feature of AS as a result of the developmental deficit in intersubjectivity and excessive adherence to routines inherent in AS. Both the temperament and character of AS adults predispose to anxiety [23], which might be difficult to classify in terms of present clinical anxiety disorders. Most AS subjects in the present study had one or more anxiety disorders but also the remaining ones displayed subthreshold anxiety symptoms. This is in accordance with the observation that those few AS subjects without axis-I and axis-II comorbidity also had symptoms of insomnia.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC270035/

Conclusions: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1471-244X-3-12
the neuropsychiatric deficits inherent of AS predispose both to insomnia and to anxiety and mood disorders. Therefore a careful assessment of sleep quality should be an integral part of the treatment plan in these individuals. Conversely, when assessing adults with chronic insomnia the possibility of autism spectrum disorders as one of the potential causes of this condition should be kept in mind.


Reducing Anxiety
Reducing anxiety is another important component to reducing the instance of insomnia for those with Asperger's. General anxiety, and thinking about problems, can impact the sleep of people with or without Asperger’s syndrome. However, since anxiety disorders frequently co-exist with Asperger’s syndrome, it is important to address factors that impact anxiety. Begin by looking at ways to reduce stress such as improving time management with visual schedules, academic supports, counseling or a job coach.

- See more at: http://www.healthguideinfo.com/aspergers-syndrome/p111783/#sthash.SUbMvlGk.dpuf

The last link has helpful information for parents of children with ASD or autism, to aid in reducing anxiety at bedtime.

Do you have insomnia?

And this is why I must be awake right now.

 

[DarkLady]

I've had insomnia my whole life. Sometimes I sleep too much though when I "crash." I take something for it.

 

[Maelstrom]

Waking dreams on and off all last night for me, felt half asleep most of the day. But then my stress anxiety level is running high with good reason. Listening to music seems to help some.

 

[tree]

Taking calcium with magnesium is a big help
if you grind your teeth in your sleep. It also
makes a person less tense during the day.
Helps reduce muscle cramping, in general.


http://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/bruxism-tmj-disorder-and-tinnitus/#.VfHPxpdKDdc
http://drsircus.com/medicine/magnesium/magnesium-in-neurological-diseases-and-emotions

 

[Maelstrom]

Taking calcium with magnesium is a big help
if you grind your teeth in your sleep. It also
makes a person less tense during the day.
Helps reduce muscle cramping, in general.


http://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/bruxism-tmj-disorder-and-tinnitus/#.VfHPxpdKDdc
http://drsircus.com/medicine/magnesium/magnesium-in-neurological-diseases-and-emotions

Dark Chocolate and B5 , I can live with that...I'll have to try it...Thank you Tree

 

[IanOSU]

I sleep about 10-12 hours a night. but the more I sleep the more tired I get. I often wake up in the morning with my heart pounding, cramp and soreness throughout my whole body, and shortness of breath. anyone experience the same thing?

 

[Mia]

I sleep about 10-12 hours a night. but the more I sleep the more tired I get. I often wake up in the morning with my heart pounding, cramp and soreness throughout my whole body, and shortness of breath. anyone experience the same thing?

Sounds as if you sleep quite heavily. This happens to me only when I've had an extremely stressful week and have overworked.

 

[Maelstrom]

I sleep about 10-12 hours a night. but the more I sleep the more tired I get. I often wake up in the morning with my heart pounding, cramp and soreness throughout my whole body, and shortness of breath. anyone experience the same thing?

Could be sleep apnea? try sleeping on your side and see if it makes a difference.

I had a scary one where I almost levitated when I woke up, scared me half to death...turns out our little calico cat had chewed threw the wires on the electric blanket doing her little sucking on the blanket kneeding with her paws Moma kitty thing. So no letting the cat chew on the electric blanket.. not good...any other blanket but not that one.

 

[DC1346]

I cannot of course speak for anyone else, but my insomnia is rooted in the fact that I am extremely focused and project oriented ... so much so that I have been known to work through weekends without going to bed and only leaving my study to feed the cats, take a quick shower, use the facilities, or get a cold refreshing beverage and perhaps a quick meal. Even when fatigue forces me to finally go to bed, I find myself lying awake thinking about editing, revising, or improving the project.

I will agree that anxiety is also a problem. I don't enjoy interpersonal conflict. I can handle this as a teacher because social protocol and district policy have accorded me the ability to send disruptive students to the office ... but since I can't do this with adults, let alone colleagues, I get quite stressed out when I have a problem with another adult.

One problem I am having now is that there's an Aspie special education teacher who keeps coming by the Culinary Arts kitchen after the end of the school day to mooch snacks. Since I am morally constrained from giving her student food supplies which were paid for by student lab fees, the only food I have available are my own personal snacks that I keep in stock for days when I'm going to stay at school late working on a project or grading papers.

Not only does this woman take my personal snacks but she takes double portions because her retired husband has apparently volunteered as her aide ... and she feels that it'd be wrong to snack in front of him without offering him a snack as well.

I have had to restock my personal pantry twice because this woman has depleted my food stocks.

She has never offered to reimburse me or to make a contribution towards the purchase of other food items ... and earlier this week her husband came into my class with takeout from a fast food place. He shared the fast food with his wife but had nothing for me and worse yet, nothing for the students.

Although this teacher did not eat in front of the students, we could smell the aroma coming from her bag. We could also see her slurping on the soda.

This teacher is making me very uncomfortable and I've been averaging 3 hours of sleep per night for the past week.

(sigh)

 

[Mia]

Hmm.. DC the personal food you have should be placed somewhere that this woman has no access to, perhaps locked away or hidden, until she understands that the food she has been availing herself of is not free. She should be told also not to touch the student food as well, if she might be considering helping herself to that since your food is unavailable now. The next tact to consider might be to see the school dean or principal or head to discuss the problem.

 

[IanOSU]

Could be sleep apnea? try sleeping on your side and see if it makes a difference.

I had a scary one where I almost levitated when I woke up, scared me half to death...turns out our little calico cat had chewed threw the wires on the electric blanket doing her little sucking on the blanket kneeding with her paws Moma kitty thing. So no letting the cat chew on the electric blanket.. not good...any other blanket but not that one.

wow glad that you're ok maelstrom. that's pretty scary [emoji87]

well I'm thinking about going to see a sleep specialist

 

[IanOSU]

Sounds as if you sleep quite heavily. This happens to me only when I've had an extremely stressful week and have overworked.

hmm, kind of strange that this happens to me regularly..

 

[IanOSU]

I cannot of course speak for anyone else, but my insomnia is rooted in the fact that I am extremely focused and project oriented ... so much so that I have been known to work through weekends without going to bed and only leaving my study to feed the cats, take a quick shower, use the facilities, or get a cold refreshing beverage and perhaps a quick meal. Even when fatigue forces me to finally go to bed, I find myself lying awake thinking about editing, revising, or improving the project.

I will agree that anxiety is also a problem. I don't enjoy interpersonal conflict. I can handle this as a teacher because social protocol and district policy have accorded me the ability to send disruptive students to the office ... but since I can't do this with adults, let alone colleagues, I get quite stressed out when I have a problem with another adult.

One problem I am having now is that there's an Aspie special education teacher who keeps coming by the Culinary Arts kitchen after the end of the school day to mooch snacks. Since I am morally constrained from giving her student food supplies which were paid for by student lab fees, the only food I have available are my own personal snacks that I keep in stock for days when I'm going to stay at school late working on a project or grading papers.

Not only does this woman take my personal snacks but she takes double portions because her retired husband has apparently volunteered as her aide ... and she feels that it'd be wrong to snack in front of him without offering him a snack as well.

I have had to restock my personal pantry twice because this woman has depleted my food stocks.

She has never offered to reimburse me or to make a contribution towards the purchase of other food items ... and earlier this week her husband came into my class with takeout from a fast food place. He share the fast food with his wife but had nothing for me and worse yet, nothing for the students.

Although this teacher did not eat in front of the students, we could smell the aroma coming from her bag. We could also see her slurping on the soda.

This teacher is making me very uncomfortable and I've been average 3 hours of sleep per night for the past week.

(sigh)

sounds like she made herself too comfortable in the kitchen. she should know that's a classroom not a cafeteria. if she is an aspie apecial ed teacher do you feel comfortable letting know her know that you are an aspie and what shes doing bothers you?

 

[DC1346]

sounds like she made herself too comfortable in the kitchen. she should know that's a classroom not a cafeteria. if she is an aspie apecial ed teacher do you feel comfortable letting know her know that you are an aspie and what shes doing bothers you?

She knows I'm an aspie. She actually came over and introduced herself during our first day back at work. I was impressed with her initiative because I tend not to talk to anyone unless it's work related.

In retrospect, the initial conversation was rather odd. For one thing, she MADE eye contact with me and tried to maintain it. The eye contact made me uncomfortable and I had to look away.

Having learned that we were both aspies, she told me that she had "conditioned herself" to be more socially outgoing and to do (annoying) things like making eye contact. Since she had a Ph.D. in special education, she told me that since I had only just learned that I was in the ADS spectrum that she could help me learn more about my condition. She also said that she could help me develop better social skills "off the books."

I am not sure why she offered to do this. I had not solicited assistance and had no interest in developing better social skills since my current skill set is sufficient for me to maintain employment.

I do not understand why she mooches snacks. Perhaps she thinks that we have a quid pro quo arrangement ... though the promised therapy (much to my relief) never occurred.

Please understand that she does not and has not rummaged through my kitchen. All requests for snacks are made directly to me ... usually with the words, "Okay chef ... waddaya got stashed away? I know you've got something good. You're a chef!"

And before I quite knew what was happening, there went the last of my fresh fruit salad. On the following day there went my last two ice creams. On still another occasion, there went my cookies ... my chips ... and even a chocolate bar ... all gone-gone-gone.

I thought about locking my door after school ... but I sometimes have students who need to talk to me regarding makeup assignments, so locking the door didn't seem very practical. I also thought about lying but lying makes me very uncomfortable. I suppose I could talk to her ... but I once talked to her about something else that was bothering me and wound up feeling incredibly guilty.

This woman used to address me by my family name instead of my given name. I didn't like that because it seemed overtly racist.

Although this is no longer very common, it used to be that some of the people I met would insist upon using my family name (which is distinctly Asian) as opposed to using my given name, which is "David". When I finally asked someone why they refused to use my given name, I was told that, "The god-damned Chinese should have god-damned Chinese names!"

I stood my ground and pointed out that I was a third generation U.S. citizen, "AND WHO DID HE THINK HE WAS CALLING ME A 'GOD DAMNED CHINESE?'"

His wife promptly ushered this idiot away and someone else explained that this guy wasn't really a racist because he acted like an "ass" with everyone.

(sigh)

So when this special ed teacher began addressing me by my family name instead of my given name, I was somewhat offended and asked her to stop.

Since she is an aspie, she was mortified and kept apologizing for having offended me ... and then I felt bad because she was clearly very upset.

I don't know if I want to go through this again ... because if I confront her, she's going to be very upset.

(double sigh)

 

[Maelstrom]

She knows I'm an aspie. She actually came over and introduced herself during our first day back at work. I was impressed with her initiative because I tend not to talk to anyone unless it's work related.

In retrospect, the initial conversation was rather odd. For one thing, she MADE eye contact with me and tried to maintain it. The eye contact made me uncomfortable and I had to look away.

Having learned that we were both aspies, she told me that she had "conditioned herself" to be more socially outgoing and to do (annoying) things like making eye contact. Since she had a Ph.D. in special education, she told me that since I had only just learned that I was in the ADS spectrum that she could help me learn more about my condition. She also said that she could help me develop better social skills "off the books."

I am not sure why she offered to do this. I had not solicited assistance and had no interest in developing better social skills since my current skill set is sufficient for me to maintain employment.

I do not understand why she mooches snacks. Perhaps she thinks that we have a quid pro quo arrangement ... though the promised therapy (much to my relief) never occurred.

Please understand that she does not and has not rummaged through my kitchen. All requests for snacks are made directly to me ... usually with the words, "Okay chef ... waddaya got stashed away? I know you've got something good. You're a chef!"

And before I quite knew what was happening, there went the last of my fresh fruit salad. On the following day there went my last two ice creams. On still another occasion, there went my cookies ... my chips ... and even a chocolate bar ... all gone-gone-gone.

I thought about locking my door after school ... but I sometimes have students who need to talk to me regarding makeup assignments, so locking the door didn't seem very practical. I also thought about lying but lying makes me very uncomfortable. I suppose I could talk to her ... but I once talked to her about something else that was bothering me and wound up feeling incredibly guilty.

This woman used to address me by my family name instead of my given name. I didn't like that because it seemed overtly racist.

Although this is no longer very common, it used to be that some of the people I met would insist upon using my family name (which is distinctly Asian) as opposed to using my given name, which is "David". When I finally asked someone why they refused to use my given name, I was told that, "The god-damned Chinese should have god-damned Chinese names!"

I stood my ground and pointed out that I was a third generation U.S. citizen, "AND WHO DID HE THINK HE WAS CALLING ME A 'GOD DAMNED CHINESE?'"

His wife promptly ushered this idiot away and someone else explained that this guy wasn't really a racist because he acted like an "ass" with everyone.

(sigh)

So when this special ed teacher began addressing me by my family name instead of my given name, I was somewhat offended and asked her to stop.

Since she is an aspie, she was mortified and kept apologizing for having offended me ... and then I felt bad because she was clearly very upset.

I don't know if I want to go through this again ... because if I confront her, she's going to be very upset.

(double sigh)

You likely have become her special project in her mind, (heaven help you), my brother and other people have done this to me it makes my skin crawl. They generally are totally clueless and basically are more interested in using or controlling you, sometimes they mean well but end up causing more harm than good. You may have to ask someone you trust to get her to back off a little. She likely has no clue on the food thing...in her mind you should be thanking her for spending her precious time on you...the poor aspie. My brother thinks this way...it would be hilarious if he didn't cause me so much trouble...I am twice as smart as him on a bad day...and he doesn't have the first clue on advising me on anything.

But be careful on how you handle this, she could be just lonely, and your job could disappear if you handle it wrong. You could just consider making her a very small snack the price you pay to keep working...it doesn't have to be a meal, just something small and cute, like Pattae? on a couple of crackers.
Sorry I don't know how to spell Chief food...good luck Mael

 

[IanOSU]

She knows I'm an aspie. She actually came over and introduced herself during our first day back at work. I was impressed with her initiative because I tend not to talk to anyone unless it's work related.

In retrospect, the initial conversation was rather odd. For one thing, she MADE eye contact with me and tried to maintain it. The eye contact made me uncomfortable and I had to look away.

Having learned that we were both aspies, she told me that she had "conditioned herself" to be more socially outgoing and to do (annoying) things like making eye contact. Since she had a Ph.D. in special education, she told me that since I had only just learned that I was in the ADS spectrum that she could help me learn more about my condition. She also said that she could help me develop better social skills "off the books."

I am not sure why she offered to do this. I had not solicited assistance and had no interest in developing better social skills since my current skill set is sufficient for me to maintain employment.

I do not understand why she mooches snacks. Perhaps she thinks that we have a quid pro quo arrangement ... though the promised therapy (much to my relief) never occurred.

Please understand that she does not and has not rummaged through my kitchen. All requests for snacks are made directly to me ... usually with the words, "Okay chef ... waddaya got stashed away? I know you've got something good. You're a chef!"

And before I quite knew what was happening, there went the last of my fresh fruit salad. On the following day there went my last two ice creams. On still another occasion, there went my cookies ... my chips ... and even a chocolate bar ... all gone-gone-gone.

I thought about locking my door after school ... but I sometimes have students who need to talk to me regarding makeup assignments, so locking the door didn't seem very practical. I also thought about lying but lying makes me very uncomfortable. I suppose I could talk to her ... but I once talked to her about something else that was bothering me and wound up feeling incredibly guilty.

This woman used to address me by my family name instead of my given name. I didn't like that because it seemed overtly racist.

Although this is no longer very common, it used to be that some of the people I met would insist upon using my family name (which is distinctly Asian) as opposed to using my given name, which is "David". When I finally asked someone why they refused to use my given name, I was told that, "The god-damned Chinese should have god-damned Chinese names!"

I stood my ground and pointed out that I was a third generation U.S. citizen, "AND WHO DID HE THINK HE WAS CALLING ME A 'GOD DAMNED CHINESE?'"

His wife promptly ushered this idiot away and someone else explained that this guy wasn't really a racist because he acted like an "ass" with everyone.

(sigh)

So when this special ed teacher began addressing me by my family name instead of my given name, I was somewhat offended and asked her to stop.

Since she is an aspie, she was mortified and kept apologizing for having offended me ... and then I felt bad because she was clearly very upset.

I don't know if I want to go through this again ... because if I confront her, she's going to be very upset.

(double sigh)

She's an aspie and has a PhD in special education, she's exactly like my Mom!

Seems like she definitely tries really hard socially, and your uncomfortable conversation with her, sounds like she tried way to hard to apply her "learned" social skills, I like to call it "bad acting".
the snack situation, be as casual as you can about it when you bring it up to her. I like to be a little dismissive in these situations, gives people the impression that this is not a big deal to me and don't really need to talk more about this issue.

I'm Asian too, have a Chinese last name. my friends loved calling me by last name cus they liked the way it sound. overtime my own last name became my nick name...

 

[Ste11aeres]

Please understand that she does not and has not rummaged through my kitchen. All requests for snacks are made directly to me ... usually with the words, "Okay chef ... waddaya got stashed away? I know you've got something good. You're a chef!"

Can you explicitly tell her "No"? I don't mean you should lie, I mean explicitly tell her that she's not allowed to take your food.
I know it's difficult and painful to work up the social courage to say things to people like that.
Man, Aspies like her give the rest of us a bad name...

 

[tree]

DC1346
Do you know, is this woman married?
To me it sounded like she was trying to be on a par/level with you, by
using your last name. That is what preppie girls do, when they address
each other. And by acting as equals, insinuate herself into your friendship.

This made me think she was trying for camaraderie/at least casual friendship:
"Okay chef ... waddaya got stashed away? I know you've got something good. You're a chef!"

Possibly she has been hoping that eventually you would come to think of her as a pal/or
even date material. That might sound ridiculous, but...isn't she supposedly aspie?
So maybe she is awkward that way.

 

[Questella]

DC1346
Do you know, is this woman married?
To me it sounded like she was trying to be on a par/level with you, by
using your last name. That is what preppie girls do, when they address
each other. And by acting as equals, insinuate herself into your friendship.

This made me think she was trying for camaraderie/at least casual friendship:
"Okay chef ... waddaya got stashed away? I know you've got something good. You're a chef!"

Possibly she has been hoping that eventually you would come to think of her as a pal/or
even date material. That might sound ridiculous, but...isn't she supposedly aspie?
So maybe she is awkward that way.

This could be possible!

 

[DC1346]

DC1346
Do you know, is this woman married?

Oh God - NO! I mean she's married so no, she's not looking.

I hadn't thought about the idea that she might be "trying for camaraderie." I suppose that's possible ... but to tell you the truth, I find her a bit annoying ... and since she's the only aspie I know in person, I now find myself wondering ... do I come off as annoying to NTs? That's a disturbing thought because under the chef instructor persona I have adopted as a coping mechanism, I'm really quite non-confrontational and would be very upset if I knew that my behavior was offsetting to other colleagues.

I must admit that I have had some very odd conversations with her ... at least they have felt odd to me.

Last Friday I gave her students a unit test on food safety and sanitation. I teach a combined class of my students and 3 of hers who are in a self contained class because of their behavior. When her kids come to my class, she comes as well along with one adult aide.

Since she's responsible for grading her students and I'm responsible for whole class instruction and grading my students, I gave her an answer key. After the kids finished the test, I put on a DVD episode of Cake Boss and quickly scored and recorded the grades of my students. Before doing this, I gave her an answer key so that she could do the same with her students.

During the middle of the video, she proudly announced that 2 had made an A and one had made a B+.

I had just entered the grades for my students at my desk and nodded in response to what she had told me.

"Are you pleased?" she asked.

"I am."

"You don't sound pleased." I found this comment odd because she KNOWS I'm an aspie and like many people on the ADS spectrum, I speak in a monotone.

"I'm very pleased."

She got up and came over to my desk. "What's wrong?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Nothing's wrong. You asked if I was pleased and I said I was. Trust me. I'm ecstatic. I am doing cartwheels in my head."

"But are you HAPPY that they did well?"

I shrugged. "Happiness is not an emotion that I have ever really understood. To borrow a technological phrase, my 'default setting' is one of contentment. At this point, I am quite content."

She abruptly turned around and left my desk. In thinking about this I now find myself wondering what her intent was. Since we are both aspies, she must surely know that I'm quite literal and do not do well in understanding unspoken intent. Was the conversation just a conversation? Was she trying to prompt me to verbally praise her students or to offer them some treat as as a reward? if so, she should have said so because I have no idea of what she was thinking.