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12:59pm May 16, 2013

Question for all autistic people: how much sleep do you get on a daily basis (naps included)? Do you generally feel this is enough/too much? How much sleep do you think is ideal for you?

I have a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, which is apparently common for autistic people. (Got into a weird argument with a guy online who said I couldn’t have irregular sleep wake pattern because only people with neurological conditions have it. Hello, that includes autistic people, we have it more often than most people do. And that includes people with Parkinson’s, and I have a movement disorder in the same family. So yes, neurological conditions, okay.)

Also the amount I sleep varies a lot. It can be anything from none at all to twenty hours. I imagine nine is healthy, but I don’t really know what’s best for me. I can sleep pretty much in any pattern any time of day.

I am on a lot of medications that make me very sleepy, and that affects how much I sleep. Yet I still have days when I go two or three days with no sleep at all or only minimal sleep. The rest of the time though I spend a lot of time sleeping. Because when you’re on lots of nausea meds, that means lots of sleep. So this isn’t my natural amount of sleep, and I’ve been on meds so long I don’t even know what natural would be.

Notes:
  1. musicismysubsitute answered: 6 hours max. No matter how tired I am. I can survive on 6 hours but I am normally tired all the time.
  2. telephonoscope answered: 9-12 hours and then nights I’m insomniac or perseverating i’ll maybe get 4.
  3. deathtasteslikechicken answered: I usually sleep 9-10 hours, and feel that 8+ is enough. I feel more 11+ is usually too much. <6 is no good. I prefer 9-10.
  4. summongianttoad answered: Three to six hours in bed, but sometimes I fall asleep somewhere else. Then I can’t get in bed until I wake up. I should sleep more in bed.
  5. cashewmonster answered: 7-12 depending if its a weekend or weekday, naps can last 1-3 hours
  6. sunshine-the-dino reblogged this from withasmoothroundstone and added:
    Thank you so much for writing that! I had never heard of circadian rhythm sleep disorder but now that I looked it up...
  7. kaminiwa reblogged this from adelened and added:
    Assuming no depressive episodes, my sleep cycle sounds pretty similar to yours. I’ll often sleep for 4-6 hours, waking...
  8. theredhairing40 reblogged this from withasmoothroundstone and added:
    I might have a sleeping disorder as well… I usually get about 6-12 hours of sleep, when really I should just go for the...
  9. illhaveasalute answered: I get er… Some 12-14 hours of sleep. Not sure if it has to do with depression though. Usually had like 9ish.
  10. quixylvre reblogged this from withasmoothroundstone
  11. ciwpid reblogged this from withasmoothroundstone and added:
    I have to sleep at least 11-12 hours a day to feel not sleepy. I generally go to be around 8:30PMish and wake up around...
  12. skoomapipe answered: idk for me it’s usually like 9 hours with no naps but I think that’s fine
  13. silversarcasm answered: I get from nothing to 16 hours. My sleep pattern varies wildly and it’s really not healthy
  14. smartwittyurl answered: Anywhere from 4-10 hrs. I don’t nap….I usually function best on around 5-6 hours of sleep
  15. took-my-youth answered: I tend to get about 6 hours at night, and that’s it. It’s not enough, but I just can’t sleep. I’d like at least 2 more hours sleep.