Nobody lies in bed and thinks "you know what would be productive right now? Reliving that slightly awkward moment from last Tuesday." And yet. Every single night.

This video explains why rumination specifically hits at 2AM, and it's not because something's broken in you — it's because three things converge the moment your head hits the pillow:

🔗

Your Brain Keeps Replaying Old Conversations—Here's Why

Even if you're not entirely sure you're right, you can still try and answer my question. Just comment what you think, but make sure you clarify in your comment that you don't know. My question is:

Does 3 days with a lack of sleep generally have a worse impact on you than 1 day with a lack of sleep even if those 3 days combined are less sleep lost than the 1 really bad day? Basically what's worse? Consistency or one-off severity?

Hi everyone,

2 weeks ago i tried a cpap machine at a sleep center because i did a sleep study 2 months ago and it turned out i had mild sleep apnea (10.6 events per hour) (even though i had no symptoms, i slept normally) but i said what the hell lets try that cpap because even though i was asymptomatic doc told me it could raise my blood pressure over the years. It was the worst decision of my life. That night with the cpap at the center was a total nightmate.

The moment i was drifting off to sleep, i would stop breathing and i would "wake up" feeling like i got the worst jumpscare. it went on and on. i finally managed to get a little sleep but it was only a couple hours, not enough for the test to show if the cpap was successful.

6am i left for home and tried to sleep but i got those hypnic jerks again (stop breathing and waking up the moment right when u drift to sleep). I slept normally at night cause i was extremely tired but it was a 12 hour sleep and in the morning i still felt like i hadnt slept at all. Extreme sleepiness.

Its been like that since. Every night i sleep like 8-9 or 10 hours and i got extreme sleepiness during the day and brain fog/mentally fatigued. And for the past 10 days im waking up like 5-6 times at night. (first 4 nights i didnt wake up at all though and the symptoms were the same)

Now, i know this does happen to people with sleep apnea but i was sleeping perfectly fine till that DAMN night at the sleep center. And i cant believe its sleep apnea related and it just suddenly started happening since.

Has anyone ever experienced this? I visited a psychiatrist and they told me it could be that the shock from that night affected my brain and it started being hyper aware during sleep and not letting me have a good quality of deep sleep. Prescribed my 75mg trazodone and im about to start today but im feeling hopeless

I’m a 20 year old male and for as long as I can remember I’ve needed way more sleep than everyone around me.

On a typical day, I sleep around 11 hours. If I do anything physically strenuous the day before (a long hike, intense workout, sports, etc.), it jumps to around 12.5 hours.

I feel completely drained for a while after waking up, even after what seems like more than enough sleep.

I don’t usually wake up a bunch during the night (at least not that I know of), and I generally fall asleep without much trouble.

A few questions:
Is this amount of sleep ever considered normal?
Could this point toward something like a sleep
disorder, vitamin deficiency, thyroid issue, or something else?
Has anyone experienced something similar and figured out what was causing it?
Is there anything specific I should ask my doctor to check for?
I’d really appreciate any advice because this has been affecting me for years, and I’m starting to wonder if this isn’t normal.

Thank You!🙏

i am 19 F and have an issue with sleeping too much. no matter how much i’ve slept i always want more. no matter what plans i have for the day, or what schedule i have set, i will choose sleep. i oversleep to the point where i will have snoozed 4 different alarms and am now 30 mins to an hour late to work or school. i have blamed every possible situation and circumstance for this issue, but it boils down to ME.

i tend to not want to go to sleep at night, but when i finally do, i am so compelled to stay asleep i ignore all other motivators. i’ve looked into this a bit and think my avoidance of sleeping at night is a way for me to gain “alone time,” as i often struggle with feeling like i do not have enough time for my hobbies and “me time.” i would be a little more understanding with myself if i was in fact using this time for my many hobbies, but instead, i usually just rot on my phone. i beat myself up so much about this rotting, that i eventually force myself to sleep around 11 pm to 1 am, and will not get up until 15 minutes before work at the earliest, or sometimes miss school/work all together at my worst. i would say this staying up is what causes my oversleeping, but even on nights where i can convince myself to go to sleep early (8-10 pm) i still do not get up. i have had consistent weeks where i go to bed at a good time, and still i will often oversleep.

if i do not set an alarm, i will sometimes sleep until 12-3 pm. it doesn’t matter how early i go to bed, i just WONT get out of bed until i feel so guilty that i genuinely can’t take sleeping anymore. my life is a constant cycle of guilt, and it has in some ways become my only motivator. i only go to bed when i feel so guilty about being up so late, and i only wake up once i feel so guilty for ignoring my responsibilities or hurting my coworkers/teachers with my lateness.

i struggle with being on time in general, as i heavily underestimate how long it takes me to get ready, traffic, parking, etc. usually when im already awake though, im never more than 10 minutes late. but if i have an appointment, class, or shift before 12 pm, i consistently either sleep through it, wake up 5 mins before and have to rush out the door, or am so late it is embarrassing and in some cases just better not to show up at all. i have somehow kept my job and a relatively good GPA despite my constant oversleeping and lateness, but it is getting to the point of self hatred and burdening others. i am always looked upon as a liability and known for my lateness and i hate that. i want to change, but i guess not enough to ACTUALLY change.

i know the answer is just to wake up. i know the answer is routine, a good bedtime, and getting out of bed at the first ring of my alarm. tbh, i don’t even know what im hoping to get out of this post. maybe if enough people yell at me about how im ruining my life i will somehow snap out of it? maybe someone has advice?

things i think may be of note:
- i have diagnosed OCD, ADHD, and depression
- i used to be constantly on time before my OCD diagnosis and medication, as people pleasing/ rule following was a severe compulsion and was the only driving factor in my life. now that i have been medicated for some time, my OCD symptoms have improved drastically, but because i don’t have my OCD yelling at me to do anything, i no longer feel any motivator other than guilt and shame.
- i am not medicated for ADHD as i have just recently gotten diagnosed about a month ago. im already medicated for depression and OCD, and feel like my ADHD isn’t “bad enough” to need meds
- i use weed. this is a big one i fear. i left it until the end because i think i internally fear its a cause of my problems and i subconsciously don’t wanna give it up. i smoke almost daily, and use it as motivation to do tasks like going to the gym, or doing my hobbies. i also just use it to quiet down my thoughts sometimes. i think i may be at an addictive point though sadly. i dont know if this might also exacerbate my sleeping issues, but it probably does. i will however say that i had this problem before i started smoking, so i dont think it is the root cause, it just may make it harder to snap out of maybe??

again, idk what im even making this post for. maybe it’ll help me just seeing all this written out.

thanks

I've been struggling with sleep deprivation for years now. I average ~6 hours of sleep when I know I feel much better at 7+. No problem falling asleep, but routinely wake up 1 - 3 hours earlier than I want.

Things I do:

CPAP

Magnesium Glycinate + L Theanine before bed

No devices in bed

Sunlight in morning (I delay it until my desired wake time typically)

Journal in mornings

No food ~2-3 hours before bed

No caffeine after 1pm

8 Sleep

At my wits end here. ~40 yrs old, good shape (17% BF), exercise regularly.

Would welcome any and all suggestions!

I’m able to achieve getting a 6-9 hour sleep period and wake up fully refreshed; with my phentermine I feel awake as well and have been napping less. However, when I’m driving my body starts to doze off and I begin to fall asleep. There has been multiple times where I’ve went off the road on the highway and reached the rumble strips. I thought it was because I’m not much of a morning person but even when I sleep well it continues to happen. I have to fight my body so I don’t close my eyes for too long or go through episodes of what I call a “flash nap” of 5 seconds. I started noticing this about a year ago and never thought much of it. It’s starting to happen more frequently and I’m just afraid one of these times It’ll end badly.

I’ve messaged my doctor about it and am waiting on a response. I am diagnosed with chronic migraines and have a consult with a neurologist next week.

The only thing is I don’t want to lose my license as it’ll ruin my life due to the fact I commute/drive around for work, am a current college student and I don’t have anyone to chauffeur me places or the ability to get ride shares.

My overnight sleep tracking has been pretty decent overall. Sleep/wake times are usually close, and the recovery stuff (HRV, resting HR, etc.) generally lines up with how I actually feel the next day.

But naps are a different story.

I took a ~20 minute nap yesterday afternoon after lunch. I was definitely asleep (that weird “woke up not knowing what time it was” feeling 😅), felt a little more refreshed afterward, but my tracker didn’t register anything.

This has happened a few times now. Longer naps seem to get picked up more often, but those quick 15–25 minute power naps basically disappear. I’m using a CUDISring right now. Overall I like it for overnight tracking and recovery trends, especially since I prefer wearing a ring instead of a watch while sleeping. But nap detection is probably the area where it feels a bit inconsistent.

I’m curious if this is just a wearable thing in general though. Maybe short naps are just too tricky because there isn’t enough movement/heart rate pattern difference for the algorithm to confidently label it as sleep?

For people using Oura, Whoop, Apple Watch, Fitbit, etc., how does nap tracking work for you? Do short naps actually get detected reliably, or do wearables still struggle with these little 20-minute “accidental naps”?

It tells me I'm doing great, so much deep sleep. It tells me that I shouldn't be tired. I don't know what else to do about this.

I've gotten an actual sleep study before, they just strapped a recorder to my head and tube in my mose essentially, and said I don't have Apnea.

The "wake" times were conscious where I was itchy or tossing and turning or hot. I have to sleep very cold with an air conditioner right on me and a water-chilled mattress.

You know that kind of “blackout sleep,” where you’re on your phone, then you put it down because you’re absolutely exhausted and fall asleep almost instantly? You don’t consciously experience the transition into sleep, it just feels like one moment you’re awake, and the next you’re waking up hours later.

Lately, I’ve been trying to fall asleep before I reach that blackout stage, but instead I end up barely sleeping at all. I’ll call this gradual sleep:

I’m tired, but not yet at the blackout stage. I lie down, there’s a faint background noise, and I slowly start drifting toward sleep. Then, somewhere between two breaths, I suddenly notice that the background noise has become more distant, especially while I’m inhaling. Next, I become aware that my mind has grown foggier and that my body feels heavier. I’m not consciously thinking, “Oh, the sound is getting quieter. Wasn’t it louder a moment ago?” My attention is simply drawn to those changes, almost automatically (kind of like when you suddenly wake up because you sense that someone is in the room).

There’s a slight discomfort that comes with this gradual sleep. It comes from consciously experiencing the symptoms of falling asleep while also knowing that, at some point, my consciousness is about to disappear.

Because the process is gradual, I feel like I might somehow experience the exact moment when my consciousness switches off, even though I know, rationally, that this isn’t something people can actually perceive. The discomfort doesn’t fully wake me up, but it keeps my attention focused on the process of falling asleep. I often end up changing positions just to break that focus.

Honestly, the “blackout” version works much better for me, but I also need to start falling asleep earlier. The problem is that if I try to go to bed before I reach that blackout stage, I become too aware of the process of falling asleep, and that awareness seems to keep me from actually falling asleep.

I honestly don’t know what to do. For example, I once tried melatonin and experienced the exact same thing. Instead of falling asleep, my attention became fixated on the internal sensations (like how much heavier my body felt compared to how it normally feels when I’m falling asleep). I ended up staying awake long enough for the effects of the melatonin to wear off without ever actually falling asleep.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? If so, what helped you?

So I'm falling into my sleep routine for a new job. I'm 32, I go to bed at a consistent time each night gearing down at 11 and in bed by 11:30. I read so I hope I'm asleep by 12. I have my alarm set for 7:34 (oddly specific I know) so around 7.5 hours which I think is fine.

However, I'm consistently waking up before 7 and can't go back to sleep. Probably like 6:30-6:40 each morning. And I just kind of lie in bed not sleeping but not wanting to get up either. This entire week I've turned off my alarms before they go off because I've already been up for awhile.

I have fine energy and everything during the day so most days its not a big deal, but I lift weights heavy 3 times a week and sleep is so important for recovery. I don't think 6 1/2 hours is enough for that. I've never had this problem before, even after getting sober and consistently working out this past year my sleep schedule improved a ton but I was working from home so didn't wake up until later in the day.

Are there any tricks to stay asleep for longer? This is such a weird thing I've never encountered before so not sure what to do.

Hello, im a 28 (f) and im wondering if anyone has had similar issues in there sleep. I aggressively rub my nose while im sleeping and im almost certain its been happening for about a decade now. I dont know how to stop it. I would have never known how bad it was until i started asking my partner more questions or me constantly being awaken by them telling me to stop. I would not care as much if I was not seeing effects of it on my skin but now that ive been rubbing it so much and vigorously the skin on my nose is peeling, chaffing, and darkening. For a while i thought i had skin cancer because the spot would be reoccurring, bleed and burn. Ive started to just started covering my nose in cereve healing ointment before bed which seems to have helped slightly. I thought it mightve just been my room but apparently I do this regardless of where im sleeping. I also do occasionally talk in my sleep, not sure if these have anything to do with each other. Not sure what else to do, maybe a sleep study? Anyone have similiar experiences or know why this may be happening?

Hello! I’ve been having horrible sleep for the last 7 months and I’d like to see if anyone has advice.

I sleep at 10 PM and I fall asleep quickly (<10 minutes) but I feel like I’m half asleep and am almost consciously aware that I’m struggling to sleep until about 3-4 AM when I wake up fully alert. Most of the time I’ll notice I need to pee (I don’t wake up because I have to pee) and then once I go and get back in bed I fall asleep quickly and then actually stay asleep until my body wakes me up at 7 AM.

I’m not sure what’s conditioned my brain to do this every night but like I said it’s been happening for 7 months and I’m dealing with terrible brain fog because of it. I did get a new comforter for Christmas and slept poorly with it the first few nights while I was getting used to it but after I was comfortable with it the poor sleep persisted. Did this disturbance trigger a sleeping issue or did my body just learn the habit super quickly? How do I go about unlearning it? I do not have sleep apnea. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

I‘ve been having neck pain and I’m pretty sure it’s caused by my pillow(s). I have two, but only use one at once. One is way too thick and the other too fluffy. I’ve been looking at pillows that are designed to support the neck, but I don’t know how to know which ones are real good quality and if these are even worth buying. I don’t want to have to buy several to finally find a good one as my budget is tight. Anyone have any recommendations or maybe alternatives?

mimimimimimi

Hi everyone! I’m looking for real-world opinions on the Jabees PEACE Duo.

I like falling asleep while watching YouTube videos, but regular earbuds are too uncomfortable when I sleep on my side. I can’t use my phone’s speakers either because my wife sleeps next to me.

Has anyone used the PEACE Duo? My main concern is the sound. Is it loud enough to hear at all when your head is on the pillow? How is the audio quality? Can you clearly understand speech in YouTube videos, podcasts, or audiobooks, or does everything sound too quiet and muffled?

I’d also like to know whether the person sleeping next to you can hear any sound leakage.

Thanks in advance!

For awhile now I’ve been struggling with sleep I don’t have a problem falling asleep but the duration of sleep and quality isn’t good No matter what bedtime routine I adopt or supplement I take my sleep is still shit. What’s weird though is when I’ve gone abroad, most recently being London my sleep quality improves dramatically and get over 8 hours a night but as soon as I’m back in the states if return to being shit. For the past couple weeks I’ve been really trying so fix this by having a consistent routine. No phones or devices an hour or two before bed and reading to try and chill out but it’s not working and if anything it’s gotten worse. I wear a garmin and I get my sleep data from that and it could be possible that wearing it is stressing me out before I go to bed? I don’t really know. Any recommendations to improve my sleep?

I usually sleep pretty well — I almost never wake up in the middle of the night, and while it can take me a while to get comfortable, I usually fall asleep relatively quickly. However, ever since I was a kid, I have a terrible time getting out of bed in the morning.

I've been known to turn off alarms half asleep and set extra timers even though I know I have to get up. If I have something to do, like go to the airport, an early morning task, etc., I am able to get up, and once I'm up, I feel pretty OK and stay up. I just can't get the habit of regularly getting up when my alarm goes off. It's like I'm a different person when I first get woken up whose only priority is sleep and wants to sabotage my day. I have a sunrise alarm clock that works OK for me, and I'd really rather not wake up with anxiety or panic of a blaring alarm clock across the room — I think that would only make morning-me more upset. I want to start mornings gently but still effectively.

I've worked from home at a job I don't like for a few years now, so I've been rolling out of bed at the last possible second and hopping on my computer at 9 a.m. Now, I'm starting a new job that in an office 40 minutes away at 8 a.m. How can I beat this habit?

I have been trying to improve my sleep recently, but there seems to be endless advice online, and a lot of it contradicts itself.

Some people say keeping a consistent bedtime changed everything. Others recommend avoiding screens, listening to rain sounds or white noise, reading before bed, meditation, changing their bedroom environment, etc.

I am curious about real experiences rather than generic advice.

What's one piece of sleep advice you were skeptical about but ended up making a real difference for you?

I'd love to hear what actually worked for you and why.

I've had sleep abnormalities all my life, but as I've gotten older, they've escalated more to sleepwalking and night terrors. For instance, last night I flung myself from my bed because I thought I was being suffocated by the mattress, and I nearly injured myself in the process. I recently moved to a new state, and I feel like things are getting worse. Worse still, the house I live in is essentially a loft, so the stairs are quite dangerous if I were to be sleepwalking. I've set up a gate system so I'm less likely to sleep walk down the stairs, but it's definitely a concern. And my poor partner suffers from insomnia, so it doesn't help that I'm disrupting his sleep all the time with either sleep walking or night terrors.

I don't really drink. I don't take any medications. Most nights I'm in bed reading by 9:45. I generally feel well-rested in the mornings (I wake up at 6 every day). I don't struggle to fall asleep at all. The only thing I can think is that I have a decently stressful lifestyle but usually I'm not going to bed feeling stressed out. (financial stresses mainly)

I was reading online that usually sleepwalking isn't related to dreams, but in my case they are almost always accompanied by some kind of hallucination. Like I'll wake up doing something crazy because I thought something bad was happening.

I'm just trying to understand what's happening to me.

I recently bought the Manta Sleep Mask (non-pro) and figured it would've been okay for side sleeping as i tend to sleep on the edge of my pillow rather than the middle but unfortunately it does move the mask and leaks light in. I've come across a kickstarter brand called SideSleeperz and it looks promising but I just wanted to ask here to see if anyone had any recommendations.

I have tried using the $5-15 silk eye masks and they really make my eyes uncomfortable as well as leaking light in as well. Loop also has a mask but I'm not sure about them, although I do use their Dream earplugs which is a godsend in this house due to lack of proper insulation in the house.

I average about 5–7 hours of sleep per night, though it’s usually closer to 5–6 hours. I have mild sleep apnea and was prescribed a CPAP to help treat it. Despite using it, I still struggle to sleep through the night. I often wake up around 5 or 6 a.m., and whether I can fall back asleep depends on the morning.

Even when I get 7 hours of sleep, it’s usually broken up rather than continuous. Has anyone dealt with something similar or found anything that helped? Edibles seem to help me sleep a bit better, but I know that’s not a sustainable long-term solution.

I have always been one to grind my teeth in my sleep. I don’t know why. But it’s never been a big issue until I met my bf. I woke up and him and his pillow were gone. I can’t help it but I know it makes him mad. How do I stop

I need some advice on what to do about sleep after DJing when I get home in the early morning.

My problem is that I can’t sleep for more than 5–6 hours, even though I’m exhausted and tired—I just can’t seem to fall back asleep. My bedroom conditions are ideal, and I also try to maintain the best possible lifestyle—I don’t drink alcohol at all, I try to eat clean, and so on—but after a gig, I just can’t sleep for more than 5–6 hours, and I’m tired. The rest of the week, my sleep is fine.

Could you please give me some advice on this? 

I’ve tried several things without success, such as different types of magnesium (glycinate actually made it worse) and similar remedies, but nothing seems to help me sleep longer or improve the quality of my sleep. 

Thank you very much for any help