“Sleep Hygiene” the experts call it. Paying attention to my sleep cycle is an important part of keeping well. My pattern of sleep can be a strong indicator of my current mood state. Restoring a healthy pattern can be key to restoring a balanced position.
When I’m hypomanic I have little need for sleep. I might go to bed at the usual time and toss and turn for hours, my mind hyperactive, precious sleep evading me. When finally I turn off my brain, I sleep restlessly only to wake again within a few hours. I am compelled to rise and often sit before my computer in the early hours of the morning completing needless tasks in an effort to be occupied. I become impatient and frustrated as nothing seems to match my furious thoughts. It easily becomes draining and energy sapping. Within days, I feel exhausted.
I am finely tuned to this disturbance in my sleep. A speedy consultation with my psychiatrist and prudent manipulation of my medications ensures that these anomalies of sleep don’t last too long. I know the dose is right when the amount of time spent sleeping increases and the compunction to get up early recedes. Ultimately, I am able to take a nap in the afternoon and recharge the batteries following accumulated hours of sleep deprivation.
Depression can be just as damaging to my sleep cycle. Once more, it can be difficult to find sleep though not as much as during hypomania. I usually wake early but not as early as when I’m elated. Far from being quick to leave the bed, in depression, I must drag myself out to face the day. I have often remained in bed for hours when there was nothing pressing to do. But I never sleep again and the fitful sleep of depression is unsatisfying. I never feel refreshed.
Once more, a meeting with my psychiatrist is indicated and the result is usually a reduction in the sedating, anti-manic medications that I take. Within a short time, my sleep pattern improves until one day I wake at a reasonable time and the fog starts lifting.
But I can do a great deal to help by trying to regulate my sleep habits myself. I try to retire at the same time every evening. I avoid staying out too late and I try not to dwell in bed too long in the morning. Naps in the afternoon can be deleterious to a good nights sleep later. I keep them to a minimum and reserve them for the times I am truly exhausted, most often following a period of hypomania.
My sleep patterns oscillate frequently and are harbingers of imminent mood states. My prescribed medication fluctuates in accordance, and observation of my sleep prompts me when to look for help. Caring for my sleep reduces the severity and duration of mood swings. Ultimately, restoration of balanced sleep patterns rejuvenate physically and mentally and prepare me for the next battle. Sleep is a very powerful ally.