Hey guys - so: sleep disorders..do they tie in?

[Lanntis]

the last few nights I've had some low to no-sleep nighters...which wreck me up the next day. Like wreck me well into the next night where suddenly i can function again despite the sleep deprivation. (on top of that, my allergies are TERRIBLE right now, so I feel so much like **** I can't tell where the anxiety symptoms end/ the sleep deprivation begins/ the allergy symptoms mimic feeling sick from no sleep and anxiety...thanks oak pollen!)

While obsessing today in my half functioning stupor I started to study sleep disorders and think about the fact that I haven't slept in a way that wakes me up at 7 am since I was in high school.  Even then I didn't like feeling like I HAD to get to bed by 11 to function by 5:45 a.m.

8 years later i've moved from 2 am, 3 am, 4 am to 5-6 am now a days and the last couple of days since daylight savings time its been like 7-8 am.. sucks.
So now i'm thinking..wow. I wonder if my anxiety disorder(s) are also all tied into some sleep disorder?   My biggest anxiety after all all revolves around the process of "sleep time".  the fact that I feel I should be asleep, worrying about what will happen if i have anxiety-filled insomnia on any given night if my valium fails to knock me out etc. So is it still just anxiety creating a phobia of going to bed -- or do sleep disorders probably come into play with a lot of us anxiety ridden folks? 

look up:  Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (syndrome) - it apparently applies to most people that have always been considered "night owls" like myself.   i'll be worrying about this constantly now. I wish my anxiety issues weren't related or tied to sleep at all.

[sixpack]

bad sleep always makes me feel worse.  an unrested brain will react to a lot of things a rested brain would not.

And I don't think folks should look up illnesses etc on google.  It always, or almost always, backfires.

[jmeb17]

I know for a fact that lack of sleep makes anxiety worse.. The last time I had a panic attack I only got an hours of sleep the night before...idk My sleeping is all messed up too..I havent slept a full night in so long...i hate because i think I've convinced myself that I wont ever sleep right anymore..I dont know if its a disorder, i think its more of a mental thing i dont kno.

[rally1]

Anxiety will make your sleep disorders worse and your sleep disorder will make your anxiety worse. What a fun cycle! I was having such a severe onset of sleep disorders with my latest round of anxiety (night sweats, shaking, couldn't fall asleep and/or would wake up early, not feeling rested if I actually managed to sleep, etc.) that my primary sent me to a sleep clinic. After a full nights evaluation, they said the same thing: Anxiety. I try not to get anxious should I have trouble falling asleep or if I wake up early, but it is tough. Deep breathing and getting my mind on to something else seems to help. I must also remind myself that I will get through the next day even if I am not running on enough asleep. I've felt like crap for months now; one more day won't hurt me. 

[Psychoholic]

I basically agree with all above posters... lack of sleep definitely puts me in hyper-anxiety mode.

I also have that thing where my sleep pattern is never stable... I go from sleeping at night like normal to the reverse all the time. It is an ongoing issue for me.

I would think that sleep disorders just come with the territory. It has always been that way for me.

[LetMeBeMyself]

To pile on, there absolutely is a correlation. And not just amount of sleep but quality of sleep can also be a factor. I learned last year that I have severe sleep apnea. I would usually get enough sleep but it was of very poor quality: reduced oxygen, many waking events an hour, never reaching deep enough sleep so my body and brain could restore and repair itself. I have no doubt that many years of this significantly contributed to my anxiety.