If you have bipolar disorder and you are not sleeping very much and you feel fantastic that is a problem. This can be the first sign of the start of hypomania or even full-blown mania. If a person in this state does not receive medication to help them sleep this can increase the intensity of the episode which could potentially lead to psychosis. For this reason, many people who have bipolar disorder are prescribed medication to help them sleep.
I used to struggle with falling asleep at night. When I went to bed, I would feel too sleepy and exhausted to do anything, but I would not fall unconscious into a restful slumber. I would lay in bed for an hour or so before drifting off to sleep and I would wake up several times throughout the night. I tried to stick to sleep hygiene practices like no screen time two hours before bed, regular exercise, reserving the bedroom for sleep only, staying out of bed unless I felt sleepy and having a warm bath before bedtime. None of it worked.
This is a common problem for people who have bipolar disorder. I believe this is because we tend to have a constant stream of thoughts that are so stimulating that they keep us awake at night. These thoughts can include things like future writing projects, an underachieving hockey team, and theories about life and politics. They are great for artistic pursuits, problem solving and other cognitive challenges, but they are problematic when you just want to rest.
I realized I needed to find a way to occupy my brain with something mildly interesting but not stimulating if I wanted to be able to sleep at night. I started listening to an old radio show from 1948 called Our Miss Brooks. The show is a comedy about a sarcastic teacher who is beloved by her students and has a crush on the biology teacher. It was amusing enough to occupy my busy brain so that I could fall asleep. Now, I listen to Netflix series repeatedly instead. I do not watch the screen. I just listen to the audio.
Many of the symptoms of bipolar disorder can be grey and different for everyone who has the illness. Sleep is the one thing that almost everyone who has bipolar disorder can use to gauge if they are just having a good day or if they may be hypomanic. Having a personal strategy for getting regular sleep that suits your specific symptoms of bipolar disorder can help prevent the onset of mania and provide the energy required to effectively maintain a self care plan.
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