One thing I have noticed for myself and others dealing with our neurodivergent minds is the issue of a steady and consistent sleep schedule. In an ideal world, we could follow the neurotypical advice of maintaining a sleep hygiene routine; no blue light electronics two hours before bedtime, drink some water, set an alarm, etc. But the reality is many of these well-intentioned bits of advice just simply do not work, at least not at the level we need them to support us.
Instead, I have found more success listening intuitively to my body and following a need-based schedule as opposed to a time-based approach for getting adequate rest. Simply put, there are some days where I can thrive off of four to six hours of sleep, and other days where 12 hours or more is needed just to feel functional. It is not a perfect system by any stretch of the imagination, but I do my best to honor my body, sleeping and resting when I feel the urge, and pushing myself to be more productive when I feel I can. This has manifested some unexpected advantages for me at different points in life, while also providing creative new opportunities to address some more challenging aspects of daily life.
Just this week, I completed my last full-time week of work at my current job before transitioning over to part-time hours while I wait for my new job to start. I also participated in a paid research study to make some extra money for the holiday season. My scheduled ended up working out in such a way where Tuesday and Wednesday, I had about 12 hours of continuous work between the two. Monday night into Tuesday, I ended up falling asleep around 10 pm/22:00, a typical time for myself, but caught myself waking up at 3 am/03:00, well before my alarm was set to go off. Yet I was energized, excited for the study, and a little nervous about getting my responsibilities for my full-time job completed. Instead of forcing myself to get some additional rest, I took advantage of the time, got myself ready, completed some chores like dirty dishes that I had been procrastinating, and went into my full-time job ahead of schedule to take my time completing work there before heading off to the study. Obviously, I had several factors of privilege/advantage at play here, but I listened to my body and pushed myself when I felt I could. Likewise, that night I ended up crashing out in bed around 8 pm/20:00 and waking up at 5 am/05:00 the next day, a more ‘reasonable’ length of sleep achieved while still providing sufficient energy to get through the following day. I’ve also had to accept it for the opposite extreme; many times I feel social pressure on weekends to stay up late and forcibly enjoy the added free time. Sometimes I love it, and I do believe in pushing myself outside of my comfort zone if I feel there is going to be some valuable lesson learned, or at least a chance to spend time with someone I care about when I’m normally unable to see them. But this past Saturday, I felt DRAINED. I helped host a holiday party the night before from 5 pm to midnight, and then woke up early on purpose to complete a day of last-minute gift shopping where I hit 10k steps over several hours. Needless to say, I crawled into bed at 7 pm/19:00, and did not wake up until 10 am/10:00 the next day, sans a midnight bathroom break.
All this is to say, listen to your body and try to schedule your life in conjunction with your sleep needs, instead of against them. You don’t always have to follow the prescribed sleep norms to be a productive and happy person. A growing mound of evidence supports the notion that pre-industrialization, humans engaged in biphasic sleep where we would wake up in the middle of the night for several hours to socialize, procreate, tend the fire, finish chores, relieve ourselves, and otherwise have fun when daylight hours were otherwise occupied by more pressing labor and responsibilities of survival. Evidence also supports that many neurodiverse individuals experience some type of circadian rhythm disorder, such as delayed onset sleep disorder, advanced sleep phase disorder, non-24 hour sleep-wake disorder, and irregular sleep-wake disorder. This isn’t to say you should ignore any legitimate concerns you have regarding your sleep schedule; sleep is essential for human health and if you feel there is something else happening (such as sleep apnea, true insomnia, or exacerbations from other comorbidities), please seek medical attention from a licensed and trained physician (ideally one that specializes in sleep disorders). But, if you notice that when left to your own devices, your ideal sleep schedule is one that falls outside social norms but still gives you the energy to live happily and healthily, consider prioritizing your ideal sleep times over neurotypical expectations when possible.
For more unhinged neurodiverse life hacks, check out the following:
Unhinged Neurodiverse Life Hack – Hyperfocus Management
Unhinged Neurodiverse Life Hack – Hygiene Hellscape
Unhinged Neurodiverse Life Hack – It’s Okay to Quit (Part 1 – Your Job)
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