/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.5588395]

Hi everyone.

I'm 18 years old, and I started getting episodes of insomnia in early January (I was 17 at the time, my birthday is in February) and in February it developed into something more persistent. I tried diphenhydramine as well as melatonin and nothing seems to be helping me. I feel deprived of motivation, no libido, and dumber than ever before. It is now March, and although the insomnia has been somewhat alleviated, I still don't get enough sleep during the night. I have accumulated an overwhelming amount of sleep debt and I feel absolutely dead mentally. To worsen my situation I have school to tend to as well, (and they are AP classes). I want to return to my original mental state very much. I wanted to know whether insomnia causes permanent/irreversible brain damage (especially at my age since I'm only 18 and my brain is still evolving). I sleep better now, but I still feel tremendously burdened mentally by brain fog due to my sleep debt. Please reply asap. Your feedback will be immensely appreciated.

[Anonymous No.5588411]

Bump.

[Anonymous No.5588416]

sleep debt is a myth, beyond the obvious short term day to day version.

you are probably suffering a combination of nocebo effect (because you believe in sleep debt), and mild depression/stress causing the brain fog.

good diet, sunshine, exercise, and reassessing life in general may be enough to fix situation.

i suffered almost exactly same thing as you, btw, for perhaps 3 years.

[Anonymous No.5588429]

>>5588395
>I wanted to know whether insomnia causes permanent/irreversible brain damage
Not that we know of.

Have you tried a tight sleep schedule? Set you alarm clock to exactly the same time, every day, and get up at that time. Do not sleep in on weekends, this is critical. Also go to sleep at exactly the same time every day, and don't eat for at least two hours before you go to sleep. After a week or two, your brain will be accustomed to this rhythm: you will fall asleep fast, and go through the regular cycles of Slow-wave and REM sleep without interruption. Additionally, daylight can help reset your sleep rhythm. The part of your brain that's responsible for your circadian rhythm is called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and it receives direct retinal innnervation. It has its own endogenous rhythm, but retinal input resets this. Try staring into daylight right after you wake up.

As a side note, there is no such thing as sleep debt. Sleep pressure build up, but can be alleviated by one long good night's sleep.

[Anonymous No.5588436]

>>5588416
>>5588429

Alright thank you. However I still have trouble sleeping, and I often get up in the middle of the night. But my primary question is whether insomnia causes permanent/irreversible brain damage.

[Anonymous No.5588437]

>>5588436
Sorry, alright thank you.

[Anonymous No.5588443]

>>5588395
Do you play video games?

[Anonymous No.5588444]

>>5588429

So after a good night's sleep, I should return to normal as I once was when I was 17?

[Anonymous No.5588446]

>>5588443

No, not really.

[Anonymous No.5588450]

>>5588444
Assuming you have a good rhythm, yes, as far as sleeping goes. What the other guy said is important though: we don't know whether these cognitive problems you're describing are due to lack of sleep per-sé, or due to stress/depression that come with lack of sleep. You can recover from this though, but it starts with a good sleeping schedule and knowing how to relax.

[Anonymous No.5588451]

>>5588436
there are some tentative studies that extreme deprivation (absolutely no sleep whatsoever) in rats may cause brain amage through normal repair mechanisms not working.

there is no evidence whatsoever, in spite of much study, that chronic insomnia causes brain damage in humans, though it obviously cause temporary changes in brain chemistry.

you seem like the sort prone to nocebo. i would forget about scaring yourself into thinking you have brain damage or sleep debt and fix what is possibly mild depression.

poor sleeping, lethargy, poor concentration and hypochondria are among the most typical symptoms of mild depression.

[Anonymous No.5588457]

>>5588451
>poor sleeping, lethargy, poor concentration and hypochondria are among the most typical symptoms of mild depression.
and no libido also

[Anonymous No.5588464]

>>5588451
Indeed. If you go to a doctor and lay out insomnia, no sex drive, poor concentration and brain fog, lethargy, vague fears about brain damage and sleep debt, he will see a classic case of mild depression and probably prescribe an SSRI, which often helps insomnia after initial side effect wear off.

[Anonymous No.5588474]

>>5588464
yeah, the insomnia was probably just the first of several related symptoms that should be bundled together. not secondary symptoms caused by the insomnia.

[Anonymous No.5588488]

Start smoking marijuana OP. I suffer from horrible insomnia and my usual cure is smoking weed. Just get really high half an hour to an hour before bedtime, you'll fall asleep for sure. If you want you can start smoking 2-3 or even up to 5 or 6 hours before bedtime, you just have to smoke very little to start off with and work your way up to a heavy dose before bed. Also it's fun and you will enjoy eating 110% more.

[Anonymous No.5588507]

>>5588488
Maybe, but for me it was the worst. Increased my mental probs tenfold.

So beware, some people take to it, others don't.