Not insomnia, but what?

November 29, 2017 12:45 AM

About once a week I have neither the urge nor desire to go to bed. I simply dont feel tired. If I were to go to bed, I would be able to sleep with no problem... unlike when I have had occasional episodes of insomnia, when I'm tired, want to sleep, but for some reason cannot. What is this called? Is it something with a name?

Where can I learn more?
The reason I ask is that I suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness the rest of the week (except the day before and after these episodes).

posted by blue_wardrobe to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

This could be any number of things. Diet-related, like having caffeine too close to bedtime, or something stress-related that you're just unaware of. Not all people respond to stress with feelings of helplessness and anxiety, some people just zone out or freeze. What else is going on when these episodes occur? Do they correlate with any specific events? Definitely something to bring up with the GP if it's effecting your weekly energy levels and focus.
posted by Avosunspin at 1:04 AM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Do you procrastinate in other parts of your life? Because I'm a procrastinator and, as a night owl, I even procrastinate going to bed.
posted by AppleTurnover at 8:28 AM on November 29, 2017 [3 favorites]

Aside from these days, do you usually get sleepy at around the same time, or does it vary?

If it isn't coming from circumstances (caffeine, scary movie too close to bedtime, too much blue light at night, etc) you may be looking at some kind of hormonal/body clock thing, which might be worth a sleep medicine visit to discuss.
posted by oblique red at 9:31 AM on November 29, 2017

Bedtime procrastination is a thing. There are lotsa articles out there on the topic...although if you're anything like me, having a name for the phenomenon still won't prevent it!
posted by equipoise at 2:47 PM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Any chance it could be mania or hypomania?
posted by gaybobbie at 5:38 PM on November 29, 2017