I can’t go to bed early no matter how much I want to!

Annet, 16

Hello, I’m not good at expressing myself in Norwegian so I’ll be writing this in English. I can’t go to bed early no matter how much I want to! The only times I’ve actually gone to bed at a reasonable time is when I have a headache or some other pain, but other than that I’ll stay up until 3-4 am even on school nights. When I have school I don’t feel tired when I stay up until 2-3am bc I’m so used to it, but I know it affects me. It’s not that I can’t sleep and just lay awake for hours no I’m doing things I’d do during the day, like drawing, making things, watching things anything! Idk why, I love the night but I want to have a normal sleep schedule. There was a time where I would go to bed before 12am but it didn’t last long bc my brain was screaming at me “you’re missing out!!!” But nothing happens at night so what am I missing out on? It’s gotten to the point where I want to ask my parents for sleep meds.. idk what to do

Svar

Spørsmålet og svaret er mer enn ett år gammelt. Endringer i lovverk og regelverk kan ha skjedd etter den tid. Se spørsmål og svar som ligner for nyere spørsmål.

Hello,

Thank you for writing to us in ung.no about your sleep habits.

I understand that you are wondering why your sleep rhythm is so different from many others.

Of course, I can not give you a diagnose, but you might have a type of sleep disorder that we call circadian rhythm disorder, also known as sleep-wake cycle disorder. It occur when your body's internal clock is out of sync with your environment.

It seems though that you don't really have any big problems with it. You enjoy your night time habits and you don't feel very tired during daytime.

Sleep medicines are often just a short time solution. If your rhythm works for you, why change?

But if you are set on changing, talk to your doctor about the alternatives you have.

Wish you all the best!!

Kind Regards,

Psykiatrisk sykepleier i ung.no

Besvart: 31.7.2024