Hyperactive and sleep only few hours at night

Hi,
I am 31, male, perfectly healthy. Well, here is my story.
I am not sleepy at night at the time when everyone normally begins to fall sleepy (I have tried exercising and doing anything to make me extremely tired. I can be tired yet my eyes won’t be heavy and my mind would be totally alert, almost all the time.)
However, getting to sleep is all right still.
The problem is the duration of sleep. I will wake up around 5 or 530 AM or even earlier just after 3-4 hours of sleep in the middle of the night say 3AM. And I will be wide awake. Sometiems, I will wake up a few times at night. Sometimes I can go back to sort of a light sleep (half awake half asleep) again, but sometimes I can’t go back to sleep at all.

During the whole day, I am extremely (and I mean extremely) hyperactive (everyone notices it) and I am aware of it. My mind works really fast and reacts quickly to anything. I get things done almost instantly. I am highly organized, efficient and methodical in getting tasks done. Still, I am very emotional and impulsive when it comes to people, friends and relationships. My body can be physically tired only “sometimes” if I really put myself through loads of exercises or jogs to tire myself out on the previous day so I can have a deep sleep (which I still don’t) but my mind will still be alert the next day, able to do anything still and as day goes by, I feel perfect and wide awake. And when the night comes again, I will be totally alert. But do note I am able to fall asleep but I wake up soon after, 2-4 hours later.

I think too fast, ahead of everything and everyone. I am always in the future, not in the present, thinking and planning ahead, every second. I am eager to complete what someone else is saying. I can almost read their minds. When I am talking to people, I am eager to say what I am thinking in response to what they are saying.

I have always been hyperactive but the problems with sleep started around a year ago when I broke up with my ex and I moved to London. I can’t remember exactly though when my sleeping pattern changed. Perhaps it was not that bad in the beginning but it is getting worse now for sure. I had a knee surgery (ACL reconstruction) 4 months ago (I am off knee brace and am jogging now) and since then my sleep is definitely worse.

I did not do anything about my problem until now because I was not affecting anyone. And I don’t really suffer due to it. I wish I could sleep longer on weekends but its ok. I get more things done than others as I sleep less. But since 7-8 weeks, I have been seeing someone and my sleeping pattern affects her. When I wake up at 5 or 6am, she will wake up too (she is a light sleeper) and its hard for her to go back to sleep again. Normally, she sleeps usual 8 hours of sleep till 8 or 9AM. I have tried staying in bed motionless for 2 hours until its time for her to get up but its extremely hard. I have tried moving to the couch in the living room when I wake up but of course, both I and her don’t want that to be the solution. And then when I stay in bed and end up waking her, she suffers throughout the day as she will be sleepy and tired and so do I as she will be unhappy with me. So that is the reason that I must get my problem fixed soon, now.

I will be seeing a doctor in London but I thought I should check in online forums too and so I am seeking your advice.
Please advice and help.
London Boy.

P.S. I used to believe long time ago that sleeping is a waste of time. I used to wish that I don’t have to sleep at all and despised people who slept non-stop for 16 hours as being useless and a burden. Seems like my wish is coming true and I don’t want it. We have to be careful what we wish for. I wish I can sleep 8 hours straight.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Your situation is absolutely normal, except for this new problem. You are among those few who are short sleepers and high achievers. And the problem comes when you have to balance your personal life with professional life. I can understand your anxiety.

The best thing you can do is talk to your partner about it. Let her know that you are making efforts to change this. She will probably come out with a brilliant solution which may be far better than any medical advice!

If you can afford to sleep more than you usually do now, there are certain medicines which can give you a good 6 hours sleep. But I would not go for it instantly.

May be, you can slow down a bit a couple of hours before sleep. You can write a diary about the days work. Writing it down does help. And when you have closed the diary, you should not think of any work related issues. Try it.

Regards