Feel normal between 10pm and 2am.

[jimbridger]

Does that make any sense??

 

[TJ_Fitz]

Yes. Your adrenal glands are on their second wind to keep you awake, and therefore suppressing inflammation. The problem is that they are working extra hard when they should be resting. Those are prime hours for restoring your body with sleep. Good sleep hygiene is really important for us! Even if you only feel alive and functional in the middle of the night, there will be hell to pay down the road if you keep going that way. At least, that's been my experience. I guess YMMV but unlikely.

 

[TracyD]

On most days, I feel at my best late at night, too, and I've wondered about the reason, without coming up with anything that fits the whole pattern. (If my adrenal glands are responsible, they're on their 'first wind.)

 

[Shannon]

This has been the case for me for over 2 decades now. I suspect I may have a backwards circadian clock even. I have sleep apnea and severe fibromyalgia, so my sleep issues are many. I rarely reach REM sleep and am often very fatigued even when I have 8+ hours of sleep per day (never consecutive, ever. Never more than 4 hours of consecutive sleep).

I feel my best in the early morning hours more than 10 pm - 2 am. More like 3 am - 10 am and I feel I get the most restful sleep during the day.

Due to the severe fibromyalgia and fatigue, I sleep when my body wants to. Mostly! I often push myself to stay awake longer than my body wants because I feel like I sleep my life away. I often joke that I sleep more than my cat, but it's true. 16+ hours a day is not unusual. Again, never, ever, consecutive hours though.

There is something called sleep debt that we allegedly need to eventually "pay", or so it is said. That is the difference between the sleep you need and the sleep you actually get, which accrues over time. Though I highly doubt there are any studies of that sleep debt being decades long! I doubt I will ever pay off my sleep debt haha!

Anyhow, yes, I think you might find a lot of us find the wee hours more restful for being the most awake. I call that my "focus time". The time where I feel most present and able to focus. I also personally suspect that because this time of the day is less busy and there is less activity going on around me that is distracting, distressful, and causing my body's fight or flight mode to be the most aggravated, I find those hours the most comforting to be awake. I have a multitude of hypersensitivities (sight, sound, smell, touch) which means I am able to function best when there is little to no noise around me. I even wear industrial strength earplugs 24/7 to tone down background noise. Over time, one will discover these little life hacks that help manage symptoms and improve one's quality of life, even if only slightly.

Just my 2 cents worth of thoughts

 

[Wayne]

This used to be the case for me, and I definitely attribute it to having my circadian rhythm off kilter. Once I started supplementing with low-dose hydrocortisone (Cortef), my circadian rhythm mostly returned to normal. I take most of my Cortef in the early morning hours, and a slight amount in the afternoon.

 

[TJ_Fitz]

I just learned about this yesterday:

The Four Chronotypes: Which One Are You?

See if you are a Lion, Bear, Wolf, or Dolphin chronotype.

www.psychologytoday.com

I'm most likely a "dolphin". Dolphins and wolves are more likely than lions and bears to feel well and alert at night.