Insomnia

[Guest ZacharyBaker]

Hi all,

As usual I can't sleep. I have an exam tomorrow so I went to bed at 9pm. It's now 2am, and I was lying in bed for hours in complete darkness. I've tried everything except sleeping tablets (which I don't want to take). I've never slept well since I was born and recently have been wondering if perhaps it's down to being trans. It sounds a bit far-fetched to begin with, but when you consider that essentially gender dysphoria arises from brain chemistry, could they be linked? As everyone knows, stress can cause insomnia and being trans is pretty stressful quite often. Has anyone else experienced this level of insomnia? I looked it up but couldn't find any studies on it. It would be good to know because perhaps my insomnia will be alleviated during transition. Anyway, it was just a thought I had.

Zac

[Carolyn Marie]

I'm sorry, Zac, I haven't heard of any links, or studies regarding such a link. People can have insomnia for a whole host of reasons, most having nothing to do with being trans. Have you discussed this with a doctor, or been to a sleep clinic? Of course, there is a certain percentage of the populations who simply don't need as much sleep as most. But your best bet is to talk to an M.D.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Destiny Lynn]

Hi Zac. I'm sorry you're not sleeping well. I go through periods of insomnia, my mind just won't stop and let me sleep. I don't feel it is because of trans related with me but it certainly could be with other persons. I think it's just too much on my plate, stress, workload. If I can't sleep a cap of that generic sleep aid, (nyquil makes it) and a melatonin works most the time.

There is a very cool sleep app for smart phones. Google "sleep time" app, by anunzio. Free, works well. Set your alarm for when you wish to wake or earlier then after you stop the alarm you can view a chart your sleep for the night. Rem, light sleep and awake. They are also averaged out for a "sleep efficiency" figure. Viewing my chart and efficiency I realize I usually sleep better than I thought I did.

Good luck with the exams. Destiny Lynn

[Guest Edu]

Hi Zac,

I don't know if there is any study linking gender dysphoria and insomnia, but here is a bit of personal experience:

I've had serious trouble to sleep for as long as I can remember. Over the last decade or so it had been quite intense and consistent: almost every night it took me at least one or two hours to fall asleep, even if I was already sleepy and/or tired by the time I got to bed. Sometimes (about once or twice a week) even more. Quite often, during weekends, I'd spend a sleepless night to force my sleeping cycle back into something reasonable. The only few exceptions over that entire period where extreme cases of exhaustion and / or drugs. But for the last 53 nights in a row I've had great sleep, falling asleep within few minutes of getting into my bed. That change happened just some hours after starting HRT. The correlation here and the magnitude of the change are rather extreme.

Of course, we can't extrapolate reliable conclusions from a sample of one, but we can make some healthy speculation:

It is obvious that, by relieving the dysphoria, some of the stress and anxiety has been dealt with. But I'd be willing to bet that, at least on my case, there is some chemical effect involved. Also, now that the exam season approaches, some of the stress and anxiety are temporarily back, and it doesn't seem to have any substantial impact on my sleeping patterns. Also, I recently quit smoking (which means a lot of anxiety during withdrawal) and have been sleeping ok. So there has to be something more than stress and anxiety to this.

[Guest]

Hey, Zachary

I've always had insomia, as well. Our minds just run at top speed at night, often with anxiety and sorts of jazz. So, yeah. Maybe transitioning will help you sleep alittle better at night- that can be a solution to some of your stress and therefore you might find yourself sleeping better. Not toooo far fetched!

Something I've started to promote sleep is yoga specifically designed for a good night's rest. It alleviated so much of my physical pain and insomnia, I suggest it. Maybe it'll help you too

Good luck!

[Guest Razilee]

I tend to visit Laura's when I can't sleep. It's not a cure, but it has helped. I see some posts here even say that insomnia has increased for some after HRT. It's complex, like everything, it seems.

Godspeed you on your own journey,

Love Raz

[MarcieMarie12]

Remember your teenage years and being a night owl and staying up all the time? Might have to do with going through a second puberty. I myself can't last past midnight though, so it could be something completely else.

[Ravin]

Talk to your doctor. There are non habit forming supplements and medications that might be helpful. It sounds like you are already doing things like limiting evening screens. Which is what I should be doing right now!