Poll: OCD, Insomnia or just a bad habit?

[Rule Britannia]

I've had difficulties sleeping for a few years and I find myself needing an almost perfect atmosphere to sleep. For example...
No light in my room whatsoever, I've covered any LED lights with sticky tac (blue tac).
I've covered my digital alarm clock with a sleeping mask so I cannot see the display lighting up my room, the list is long....

I find myself struggling to sleep in perfect silence, I need a constant sound for example a bathroom fan.

Now I'm no doctor so I'm just assuming it's either Insomnia, obsessive compulsive disorder or could simply just be a bad habit.

I would appreciate another opinion on my "craziness", I'm sure i'll grow to ignore it but kinda curious to know what it is regardless.

 

[zehydra]

If you actually get sleep, then I don't think it's insomnia, and it's not really a bad habit as long as it helps you get to sleep.

I'd say it's an OCD.

 

[Strain42]

Just sounds to me like you're set in your ways. Some people fall asleep to music, some people always get a glass of warm milk. Whatever the case. I wouldn't say it's a BAD habit, it sounds more like just a habit.

Before I go to bed I picked a random Simpsons DVD, pop it into my TV, turn on the Commentary and set the TV timer. To some people that's weird, but it helps me sleep. Sounds like a similar deal for you.

Nothin' really Insomnia or OCD about it.

 

[Mister Benoit]

I can't sleep in total silence, I always have to have some sort of background noise. Usually either a fan or kitchen fan.

Also at least for me, if I don't do any physical activity all day I have a hard time sleeping. I try to either bike or rock climb every day so I make sure at the least my body is physically tired.

 

[T8B95]

Conditions more than habits.

As someone who's struggled with insomnia, let me tell you that it doesn't discriminate based on light sources or sound level. You should be just as sleepless in darkness and silence as in light and sound.

Really, it just sounds like you're conditioned not to sleep except under the right circumstances. While this can be a symptom of OCD, it's probably just your psyche.

 

[WolfThomas]

Do you do stuff other than sleep in your bedroom? (Study? Watch TV? Use a laptop from your bed?) Because ideally the bedroom should be for sleep and sex, that's all. I don't hold to this advice and of course we all don't have the luxury of having our own appartment or house to do so, but it is meant to help if you condition yourself to use the room for only sleeping, dressing and sexual intercouse.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

Where is the "none of those" option? For almost the entirety of our history as a species, we have evolved to sleep at night when it's too dark to see. The human is designed to fall asleep in the darkness. The fact that we can now constantly be surrounded by light is a pretty modern phenomenon. Your body is simply one which may have adapted perfectly to how things were for the majority of our species' history, but which finds problems in the context of modern life.

Probably the same with the sounds. Nature is rarely completely quiet. When there is complete silence, it may even be that we might've evolved to find this offputting, as it might be suggestive of something gone wrong.

So no, it's not OCD, insomnia, or a bad habit. It's just the way your DNA has shaped your sleeping habits.

 

[Astoria]

I'm exactly the same as you. It takes me hours to fall asleep and its really annoying.

 

[lacktheknack]

Conditional insomnia, maybe, which can be fixed with melatonin an hour before sleeping.

If that doesn't work, you may have a problem with mild OCD, or just really weird conditions in your room. Have you tried sleeping with your covers half-off?

If it's just REALLY BAD insomnia, stop using anything light-emitting (like your computer or TV) for an hour or two before bed. Read a low-action book instead.

 

[Uszi]

How long do you usually sleep a night?

How much exercise do you get?

How much caffeine do you drink?

I mean, all of these things might affect how easy it is for you to fall asleep. Otherwise, you have my sympathy. I can fall asleep just about anywhere on will.

 

[s0m3th1ng]

You could just wear a sleep mask...

 

[somonels]

Mine is a combination of all the listed reasons.

 

[Lbsjr]

Sounds just like a mix of OCD and habits to me. I ain't like that for sleep, but I'm like that with towel usage.

 

[Flutterguy]

Well I have some pretty bad sleeping patterns, I find a fan running helps out alot, but nothing will really 'cure it' Melatotin (available in pharmacies) helps your brain get a chemical balance making it easier to fall asleep, or do what I do and sleep 5 knights a week.