sleep disorders - Writers Forum

valhalla · 04-17-2006, 04:31 PM

hey,
my mc, alex (male, actually) has insomnia. it's a bit wweird in fact, because he does NOT sleep at all. he only feels a bit sleepy, you know the kind that lasts for about ten minutes, and every ten days or so faints from exhaustion. because his organism cant keep up, so he wakes up fresh and new. so, i know this does not exist, but how do you think i could give it a touch of plausibility?
one more question, what do you know about any sleep disorders, which i could use in alex's case?
thanks a lot,
ines

SeattleGhostWriter · 04-17-2006, 05:43 PM

Sleep Apnea, is a one good one. Night Terrors which will prevent him to sleep.

sanctuary · 04-17-2006, 05:48 PM

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/

Ted T. · 04-17-2006, 07:28 PM

Last night we saw a movie about an Inuit with a 'dream while awake' disorder and in today's nespaper, an article about REM dreams inruding into waking periods to explain near death hallucinations.

WOW!

lotsa fodder here, neh?

imrhati · 04-17-2006, 08:09 PM

what about that one from rat race where the guy suddenly falls asleep at random times.,

Hodge · 04-17-2006, 10:29 PM

An amphetamines addict once stayed up for two weeks straigh. Speed allows you to do that. You just get really violent and crash really hard after coming off it.

imrhati · 04-18-2006, 03:48 PM

this kid did speed in my gym class once and he suddenly became super good at dodge ball.

jr_jennifer · 04-18-2006, 04:41 PM

I have a friend who has insomnia, he can usually fall asleep early in the evening and then he wakes up around 1:30 or so and cannot go back to sleep. He lost his job because of it, and is now struggling to find a new one. Also because of his sleep deprevation, he over does it when he goes out to play sports and ends up getting hurt easier than he would if his body had, had the rest it needed.

j_blades · 04-25-2006, 06:13 PM

mania would be the closest disorder i could think of (we also call people who have this manics).. it is somewhat similar to what you described although i am not sure if the collapsing of the body from exhaustion really happens. sleep apnea, sleep depr wouldn't work, because the patient is generally very sleepy and tired in waking life as they have the need to sleep just like anyone in waking life, but just can't (these people often have a hard time functioning in daily life because of their tiredness)... night terrors- usually reveal some PTSD or serious levels of anxiety or other psychiatric issues and these happen while the person is sleeping (they sleep on average the same as anyone else does). the thing about mania is that during manic spells- these people are on a 'high'- intensely creative at times, they talk a lot, and have an overwhelming sense of well being- i'm not sure if this would work for you. manics can also get themselves in a lot of trouble, because of the temporary invinsibility they feel. during manic states, very little sleep is had, but they still feel good- in fact great. google it for more details. and those with mania and depression are called bipolar. its common for these manic states to end in a crash which is oftentimes deep depression. the higher the high, the lower the low generally.

hope this helps.

Synaesthesia · 04-25-2006, 11:14 PM

In a psych class, we learned about a man who only slept 30 minutes every 24 to 26 hrs or so and he didn't need to sleep other than that. Also there is a chinese woman who sleeps 15 minutes every 14 hrs or so.

No one ever died from sleep deprivation. All they get is tired.

cellardoor · 04-26-2006, 12:32 AM

I get insomnia really bad sometimes. It's incredibly hard to walk after the first whole day, not because you feel drunk or anything but because it takes so much effort. The second day is very calm and very lazy. The third day you start getting pressure on the sides of your head.
Thats the longest I've stayed awake though.

Here's a spectacular site: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p980301b.html

it's incredibly detailed.

valhalla · 04-26-2006, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j_blades

mania would be the closest disorder i could think of (we also call people who have this manics).. it is somewhat similar to what you described although i am not sure if the collapsing of the body from exhaustion really happens.
the thing about mania is that during manic spells- these people are on a 'high'- intensely creative at times, they talk a lot, and have an overwhelming sense of well being- i'm not sure if this would work for you. manics can also get themselves in a lot of trouble, because of the temporary invinsibility they feel. during manic states, very little sleep is had, but they still feel good- in fact great. google it for more details. and those with mania and depression are called bipolar. its common for these manic states to end in a crash which is oftentimes deep depression. the higher the high, the lower the low generally.

hope this helps.

thanks oh thanks. but do you think i could have him be like all this without the depression thingy? i mean, it doesnt suit him. and also, could it still be mania without all of the symptoms?

Janelle_34 · 04-26-2006, 08:58 AM

I can stay awake for 4 days straight!!!!! So if anyone knows what can happen in btween those days or nites its me!!!

Kira the wanderer · 04-26-2006, 10:25 AM

My main character in Fractured is also an insmniac. He can never sleep during the night, but exhausts himself enough to sleep during the day. From what I know insomnia isn't a fun thing to have, people become irritable when they have it. I have some problems sleeping too, I often wake up on and off during the night, hallucinate, and occasionally find myself talking when I actually come-to.

For your character however, his condition doesn't seem too likely to be real. Bodies need rest at some point or another, of course if he isn't human then you can do whatever you want. I don't know what kind of story this is of course. For sleeping disorders and information I'd google it, and if you've tried that talk to people who you know don't sleep well. Take bits and peices of what you can gather and create something from there, that's all I can think of. If its fiction you can make your desease.

Amberglass · 04-26-2006, 10:59 AM

I had a sleeping disorder in which I'd crash after a certain time (8:00 PM or so) and couldn't do anything other than sleep; I'd wake up for hours at a time in the wee hours of the morning then wake up for good at precisely 6:00 in the morning.

I've also had insomnia, but that's about the only thing I know about sleep disorders.