Help regaining day/night cycle?

Question

I lost my day/night cycle (circadian rhythm) over a decade ago, and don't need to worry about it as far as work goes since I'm heavily disabled, but still, it is quite hard to get anything done on the PC or such without it. 
For me I cannot recall what day it is or if yesterday was today or anything. It has progressed and become worse. I've tried to re-train my mind by attempting to sleep at certain times and waking at others, but I have bad insomnia.

To give an example of how it works when insomnia isn't occurring, my body does the following thing. One day I might not be sleepy at all until 5am, then sleep until about 1pm. The next day I might fall asleep at 3pm (yes, literally 2 hours after awakening) and sleep until 9am. So when insomnia is not happening, I have this opposite problem where I sleep far too long, sometimes even days. Just as I go a typical three days  without being able to sleep if experiencing insomnia (though it has lasted longer than a week before without sleep), when not experiencing insomnia, I can at times go two days sleeping, and not even recall getting up to use the bathroom.

So I guess it is also a question on how to deal with both insomnia and its' opposite. You can see how this leads to me being unable to reply to people when needed. I let everyone whom I meet online (I'm unable to leave the house) know I don't ignore them and explain this to them so they know why I may not reply for a day or three.

Anyway, I apologize for asking so much and writing so much. I normally write more than this, but still, I didn't want to use up so much of your time reading this. I'm sorry.

One last thing is that I often have nightmares. They are extremely vivid and do not fade from my memory. I could honestly write a book with extreme detail. The thing is that they have nothing to do with anything I've read about, seen, heard, etc. They are extremely strange and I even feel physical pain during them, which I thought was not possible before this began happening. Thank God, they have been less common recently. However, they are so real that I have to ask people I know if this or that happened for real because I truly don't know (like "Did Bobby die? Or was I dreaming that?" or "Did I go to the dentist yesterday? Did he tell me I had a severe, dangerous infection?"

I would appreciate even the tiniest bit of help on this!

Answer

Ironically, the nightmares are a good thing! Those sessions of sleep you're getting REM sleep. So that's a good sign.

After researching, it sounds like you may have "delayed sleep phase syndrome" though of course I'm not a medical professional. Being disabled, you have the "luxury" of experimenting with your sleep hours. I'm also disabled and have similar problems. There are things (other than the usual melatonin and sleepy-time teas) you can try to reset your circadian rhythm:

- First, learn what is your "real" bedtime: To find out, each day you add 2 hours before you try to sleep. Continue adding these hours each day (or every few days, depending on what your body will tolerate) until you notice you're falling asleep and staying asleep, even if it's just for a solid 2-4 hr nap. Make a journal/chart so you'll clearly see the patterns that work. Some people sleep 4-and-4 (two 4-hr sleep sessions) rather than a full 8, and the break in-between may vary widely. For example: I sleep 7-11 am, take a 2-hr nap at 6 pm, then sleep again 11-3 am, it took me a few years to find this.

- Fasting: If you can, delay eating anything for 12 hours before your chosen bedtime. For example 10pm, you would stop eating at 10am. Drinking water during this fast is essential, and fruit/veggie juice may be required if you have diabetes or hypoglycemia. This fasting slows down the metabolism and prepares the body for a long rest. (NOTE: If you need to eat with meds, eat the minimum required such as a little milk or crackers.) You would only do this ONCE to reset. It can be done again every few months if your circadian rhythm cycles around the clock. Always eat a very nourishing meal before you begin the fast. (BTW, eating a heavy/fatty/hard-to-digest meal within 4-6 hours of bedtime is a sleep killer.)

- Take a hot-as-you-can-stand-it bath or shower right before lying down to sleep. This usually raises the core body temperature by 2 degrees. As your body goes through it's natural cooling response, it sends dopamine and endorphins through the body, deeply relaxing it.

I'd love to hear how this works for you. Sending hope!

Help regaining day/night cycle?

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