I’m not great with details, but I remember reading that many of us in the neurodiverse community struggle with sleep or energy levels.
Back in my early 20s, I went through the whole sleep clinic process. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and mild narcolepsy. They prescribed me a full-face CPAP mask because my mouth doesn’t stay closed at night. That didn’t last long I dumped it after 2 months. I’m not a still sleeper — more like a rotisserie chicken — and the full mask just made me choke on my own drool. The doctors were frustrated and not very helpful. It felt like they expected me to control my body even while unconscious.
Now, over 10 years later, I’m going through the process again. Apparently, my body still isn’t getting enough oxygen during sleep, and it’s causing problems.
Still, I can’t help but wonder if the doctors are missing something — like autism as a potential root cause of sleep issues. In my neurodiverse friend group (both autistic and ADHD), I’m the only one not sleeping 12 or more hours a day. So now I’m left wondering what’s really going on — with me, and with them.
FWIW, after I got diagnosed with light apnea, I got a sleep mouthguard, similar to one of these:
I hated the CPAP. The mouthguards don’t work for everyone, but they helped me a bunch, and I can wear them more consistantly than the CPAP.
Can you link to where to get this?
I didn’t get it online, so I can’t really link it. I had it done at a local dentist, who molded it for me.
FWIW, my dentist did tell me that most local dentists could make them, but it’s gotta be from a mold for your mouth.
Oh that’s actually a huge help. I already use a mouthguard for grinding. Last time I got the CPAP the doctors kept insisting I ask my dentist for something to keep my mouth closed. But they would never tell me what it was, and my dentist had no idea. Perhaps it was this?
Probably! I have the same issue of keeping my mouth closed, and this helped a lot