Over stimulation and need for sleep

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Do any of you feel so over stimulated that you just want to go to sleep to escape? I feel like this quite regularly and was curious. I always chalked it up to depression but now I'm wondering if it may have something to do with AS.

I think I get sleepy if I get overstimulated. At the moment however I am very drowsy and demotivated. I have been lying in bed most of the day and still sleep at night. The change in season now has me feeling agitated and because the days are brighter I am hiding from the sun. The sleepiness you describe is probably due to AS and not depression. I think the brain gets overloaded and you just have to go to bed.

I get this all the time. I have trouble getting to sleep too, so it's even worse. I've recently been getting into kava, and that's been helping a lot. It has a very long after glow. I only have to take it once every two days, but every night also works wonders.
Has anyone else used something similar to help with a similar condition?

I have problems sleeping because thing are going round in my head, i usually have to wait for a bit until i am so tired that i fall asleep.

I am trying to work on this with my psychologist at the moment. I recently began uni and I am finding that the amount of cognitive energy that I am using just by getting there and staying there is leaving me distressed and struggling to stay awake after only 10 or 15 minutes of my first class. I'm hoping that it will improve as it all becomes less "new" and i can develop some routines.

But I deal with it in all parts of my life. At work (and lately at uni) when I start to shutdown I take a break and sleep for 10minutes. It's less than ideal to be sleeping in public, but if I don't my level of distress grows enormous, I become nonverbal, and I can't manage to get home.

I think the best we can do is try to identify what is causing the overload and try to manage it. I'm trying every trick I can think of. And I'm working really hard to learn to identify when I'm becoming overwhelmed earlier so that hopefully I can remove myself before I'm in trouble. It's hard though.

I take 25 milligrams of Seroquel before I go to sleep. Seroquel is an antipsychotic drug and taking it is ridiculous in my case. It has always been very clear to my therapists that I am not prone to psychotic episodes at all and that I have both feet on the ground! It has been prescibed to me as a sort of sleeping pill because it takes anxiety away as well. I'm very angry about that in hindsight because I can't sleep without it anymore. The fact that I'm taking something I don't even need which may have dangerous side effects pisses me off even more. However, I can't get any sleep when I quit and since there are no harmless alternatives I just have keep taking it I guess.

Medication can be very usefull when you have autism but some therapists seem to have a tendancy to overmedicate. Beware!

Most days, I can handle my constant brain activity and outer stimulation, but some days, like today, it's too much for me to handle. I just want to knock myself out and sleep. I have a bad habit of self medicating to go to sleep because I cannot handle reality.

I have had stelazine before for the very same reason but I did not like it. It made me feel anxious without it and so I will not take anything. I have accepted that sometimes I sleep a lot, and other times I don't sleep much. We all have a false idea that we should be sleeping at the same time every night and that we should always sleep for 8 hours. Humans are not like clockwork, we fluctuate and it is natural.

Definitely the case here. It's mostly due to my medication, as I am on Celexa and drowsiness is a common side affect. I used to have major problems with being too stimulated to the point where my brain was was fried and I was exhausted all the time...however, I found the following things have really been helping:

1) Having a consistent daily schedule, so waking up and going to bed around the same time each day.

2) Knowing my personal limits in terms of socialization and "being on" around people. I've noticed that many people on the spectrum become more exhausted with daily life and having to deal with people than neurotypicals. Just because other people can get things done without without feeling tired doesn't mean you can...and it's not a bad thing, it just means you need to be mindful of this fact and regulate yourself. I plan my week and weekends so that I can handle an adequate amount of social interaction to the point where I'm not overwhelmed.

3) Physical activity. Even as something as simple as going for a peaceful contemplative walk can help recharge yourself. Personally, I walk, bike, ride my stationary equipment. I also regularly practice yoga, and find that it's really good for blood circulation throughout the body...you end up feeling rejuvenated and less groggy/drowsy.