Sleep (deprivation) and Autism - Unmasking Autism 

Getting enough sleep is so important Gina. I need about 7 hours of sleep at night to function well, although 8 hours would probably be better. Anxiety is certainly a big reason why I wouldn't get a good nights sleep and I can feel anxiety if my routine gets disrupted or my schedule is thrown off for any reason. I need to sleep in my own bed every night. I have had very bad experiences when I had to travel. I could only manage a few hours of troubled sleep when I was in an unfamiliar environment and it left me miserable and unable to communicate well. Your video reminds me that I should try to get to sleep a little earlier. I hope that you will have consistent success at getting more sleep too. Our brains work so much better when we are rested. Thank you for your video.

Anxiety as sleep disruptor seems to be very common for we neurodivergent folks, but it serves as an important tool by which to gauge the status of waking life i.e. the presence of any unbalancing factors immediately triggers sleep disturbances. Getting more sleep provides enough of a reset to be able to clearly assess, identify, and correct the dysregulating circumstance. It's infuriating that our culture persists in its belief that being underslept is somehow a noble sacrifice. I realized in adolescence that sleep deprivation was the worst thing for me but recognizing all the ways that masking and camouflaging were compromising my ability to settle at night has taken much longer because one's very survival under capitalism is contingent upon those so-called "noble" sacrifices. (Also: loved that wallpaper pattern design, very stimmy! 😊)

we are all victims of toxic capitalism. we don't need to conform to neurotypical or capitalistic standards. anxiety wrecks my sleep. I get hypervigelent and wake up many times during the night.