Symptoms · Symptom Library · Often with FND

Sleep problems

Nights that do not restore you

Also called: insomnia · hypersomnia · broken sleep with FND

Sleep problems are extremely common with FND: trouble getting off to sleep, staying asleep, waking unrefreshed, or sleeping long hours and still exhausted. Poor sleep often lowers the threshold for other symptoms.

Safety. Urgent care for pauses in breathing observed by others, chest pain at night, or sudden severe sleepiness that is new and extreme.

How it can feel

  • Mind racing or body buzzing at bedtime.
  • Waking from pain, jerks, panic or toileting.
  • Sleeping long but waking unrefreshed.
  • Next-day fog, seizures or weakness more likely after a bad night.

Day to day

  • Everything costs more when sleep debt is high.
  • Medication timing and caffeine habits may need review with a clinician.
  • Shift work and caring overnight can trap people in a vicious cycle.

Why this can be FND (simply)

Sleep is when the nervous system resets. Symptoms disrupt sleep; poor sleep then amplifies symptoms. Treating sleep is rarely “optional extras”.

What can help

  • Consistent wind-down and light exposure patterns where possible.
  • Addressing pain, night-time tics/jerks and bladder issues.
  • Medical review for sleep apnoea or other sleep disorders when indicated.
  • Pacing daytime activity so evenings are not pure crash-or-wired.

This is information, not a treatment plan. Personal care decisions belong with you and your clinicians.

FAQs

Should I just push through tiredness?

Pushing every day often deepens the crash. Strategic rest and medical review beat constant override.

Next steps