Can't sleep for as long as I need

Hello, For 3 weeks now I haven't been able to sleep for as long as I need at a single moment and it just makes life a huge mess. I've tried a few things already but I'll start from the beginning.

Before this problem started I would usually get 9 hours sleep and go to bed around 2am and wake up around 11am. But I started to stay up later and later, I ended up staying up until 7am and getting up at 4pm. I didn't want this so I set my alarm for 12pm, I would get up at 12pm one day no problem but the next day I was so tired when that alarm went off I always went back to sleep. Mix this in with the odd days of just getting 4 hours sleep because I would have to wake up early to go somewhere and it was a mess. One night I felt tired at 12am so I decided I could use this to fix my sleep, but then I only got 5 hours sleep and awoke wide awake with the strangest feeling. I was wide awake, but I could feel the huge tiredness inside of me, and then it all started.

At this time I could only sleep for 5 hours at a time, I tried forcing myself to stay in bed, 3 hours later I would finally get back to sleep but this was just horrible and it wasn't improving. So I decided to stay up for 24+ hours to attempt to reset my body clock. I stayed up for 34 hours and went to bed at 1am. I slept right through my alarm, 14 hours straight and woke up, the next night I only got 3 hours sleep. From then on I would sleep for 7 hours per night, but it's not enough for me.

Next I decided to force myself to go to bed at 12am every night, in an attempt to gradually gain more sleep, this didn't work. Every day I would get tired at 6pm, and from 6-12 it would be horrible, then I'd get 7 hours sleep and the cycle would repeat. I ended up feeling like my brain was being damaged and once I just collapsed at the computer. It was really strange, I don't remember falling asleep or waking up, it was like I was there at 10:45pm, then it was 11:30pm.

And then we come to now, I've started to fall asleep when I'm tired now and I'm getting 5 hours sleep each night , with 3 hour naps during the day. It's still not enough, When I awake from my 5 hour sleeps I still feel tired inside, but I'm awake at the same time so can't get back to sleep. I was thinking to stay up for 24+ hours again, to try and add 2 more hours like it did last time, but I doubt this would work.

I'm almost out of ideas here, I went to the doctors and he said I have to force myself to stay up and it will fix itself. But I already did that and my brain was turning to mush, please does anyone have any ideas how I can fix this I can't live like this.

What's your routine like, Ham7? I can only think of the obvious things to start with, but perhaps there's something here you've not considered already?

No caffeine or other stimulants
No alcohol, weed or other sedatives
Turn off the computer at least an hour before you want to go to bed. [Ideally, use a program like f.lux to dim the screen over the evening.]
Likewise, make sure the room you're in during the evening has mood lighting and not bright lights.
Find a routine for going to bed [bath, teeth, read for half an hour, quiet music, anything like that. A routine can help to signal that it's sleep time, if this is just a habit fail and nothing worse.]
Getting into a pattern of exercise in the morning or early afternoon might help. Likewise with meals, try to keep those as healthy and regular as possible.
Try to avoid napping since you won't be tired enough to sleep properly later. If you can't, make them no more than half an hour no matter horrible you feel on waking.

Googling "sleep hygiene" may give some other ideas.

If you're doing all this already, and still all over the clock with sleep, then I'd suggest going back to the doctor and asking for a sleep clinic recommendation [or local equivalent.] It's possible that meds might help, but I'd be cautious there.

If I were you I think I'd look for a sleep specialist. The family doctors and GPs I've dealt with haven't know a lot about sleep disorders.

It sounds like you're kind of a night owl, and that your problem may have to do with the erratic timing of your sleep. My sleep used to be very erratic, too, but for different reasons. Now that I'm following a more regular schedule, my sleep has improved.

But back to you: it sounds like you may have a circadian rhythm disorder. (I'm not a sleep expert -- you'd have to consult a doctor to find out for sure.) If so, there are a couple of ways you may be able to improve your sleep.

One would be to adjust your home lighting. Even small amounts of light in the evening (light from computer screens, too!) can make it harder to get to sleep. So make sure to dim lights in the evening and expose yourself to bright light in the morning.

The other thing would be to try using melatonin to help yourself get to sleep earlier at night. Most people follow directions on the label and take it shortly before bedtime. Then it doesn't generally help. You'll likely get a better effect if you take it around dinner time. Then it'll trick your body into thinking the night is coming sooner than it really is, which may be exactly what you want.

Good luck!