I don’t think that’s an autism thing. I think that’s just a thing for people who don’t have enough meaning and purpose in their life to feel like they had a day’s worth of experiences yet when the day is over.
Which is a LOT of us.
this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2026
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hmmm, I don't know. I relate with the OP a lot, yet I love what I do with my days... it's just that there is a kind of exhaustion that is social in nature, and I feel I need my airlock time (as my wife says) after any social event to be at peace, even when I feel tired af.
This could be an introvert thing. Introvert vs extrovert isn't about being shy or anything like the stereotype. The best way that I've heard to describe it is that an extrovert refills their emotional batteries through social activities, big groups, etc. while an introvert has their emotional batteries drained doing that and needs time alone to let themself recharge.
You can have a socially anxious extrovert who lives for hanging out in a big group of friends even if they don't talk much or anything, and an outgoing introvert who just needs to come home at the end of the day and sit on the floor with their back against a wall for awhile before they have the energy to do anything else.
Anecdotally, I'm fortunate enough to have my average day jam packed with meaning and XP, and I still like to decompress.
Yea, a lot of posts in this community are like this. They may be more prevelant (or challenging) in the autistic community, but are often just "the annoyances of life".
Note: I do think in your rationale is missing "lack of time" as a factor, though. Often applying oneself to purpose is not the individual's fault, they just don't have the time to be fulfilled.
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(2 replies)
revenge bedtime procrastination
Sleep avoidance is real.
"I'm revenge procrastinating, must be neurodivergence"
Tbf, there probably is a high correlation between those.
Tbf anyone can be overworked.
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yesssssss
fuck sleep
My wife and I call it decompressing, it's not about relaxing the body, it's about spacing out and doing something that requires zero brain power. I'm pretty sure almost everyone does it in some form or another, some just get to start earlier in the day, others just seem to already be on autopilot all day anyway and it extends to their bed time. It's not a neuro divergent thing
It's like some people forget they are also just people and all people do things. Not everything they do is related to autism.
I don't think that's exclusive to neurodivergent people. But yes.
Edit: Unless...wait... Am I just undiagnosed neurodivergent?
aw shit
Ah, the classic, "wait doesn't everyone deal with this?"
I do this exact thing every day but I have next to no autistic traits.
I have ADHD but not autism and I do this. It's basically normal ADHD executive dysfunction I think, for me at least
why you comin at my whole work week like that dawg
I think that's everyone tbh.
If work wants a wide awake me, they'd better be paying me a lot more than they are.
Dopamine depletion is real. Leaves you exhausted and prone to inertia.
Sleep doesn't always recharge the battery
I’m just staving off the next day before it crushes me too.
Wait, is this seriously a neurospicy thing??
Well, it certainly describes my AuDHD ass perfectly.
There's not really settled science here. I can relate to that a bit but I'm not diagnosed as neurodivergent or anything. Also I sort of grew out of this as I got older. I dont have trouble sleeping almost at all anymore but it used to be a big struggle.
I think this is not "having trouble sleeping", this is "having trouble going to bed".
The way it works with me is that I just need some "me" time after a day of activities. Normally I get back home around 5-6 PM, so I do some chores and then have 2-4 hours for myself. If there are other activities - or more chores - forcing me to start the "me" time later, then I won't just skip it, I will still sit the 2-4 hours at my PC, I'll just do it at the cost of my regular sleep time, and go to bed at 2AM instead of at midnight, for example.
I came back to say I realized that I also started doing my "me" time in the early morning if I was really tired early the last night. When I was younger I would make myself stay up and play games or watch TV or else I'd be frustrated I wasted my night by sleeping. I really like being up before anyone else in the house and hanging out that way too now.
Oh trust me, I know how it works I just put it all under "trouble sleeping." Its a bad cycle to get into, getting more and more tired everyday. I honestly think I was just addicted to TV/computers and didnt know how to mentally deal with the urges. Perspective is incredibly powerful when it comes to mental state, but also habits are as well.
I will say I value sleep a lot more now. I used to treat it as a nuisance that didnt benefit me much, but ive grown to understand how important it is, along with what I eat. Perhaps despising sleep is not a healthy thing.
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I'm not refusing to sleep I usually just can't
Yeah this is just anyone that's trying to survive post COVID honestly. Don't need to put a label on surviving this shitty existence currently.
Either that or they get too much anxiety at night or are addicted to stimulation
You have to decompress. After a full day of masking up and not losing it.
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Rude.
Also, I should be sleeping, not scrolling...
I do this constantly if I've had to be around people late into the evening. I need to recharge enough to sleep.
And when I’m doing the me time I’m half nodding off. Yet when I finally go to bed I can’t sleep.
I’m doing biphasic sleep patterns at the moment, having 3 hours when I get home and 3 hours at like 1am. Keeps me going enough that I can half function for work and play.
You know what's crazy? I can be depressed because of various shit, but it never made me quit stuff I really want to do. It's just that I am even more tired (and maybe depressed) later.
Sleep disorders are a form of divergence too! Huzzah ADHD! Huzzah narcolepsy!
"I'm tired but also easily overstimulated" is practically the diagnosis code for autism in young people.
Also a great pipeline to misuse of depressants. One is fully Lego-pilled after coming out of rehab, because it gives him an outlet for all that restless energy the drinking had flattened out.
Uggghhhhh yeah
makes seventh latte
This is why the benevolent spirits gave us energy drinks ✨
Currently laying in bed unable to sleep. Stupid human bodies!
I'm supposed to be the ND one. That sounds like my neurotypical wife.
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