Hey guys, So I've been having a strange type of insomnia for the last 5 weeks where I can fall asleep fine but I wake up every day between 3-5am. Typically I wake-up with an erection and I'm unable to fall asleep again for several hours (3-4).
I've tried a lot of different things to kick this cycle, GABA, melatonin, stopping all caffeine intake, sleeping on back instead of side, yoga, stopping all alcohol, stopping all supplements (no more nootropics :(), meditating, no TV/computer before bed, increased Vit D, higher vit C, using a 10k LUX lamp in morning, digeredoo, tusli tea, catnip tea... Almost anything I can think of I'm trying. Today I plan on giving blood just to see if it makes a difference. I had bloodwork done 3 months ago and everything was normal however 6 months ago I had it done and I had high iron levels. I assume it's been resolved since I stopped using my cast iron pans.
Does anyone have ANY ideas to help? When I search online for treatment it's just the usual "healthy sleep hygiene things" which were obviously the first thing's I tried such as no TV, no napping, and no caffeine. They also mention possible depression. If it is depression then I'm unaware of it. My mom is bipolar and also has a lot of difficulty falling asleep. Not sure if I have something related to her since we share 50% of the same DNA :P
Anyways any input would be appreciated. I've been on 4-5 hrs of sleep for over a month now after functioning 30 years of my life on 7-8. I'm doing surprisingly good however I can tell it's causing issues overall.
BTW - When I wake up I always have a hard hard erection that won't go away till I get out of bed. Not sure if this signals that its hormone related or possible cortisol related. The only things that have changed around the same time that this started is I began indoor swimming withing the same period (2 weeks prior to it starting) twice a week. I was also taking creatine for 2 months prior to it starting but stopped probably a week before it began.
Thanks for any input and sorry for the long post.