I have resolved this issue!
It turns out I have Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPS)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder.
My natural time of falling a sleep is 3am, waking up at about 10am. If I ignore these times and try to live like the majority of people I am exhausted all day. This leads to a bunch of problems like gaining weight, being (super) grumpy, hungry, hangry
, mega cravings and sometimes no hope for a normal future.
I can exercise again because I guess now I'm gettting the recovery during the night that my body needs. Previously I always went to bed early after exercising thinking that would benefit the recovery. Turns out that did just the opposite because I got up too early.
For anyone else who is having sleeping issues and wonder what's 'wrong' with them, now follows a short background story that might be helpful.
Starting a couple of years ago, chronologically:
1) I thought I had a burn-out because I was so tired all the time and was working too much, but I was actually overworked which is much less severe
2) The first time I ignored my GP's advice to see if there was something wrong with my sleep (a big regret because she was right!)
3) Finally, a year later, I did an at home sleep study and it turned out that I have sleep apnea (AHI = 16)
4) I started with a CPAP which I have been big friends with since night one, she has brought me more energy. However, I was still very tired on many days.
5) I have kept a diary with everything that I felt, did and ate and suddenly a pattern emerged: I noticed that I was 'unusually' fit and energic on alternating days and that I only needed 6 (!) hours of sleep on the nights before but always fell asleep very late at 3pm.
6) Then I came across DSPS documentation, completely ignored the idea that I needed to go to bed at 10pm - 11pm and suddenly I had the most wonderful week ever with lots and lots of energy.
The Wiki article states: "Practitioners of sleep medicine point out the dismally low rate of accurate diagnosis of the disorder, and have often asked for better physician education on sleep disorders."
It was a real puzzle to figure out the multiple issues that were combined: being overworked, sleep apnea and DSPS. But because I sometimes had an energetic day I had faith that there would be a solution.
The most difficult part was ignoring the advice of about 8 doctors and specialists!
Losing weight on Dr. McDougall's maximum weight loss plan is now a breeze! After tackling sleep apnea and the cripling exhaustion caused by the DSPS it's so easy, as I always thought it should be.
Feel free to ask me anything regarding this issue. Although I'm just one case (n=1) I guess I have a lot of experience with many related symptoms and I might be able to help you figure out your sleep issue.
Sweet dreams!