I Optimized My Sleep Routine Ruthlessly, Yet I Still Don't Recovery Fully From Sensory Overload.
I attempt to go to sleep every night by setting it to 65°F in my room. Using a sleep mask to block out all light. A white noise machine near the edge of my door. And a weighted blanket. Earplugs as well. And a 1 hour wind-down period before bed to optimize things even further.
My family says I'm doing "too much" just to go to sleep. This is also proven by some times during the week that they would come to my room without knocking, or do knock, assuming I'm awake, meanwhile while I'm trying to go to sleep and recover from all of the sensory load I experienced at work, or even here at my families house. They don't understand just how much I have to navigate around in order to somewhat function, so I feel I have to be rigid and disicplined to not dive further into burnout by ensuring my sleep is as good as It can possibly get.
- Loud warehouse noises at work (Totes slamming, abrupt laughter, sudden and frequent beeping sounds
- Running outside on days off (Uncomfortable sensation on skin, constant need to rub my skin and to scratchAlso occurs indoors but not as much.)
- Processing load of conversions from coworkers at work, and at home
All of this accumulates to the end of the day, and I try to optimize my sleep as much as I can so that the next day my energy baseline (Despite being in burnout) will be higher and I'll be less vulunerable to sensory-related stress, even though the same impacts are likely to happen regardless.
What Happens If I Skip My Setup
If I choose to skip my setup for any reason (Either very low energy days, or genuinely forgetting certain steps, which being in burnout has significantly impaired my memory recall so all of the habits I mentioned above that I do (As well as supplements such as L-Theanine, Ashwakanda, Magniesium Glycinate and Glycine 1 hour before bed) My sleep quality is noticable worse. It's not a significant decline, but the energy impacts are far worse.
- My energy levels are a lot lower. I'm way more tolerate to sensory-related stress and stress in general such as unpredictable routines at work, minor incoinviences such as a scanner not working, or a family member or even me misplacing something and having to spend half an hour to find it, reducing my energy even further that day.
- My executive function which is already quite low given my current burnout state, making decisions or even thinking creativity (Such as me writing this post regarding my thoughts) is significantly dimenishes. Still there, but a very small amount each day this happens.
- Compounds the sleep I need for the next day, more often than not leaving 9 hours to be the floor in terms of what I need instead of 8, regardless of how "good" my sleep was in terms of sleep stages.
With my app's 1-10 slider context in mind, with me starting at around a 3 or 4 for a modest or even good sleep quality day last night, a worse or even poor sleep quality (Involving a lot of restlessness) I often start at a 2 and remain around that level for the rest of the day. This is including the burnout state that I've been in for years, so I'm not able to do much outside of what I'm forced to do at work, and non-neogitable chores at home such as making food.
Why 65°F
70°F is too high. My blanket is thick and heavy and the material resting on my skin increases my body temperature. Even with this in mind I still prefer to sleep with my shirt off to ensure I'm not sweating through the night to eliminate another potential energy drain factor.
If my room is already hot, I'll switch to 60°F temporarily for that one night.
I want to keep in mind that this is the temp I set for my fan. I want to actively set that temp for my room every night, but since my family is very strict about the changing of the temperatures at any point and I don't want to deal with the masking fatique in order to explain why, using my fan around that temp at medium to high speeds somewhat helps with this.
My Full Setup (With 1-line why each)
Sleep mask: Blocks out light while I'm trying to sleep. Also if my family suddenly keeps in my room, I usually can keep it on and response quickly
White noise machine: Blocks loud conversations happening outside my room. Helps modestly to block out loud conversations nearby but not sudden door or cabinet slamming from downstairs.
Weighted blanket: Reduces micro-movements during sleep.
Pillow: A simple comfortable pillow that supports my neck.
Fan: Counters unpredictable temperature in my room (no AC installed—family won't do it).
Earplugs + familiar audio: 1 hour wind-down with familiar rain audio. (I use my radio to listen to audio for one hour before bed, mostly music related as podcasts are relaxing but I want to reduce as much processing load as possible.)
What Tracking Showed Me
Even though I've already been tracking my sleep quality via sleep trackers such as the apple watch and fenix 8 (And now more recently the somnee eeg headband as of March 2026!), it doesn't tell the full story on the nerulogical impacts of sensory-related stress I've dealt with during the day and how it impacts my sleep quality throughout the next.
Simply put, I track my energy to roughly guide myself to see where my energy baseline is and what adjustments I need to make depending on my current level. If I'm relatively low, then I'll drop any things (Outside of special interests) to do that day and just focus (No different than I normally do) to do the bare minimum as possible and basically go on maximum conversation mode.
The highest my energy has been as of lately is around a 6, assuming cognitive load is negligable and my sleep quality is good. I can handle some activities I want to do, but not going overkill, especially if it demands all of cognitive resources out of me.
This is why I built Spoons. I plan on Launching it on April 2026. getspoons.app - One email when it's ready. No spam. You're more than welcome to check out of my website if your interested, if you have the energy.
— Omari
Note: I'm sharing my personal experience as an autistic adult, not medical advice. If you're experiencing severe burnout or crisis, please consult a healthcare provider familiar with autism.