There is no bigger enemy to sleep than insomnia, and it's hard to know exactly what it's like to deal with if you don't have firsthand experience.
To help give you an idea, we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share their experiences dealing with insomnia.
1. "Tired" means something entirely different to people who deal with insomnia.
2. It's not just about having difficult falling asleep — staying asleep can be the issue, too.
tfw you get a solid 4.5 hours of broken sleep and have to pretend like everything's okay 🙃
3. And tbh, just because they can sometimes sleep doesn't mean that sleep is actually high-quality.
4. Dealing with insomnia can get seriously expensive.
5. "Have you tried...?" YES. Melatonin, booze, limiting blue light, limiting screen-time, every natural sleeping remedy under the sun — chances are, they've tried it all.
6. Sleep medication isn't a cure-all.
7. And when meds do work, relying them can be a big source of shame, worry, or a whole new set of symptoms.
8. You might be tempted to be judgy about an insomniac's caffeine intake, but oh my god, it's none of your business.
9. Same with late-night phone and TV habits!
The 5 Stages of Insomnia 🌙 1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Looking at Twitter
"My phone and/or my TV do not keep me up! Chances are that, if I'm on my phone or bingeing a show at an ungodly hour, I've tried to sleep. I might have even taken medicine to help try to get me there. Point is, if you know you're not going to get much or any sleep, then you're at least allowed to make it feel a little more enjoyable." —marandajob
10. It's an extremely common — AND ANNOYING — misconception that insomnia is a choice. Which, no.
11. On top of sometimes being a result of anxiety, it can also be incredibly anxiety-inducing on its own.
12. It's nice of you to try to relate by sharing your own sleeping woes, but unless you actually deal with it, don't try to compare your occasional trouble sleeping to insomnia.
13. Just because someone got a "normal" night of sleep doesn't mean they don't have insomnia — it can happen in cycles.
14. There's really no such thing as catching up on sleep when you're an insomniac.
15. No, insomniacs aren't ~lucky~ to be able to stay up all night.
16. In fact, feeling weighed down by exhaustion all night and not being able to sleep is a special sort of torture.
17. Or you can be filled with so much restless energy that you don't know what to do with it.
18. Going without sleep can have a serious impact on your mental health.
19. And it can impact your personality and how people perceive you.
20. Honestly, insomnia affects pretty much every part of your life.
21. Frankly, it just...really sucks — so if you don't deal with it, be kind and try to understand what it must be like. And if you do deal with it, remember you're not alone.
By the way, if you think you might be dealing with insomnia too, it's definitely worth checking with your doctor. Many things can cause insomnia, from stress to certain disorders, and your doctor will best be able to help you figure out what's going on so you can get the sleep you need. In the meantime, you can always read more about insomnia here.