Had terrible sleeping habits, now my surroundings don't look real?

[sasokess]

I had some terrible sleeping habits in the last month or so (still do actually). I would sleep every other day, I am always awake until late at night because for some (reason I don't want to end the day, I stay 2-3 days awake sometimes (the worst was four days straight one month ago). Recently, I started to have a sudden spontaneous feeling that my surroundings aren't real, or if I want to explain it better: Sometimes I feel like my surroundings have the same structure of a dream. My perception at these time is like when I am on the bed between sleepiness and wakefulness. It seems like the same environment around me become novel to me continuously during the time I have this feeling. For example, if I am typing something on the computer, I look at the keyboard while typing, then I look at the screen, then I look at the keyboard, and then when I look at the screen, it seems to me like this is the first time I see the screen. Or when I drive my car, suddenly I realize that "I am driving" (it's like I just suddenly realized the fact that I am doing [a particular activity]), but the street and the cars around me look like something that exists in my mind instead of having their own physical properties, which leave me with a confusion for a minute or two.  Could it be that my sleep deprivation has damaged my brain, and now it will take a long time before recovering? Thank you.

[specialmom]

So, with my second child, I had some serious sleep deprivation.  The kid wouldn't sleep for more than 1 to 2 hours and so I was up all night and it went on for a year.  Sigh.  What happened to me was a surreal experience maybe like what you describe.  Sometimes on autopilot, going through the motions and then awareness would set in.  

So I do think sleep deprivation is the cause of what you are experiencing.  I don't think it is a permanent issue of brain damage from it, thank goodness.  After I got my kid (my beloved baby, ha ha) to sleep normal, I had to resolve the issue for myself. It took about 7 months to be honest.  I still had trouble sleeping after over a year of being woken over and over again so I never got into deep sleep.  I'd fall asleep and hear a baby screaming IN MY HEAD which would wake me up again.  Grrr.  But I DID get back to normal after improving my sleep.  I no longer have the issues I had during that period of my life.

I guess the suggestion that is obvious is that you figure out a way to work on the sleep habits.  I understand this because my natural time I want to go to bed is later.  Then I would like to sleep in.  I can't sleep in. I have kids and things that I have to be up for starting at 6 am.  So going to bed at midnight or later leads to exhaustion.  I know this.  I do it occasionally now but pay for it the next day.  So, I force myself to get ready for bed.  I turn off lights, tv and phone.  I turn a fan on for white noise.  I keep the house cool at night.  I don't eat much at night and limit drinking anything.  I just force that effort.  For ME, that works.  I have nights I give in and do what is not in my best interest and stay up and just deal with it.  But most nights, I force the sleep time on myself.  I DO have occasional insomnia.  I would look at what kind of caffeine intake you have, if you get enough daily exercise, if your room is kept the way that is pro sleep, if your anxiety is under control if you have it, etc. There is also something natural you can try called melatonin.  Lots of people have success with this. Buy at health food store or drug store.  good luck