I'm seventeen, and ever since I was a little kid I've had sleeping problems, mainly including my being tired all the time. I remember in elementary school it got really bad and my doctor suggested that I possibly wasn't getting enough excersize. I don't remember changing anything, but it must've gotten a little better for a little while. As soon as I hit high school it worsened considerably. As soon as I got home from school, I'd go to sleep and not wake up until everyone else went to bed. I could and still can sleep thirteen hours and wake up exhausted. I never knew what a good night's sleep was like until I started taking melatonin recently, and now that I have something to compare it to, the only way I can explain the way I sleep is that my mind is busier when I'm asleep when I'm awake. Just thinking thinking thinking, whirring away like I'm doing complicated math problems. I wake up with my jaw practically wired shut from clenching it (TMJ), and most of the time have headaches that don't go away until the end of the day. My muscles are always stiff and sore, mainly my shoulders, back, and neck. When I started taking the melatonin most of that went away, but the problem with the melatonin is that I always wake up 8 hours later like clockwork, wide awake, but then am tired a lot of the day because I need more than 8 hours of sleep. I've done some research on sleeping disorders, but none of them seem to describe my problem. What do you guys think?
-Sam

Have you considered going to a sleep clinic?

We can all, here, take stabs and guesses at what is going on with your sleeping patterns but without more information and more knowledge on the area all it will be is guesses. Talk to your parents about getting you into a sleep clinic so they can study your sleeping and possibly figure out what the true problem is. Once the problem is discovered a Dr can go over it with you and help you find safe ways of dealing with it so you can get the sleep you need to be active during the day.

You probably should see your doctor to have him do a complete evaluation of you.

It may be nothing at all, but you could have sleep apnea which could be diagnosed with a sleep study.

Some other possibilities could be stress, anxiety, or restless leg syndrome, and others.

You won't be able to get a clear diagnosis until you see your doctor.