The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Sleep Schedule from Hell
Zephonate
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'll be the first to admit out of anyone who knows me that I'm a night-owl. I've never had a problem with this. My school and work schedules usually begin late enough in the afternoon not to interrupt my sleep, and I seem to function better at a lot of tasks during the night.
However, this scenario has reached ridiculous heights.
I used to be able to clock out at around 4:00 AM most mornings, wake up around noonish and be fine. Lately though (probably over the course of a month and a half), I've been gradually going to bed later and later without fully realizing it. I'm now at the point where on a good night/morning, I get to sleep between 6:00 to 7:30 AM. Then I wake up around 2:00, feel like shit, pass out for another hour or two later on as long as I don't have work or school. If not, I take it on the chin and deal with the grogginess.
A lot of the time I will start feeling tired at a reasonable (for me, at least) time, such as 3:00 AM. Tonight's a good example. Though after tossing and turning for an hour and a half, counting backwards from a hundred, slowing my breathing, drinking water, getting as comfortable as possible, running a fan (can't sleep in dead silence), and making my room as dark as possible...I get a second wind. It's gotten so bad that now I don't just feel like shit when I wake up for not sleeping right, but I also feel bad about it. I feel like I waste my whole day.
I've heard and tried various methods for curbing this. I've tried waking up for a few minutes early in the morning, going outside and letting the sun hit my face to try and trick my body into resetting my circadian rhythms. I've tried having a small drink shortly before going to bed to see if the alcohol will make me drowsy. I've tried falling asleep with the TV on (only works during daytime naps for some reason), and I've attempted to power through the night and stay up all day until I'm exhausted as hell and ready to go to sleep at a decent time. Problem with that last is each time I try, I crap out and can't help falling asleep for an hour or two during the day after trying really hard. Pattern gets repeated ad nauseum.
It might be worth noting that this whole process happened around a year ago also. Went for a month or two on this sleep schedule and I just accepted it. After a while, my body basically said fuck you one night and I passed out at like, 10:00 PM. I woke up the next morning at 8:00 and felt awesome, and for a good few months my sleep schedule was great after that. Then slowly, inched its way back to this.
Any other insomniacs out there? Anyone got some advice that might be pertinent? In case the information might in any way be relevant, I'm 22, about 160 lbs., 5'4". I've heard melatonin can sometimes work wonders, though I've never tried it.
However, this scenario has reached ridiculous heights.
I used to be able to clock out at around 4:00 AM most mornings, wake up around noonish and be fine. Lately though (probably over the course of a month and a half), I've been gradually going to bed later and later without fully realizing it. I'm now at the point where on a good night/morning, I get to sleep between 6:00 to 7:30 AM. Then I wake up around 2:00, feel like shit, pass out for another hour or two later on as long as I don't have work or school. If not, I take it on the chin and deal with the grogginess.
A lot of the time I will start feeling tired at a reasonable (for me, at least) time, such as 3:00 AM. Tonight's a good example. Though after tossing and turning for an hour and a half, counting backwards from a hundred, slowing my breathing, drinking water, getting as comfortable as possible, running a fan (can't sleep in dead silence), and making my room as dark as possible...I get a second wind. It's gotten so bad that now I don't just feel like shit when I wake up for not sleeping right, but I also feel bad about it. I feel like I waste my whole day.
I've heard and tried various methods for curbing this. I've tried waking up for a few minutes early in the morning, going outside and letting the sun hit my face to try and trick my body into resetting my circadian rhythms. I've tried having a small drink shortly before going to bed to see if the alcohol will make me drowsy. I've tried falling asleep with the TV on (only works during daytime naps for some reason), and I've attempted to power through the night and stay up all day until I'm exhausted as hell and ready to go to sleep at a decent time. Problem with that last is each time I try, I crap out and can't help falling asleep for an hour or two during the day after trying really hard. Pattern gets repeated ad nauseum.
It might be worth noting that this whole process happened around a year ago also. Went for a month or two on this sleep schedule and I just accepted it. After a while, my body basically said fuck you one night and I passed out at like, 10:00 PM. I woke up the next morning at 8:00 and felt awesome, and for a good few months my sleep schedule was great after that. Then slowly, inched its way back to this.
Any other insomniacs out there? Anyone got some advice that might be pertinent? In case the information might in any way be relevant, I'm 22, about 160 lbs., 5'4". I've heard melatonin can sometimes work wonders, though I've never tried it.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
Zephonate on
0
Posts
Was going to recommend to do this, then force yourself to bed at a reasonable time the next few nights. (10-12 at night) take some nyquil or sleeping pills if you need to for a few days.
Home Inspection and Wind Mitigation
http://www.FairWindInspections.com/
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
really beyond that I think the best way to establish a proper sleeping pattern is to have some sort of structure in your life. hell, I used to be up past 4am most nights, sleeping in till I damn well wanted, and so on and so forth. it was called uni and then it was called being an unemployed bum. then I got a job, actually had a reason to be out of the house by 8 each morning, and suddenly keeping a sleep schedule became second nature. suddenly sleeping in past 9 was near impossible. I realise this advice isn't the sort to get you falling asleep at proper times now, but if you give yourself clear, concrete and definite reasons to be out of bed by, say, 9 each morning — as opposed to vague sentiments like "I feel bad about it" — it will definitely help.
anyway I'm a massive hypocrite who needs to be at work in like eight hours, so goodnight h/a
[edit: which isn't to say your life doesn't have "structure" now, just that it's a structure that your current sleeping habits can still accommodate. you *can* fit your life around it, but you're trying not to, so something has to give. am I making sense? like I said, it's bedtime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphenhydramine#Side_effects
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zolpidem#Side_effects
I usually don't tell people to go self medicate, but there's relatively little harm in taking an OTC antihistamine like diphenhydramine(benadryl) unless you OD. Way better than telling someone to pop a xanax or ambien from your mom's Rx bottles. You really shouldn't really use them more than a few times every month or so, if that.
Yes!
Not only is it perfectly natural, it's also safe. Pop one pill and 10 minutes later you're zzzzz...
But yes you're right, it's also used as a sleep aid for people with sleeping disorders like this. Worth a shot.
I just don't discipline myself enough when I start out, then it gets to the point where I fall asleep at around 7 or so.
Right now, I'm in a manic haze. Today will be the first day in a week or two where I have to be up and do things during normal hours instead of 2 in the morning. I feel spaced and really out of it. Caffeine doesn't seem to help, but I'm sure my body is all messed up and my circadian rhythms are out of whack.
Best of luck to you. Let us know what works best.
Electronic composer for hire.
There's a huge misconception that Melatonin helps one to fall asleep. This isn't true. Melatonin helps the body to enter REM sleep quicker than normal, allowing for "better sleep". I've been taking it for years, and it has more of a placebo effect than otherwise as far as actually getting to sleep is concerned. Studies have suggested that the dosages in the store (3-5mg usually) are far larger than necessary. 1mg has been shown to be effective in some persons.
As for non-medical options, regular exercise can work wonders, especially if you do it first thing in the morning (because it tires you out while waking you up, and by the time "bedtime" rolls around your body isn't full of adrenaline from working out at night). Similarly, what was mentioned above about doing non-TV and non-Internet activities at night is very true. When I was in college I would sit in front of the computer until 2, 3am. Now I try to be asleep by midnight, and it takes me at least 15-20 minutes to actually fall asleep, so I'll go lay in bed and read for 45 minutes or so. Having an hour where I'm basically getting ready to sleep, but am not actually trying to fall asleep, helps me tremendously.
Well, for me it's as effective as taking ambien.
And yes, if you do buy melatonin buy the smallest dosage pill you can, then split it in half and take that. The effective dose is minuscule compared to what it's sold as.
You're in good company!
My best method for adjusting sleep schedule backwards is to do it in a gradual and controlled way, along with making sure your actions before going to bed are conducive to rest.
Set your alarm back in increments of 30 minutes each day. E.g. if you got up at 2 pm today, set your alarm for 1:30 pm for tomorrow, then 1 the day after and so on.
9 hours before your alarm will go off, cease any activity involving physical or mentally focused work, and any activity involving bright screens (TV/computer/phone/etc). You have an hour of wind-down time now. Read a non-challenging book, play with a pet, listen to gentle music, stuff like that. If you find yourself just chilling on the couch with your thoughts that's just fine too. If you are bored and antsy and keep thinking of things you need/want to do, keep a notepad handy and just write those things down for tomorrow and keep chilling out. Make sure you feel comfortably well-fed.
8 hours before your alarm goes off, go to bed. And of course, when your alarm does go off, you are up and out of bed without any snooze button shenanigans, and out of the house as soon as possible even if it's just for a 20 minute walk. No naps during the day.
Steam: badger2d
Exercise. If you physically wear yourself out and burn off an excess energy its much easier to goto bed. Just don't exercise too late in the day or it jacks you up. Usually only to the tune of staying up an extra hour or so as your body calms back down though.
Only use your bed for sleeping (or sexing). If you just hang out on your bed all day watching TV or on a laptop, it really messes with your habits. Try to condition yourself so that bed == sleep.
To echo what someone else said, video games, computers and TV keep you up. Video games especially since they fire off addrenaline, followed by TV and internet. Try reading a book before bed. Something light that doesn't require too much thinking.
Masturbate. Seriously. It can help a lot if you rub one out before hitting the sack.
If I think of any more I'll post them.
I was literally on a 10am-5pm sleep schedule. It was stupid. Went on a date with a girl at like 2pm and fell asleep despite the fact I REALLY liked her cause of that schedule. That didnt work out...its hard to justify being that tired at 2pm.
The only way I could break through it was to just NOT go to bed one day. So at 10am when I was feeling sleepy, I just kept myself busy. EVentually like 9pm rolled around and I passed out. Woke up at like 7am and life was good.
Now, I didnt keep this new schedule for long, but it did fix the issue for the time being.
Steam | Live
Eating really effects you circadian rhythm (or so I've heard). So just "do it" one morning get up at 8 or 9 and have breakfast, and then go for a walk. Or, you can get (some form of) responsibilities that start earlier...Dungeons and Dragons really helped me with this, because we would always schedule them for 8 or 9 in the morning on a Saturday.
Because of those issues, I actually spent a year working midnights, getting home at 7AM, passing out by 8, and then waking up and heading to class at 11AM, coming back, napping for a couple hours, and heading back to work.
And then over time, I found that on my days off, I would have the energy to just stay up all day until 10PM or so, wake up at 8AM, and then just kick ass.
So my first recommendation is to pick a day where you have nothing going on, and try to stay up until 10 or 11 PM and do kind of a hard reset.
My second recommendation is for benadryl/tylenol pm. I take one of those, and it knocks out my before-sleep anxiety issues entirely. I've been doing this on and off for about 5 years now, and it always works very well for me.
And then finally, about a year ago, I had a very solid routine before sleep that helped me get to bed. I'd do some stretches, sit ups, and push-ups, then I'd get in bed. I found that, and I know this doesn't work for some people, but if I just chill in bed and watch some TV that doesn't require a lot of attention (talk shows, reruns of things I've seen before), I will crash pretty quickly, especially if done repeatedly at the same time, with the same show.