They Say

[swestrup]

"They" say that, in order to regulate your sleeping, you should try to go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up the same time every morning, no matter what.  This has never worked for me, but I've decided to try it, yet again, as I've run out of other ideas. So, for now, I'm going to try going to bed at Midnight every night, and waking up at 9:00 am.

So far, its not working so good. I got about 4 hours sleep last night, and I'm going to have to have a nap this afternoon if I'm to function at all, even a bit. If past experience is any gauge, I'll keep this up for a week or two until I'm so sleep deprived I'll be unable to hold a conversation and will be nodding off between words during the afternoon, and I STILL won't be able to fall asleep and wake up on a schedule.

Comments

[lasher.livejournal.com]

I have a few ideas for you.. which of course you can take or leave. But my cousin and I have both been through very significant sleep problems and these often helped us (though she ultimately ended up with a perscription to help her as well)

It will most likely take a while.. maybe a couple of weeks... before you are used to this new bedtime / waking cycle. However, it *shouldn't* be as bad as it is now the entire time. i.e. it should get easier as you go.

I would caution against taking a nap longer than 30-45 minutes as it will disrupt what you are trying to achieve because your body will get used to the sleeping in the middle of the day and never adapt to sleeping from midnight to 9AM.

Some other things to try, to add to your attempts at a midnight to 9am routine are: a warm shower just before bed. Don't drink caffenated or sugared drinks w/ 2 hours of bed. Try reading a fiction book for about 15 minutes before bed... or even meditating while laying down to try t oforce your mind to relax... instead of watching TV.

If you comibine enough of those together... *maybe* something will finally work for you. If not, well, I would recommend a doctor as you seem to really really have sleep problems. You might have sleep apnea which can wreck havoc on your sleep - but can also pose significant general health risks.

Good luck.

[swestrup]

"Some other things to try, to add to your attempts at a midnight to 9am routine are: a warm shower just before bed. Don't drink caffeinated or sugared drinks w/ 2 hours of bed. Try reading a fiction book for about 15 minutes before bed... or even meditating while laying down to try to force your mind to relax... instead of watching TV."

Thanks for the advice, but I've tried all of these in the past. In fact, all of them except for the warm shower have been parts of my nightly routines.

[tjernobyl.livejournal.com]

Have you considered a non-diurnal schedule? In the past I've found that, absent any fixed daily commitments, I tend to live on a 25-hour clock.

[swestrup]

Yes, at one point I was on a 28-hour day and that worked out quite well sleep-wise. It played hell with my ability to socialize though.