Sticking to a regular sleep schedule

[Deleted member 658642]

As most of you don’t have a fixed # of hours to work everyday, I’m sure you’ll sympathize with me on this. Sticking to a fixed sleep cycle seems to be the hardest part of not having a 9-5. 5 years ago it wasn’t a problem and I actually preferred having some alone time at 2 AM as I believed that was the quietest time of the day. As time went on, I realized that this wasn’t healthy in the long run and I was beginning to miss the sunlight more and more and people to a lesser extent (yes I realize that this makes me sound like that discord mod who’s never seen the sunlight in days).

I’ve “corrected” my sleep schedule over 4 times in the last month alone but somehow I’m always back to sleeping at 12 PM and waking up at 7-8 PM. Here’s what I’ve tried :

1. Workout + cold showers in the early mornings to really wake me up.
2. A good diet throughout the day.
3. Finishing all my work before the time I’m supposed to go to sleep (sometimes it creeps over).
4. No electronics and fluids past bed time.
5. A tab of melatonin but I don’t think it does jackshit.

I’m obviously not looking for medical advise since this is not the forum for that and I’d much rather book a visitation and get BZDs prescribed but I wanted to know if y’all have any lifestyle modifications that you think may have helped you with having a regular sleep cycle.

 

[lucky.sparks]

It takes more than 30 days to develop a habit. You need more time, 1 month of trying especially when relapsing back is not enough.

For me, - finding a reason helps a lot. I feel way better when waking up 4AM than 12PM. Like a superpower.

Another thing that helped me, ~4AM - 5AM - this is my special time with books and coffee. Sometimes I play aoe2 with a steaming cup of coffee. Make this time special and enjoyable for you and it will be easy to wake up.

Another thing you can do is invest in a smart lightbulb, I have one that cost like 10-15$ and I can setup a schedule on my phone that it will turn on 10-15min before I have to wake up and it will slowly increase the light every 5mins, it helps you to wake up when your deep sleep cycle is ending.

Try to limit your caffeine and other stimuli, I know that for me - if I will use caffeine after 1 PM, I will have a hard time falling asleep 9 PM.

 

[sklavier]

Mine hinges on waking up at a regular time each day (except weekends).

Since I need to get up early anyway this is not a big deal, but during the early parts of the pandemic it was harder to have a regular sleep schedule because I wasn't needing to get up at a particular time. So basically for me it all falls into place once I get up at a consistent time. I'm not easily tempted to stay up late because at that point I'm already tired by the time 10pm rolls around and can easily get to sleep.

 

[SirLouen]

Periodically I do my session of Chronotherapy

https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/chronotherapy-act-3.1340065/
Soon part 4 incoming. I think this forum is the most advanced medical forum about sleeping topics in the world at this point. A think tank on sleeping

 

[mnrfas]

just an idea: can you push for 1 or 2 hours daily your sleeping time for example sleep at 13pm and wake up at 9pm?

 

[Deleted member 658642]

It takes more than 30 days to develop a habit. You need more time, 1 month of trying especially when relapsing back is not enough.

For me, - finding a reason helps a lot. I feel way better when waking up 4AM than 12PM. Like a superpower.

Another thing that helped me, ~4AM - 5AM - this is my special time with books and coffee. Sometimes I play aoe2 with a steaming cup of coffee. Make this time special and enjoyable for you and it will be easy to wake up.

Another thing you can do is invest in a smart lightbulb, I have one that cost like 10-15$ and I can setup a schedule on my phone that it will turn on 10-15min before I have to wake up and it will slowly increase the light every 5mins, it helps you to wake up when your deep sleep cycle is ending.

Try to limit your caffeine and other stimuli, I know that for me - if I will use caffeine after 1 PM, I will have a hard time falling asleep 9 PM.

Awesome pointers. You’re right about having something interesting to do as soon as you wake up. For me, it’s working out or at least it’s supposed to be. I’d like to hear more about the smart lightbulb as this is not an approach I’m familiar with. Is it supposed to mimic the sunlight? A wall mount or a table lamp sort? Got any recommendations?

just an idea: can you push for 1 or 2 hours daily your sleeping time for example sleep at 13pm and wake up at 9pm?

That should be possible and I’ve tried this. Spent about two weeks getting it to the right point only to lose it again after a couple more days. I prefer going the brute force route and trying to fix it overnight but I’ve tried both ways.

 

[Castamir]

As most of you don’t have a fixed # of hours to work everyday, I’m sure you’ll sympathize with me on this. Sticking to a fixed sleep cycle seems to be the hardest part of not having a 9-5. 5 years ago it wasn’t a problem and I actually preferred having some alone time at 2 AM as I believed that was the quietest time of the day. As time went on, I realized that this wasn’t healthy in the long run and I was beginning to miss the sunlight more and more and people to a lesser extent (yes I realize that this makes me sound like that discord mod who’s never seen the sunlight in days).

I’ve “corrected” my sleep schedule over 4 times in the last month alone but somehow I’m always back to sleeping at 12 PM and waking up at 7-8 PM. Here’s what I’ve tried :

1. Workout + cold showers in the early mornings to really wake me up.
2. A good diet throughout the day.
3. Finishing all my work before the time I’m supposed to go to sleep (sometimes it creeps over).
4. No electronics and fluids past bed time.
5. A tab of melatonin but I don’t think it does jackshit.

I’m obviously not looking for medical advise since this is not the forum for that and I’d much rather book a visitation and get BZDs prescribed but I wanted to know if y’all have any lifestyle modifications that you think may have helped you with having a regular sleep cycle.

This man is a doctor. And he's a good man.

 

[HustleTong]

Quit caffeine for a while
Use some sort of natural mood stabilizer like Ashwagandha

 

[Deleted member 658642]

This man is a doctor. And he's a good man.

Thanks brother. You’re a good man as well.

Quit caffeine for a while
Use some sort of natural mood stabilizer like Ashwagandha

I’m already taking ashwagandha for a supposed “performance boost” in the gym but should I quit caffeine entirely? Not even a cup or two of coffee?

 

[lucky.sparks]

Awesome pointers. You’re right about having something interesting to do as soon as you wake up. For me, it’s working out or at least it’s supposed to be. I’d like to hear more about the smart lightbulb as this is not an approach I’m familiar with. Is it supposed to mimic the sunlight? A wall mount or a table lamp sort? Got any recommendations?

I have a few Philips Hue smart lights around the house, you can find them on Amazon and probably other stores as well. There are many cheaper alternatives and I find that they work just as good. Cool stuff is that you can imitate sunlight with them and brightness as well so you do not need to wake up with bright white light but instead of that you will get warm and cozy light that will slowly wake you up.

Another thing you can do is to buy Alexa, she can be then connected with the lights and it will work together like a charm, e.g. if you want to wake up 8AM, setup lights that will slowly startup from 7.30 and that alexa starts to play light music at 7.45 and then something with more energy 7.55.

Thing about waking up is - you need to hit the right cycle. If you will try to wake yourself up when you are in the deep sleep cycle, it will be a real torture, so if you make your morning up time more flexible - the chances you will wake up in a light sleep cycle are higher thus you will open your eyes and feel 100% fresh and full with energy.

I really like it when Alexa tells time and weather right before I have to get up, it somehow turns on my brain.

Another thing, is always wake up at the same time, even if you go to sleep in different times. Force yourself if you have to even that day will be lost in terms of productivity but waking up time must be the same.

 

[HustleTong]

I quit caffeine entirely? Not even a cup or two of coffee?

I've heard rumors that Rabbits act as if they're drunk if they consume too much caffeine

 

[lucky.sparks]

Quit caffeine for a while

This is true. Caffeine must be used as a boost not a solution to tiredness, never ever I would suggest to use caffeine to fix sleepy mood etc.

This differs from person to person but for me - I cant use caffeine 8 hours before my sleep or I will have hard time to turn off my brain.

 

[Yester]

I tried melatonin and It had an opposite effect so I don't recommand it. When I took the pill I wanted to go to sleep, than slept 3-4 hours, woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep until morning.

 

[bartosimpsonio]

For me, light jogging is what does it.

One week jogging very lightly and I sleep like a baby at 8 or 9 pm. Not weight lifting, not anything else, but jogging. Very light jogging BTW. If you do hard exercise ("training" like fitness gurus like tosay) then it might actually have oposite effect. Also if you're able to get like 15 to 20 minutes of sun tan, the sunlight will make your body pump lots of melatonin into your blood, it makes me really sleepy.

Of course this isn't easy to maintain with meetings, family affairs and so on that often break the discipline down. This week I got all sorts of shit to do, which didn't allow me to keep my exercise sleep schedule. So I end up saying fuck it, having a few extra beers and so on.

But I try to stick to the plan most the year, probably 75% of the year I'm able to sleep 8 hrs straight while doing light exercise.

 

[lucky.sparks]

woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep until morning.

I had the same problem with waking up 3-4 hours too fast, especially when was very tired and somehow I rush-sleeped too fast haha. Try to wear warm socks at night, not even joking, it's scientifically proven to decrease chances of waking up in the middle of the night by at least 30%. probably wont work in countries where its hot but here in north europe nights can be cold. Which btw is another thing to sleep better, try to get your room temperature down to 20-21c

 

[Deleted member 658642]

When I took the pill I wanted to go to sleep, than slept 3-4 hours, woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep until morning.

This is exactly what’s happening with me as well lol. I end up waking up at around 4 AM and then it’s just another 4 hours of not being able to sleep all the while being groggy af.

For me, light jogging is what does it.

One week jogging very lightly and I sleep like a baby at 8 or 9 pm. Not weight lifting, not anything else, but jogging. Very light jogging BTW. If you do hard exercise ("training" like fitness gurus like tosay) then it might actually have oposite effect. Also if you're able to get like 15 to 20 minutes of sun tan, the sunlight will make your body pump lots of melatonin into your blood, it makes me really sleepy.

Of course this isn't easy to maintain with meetings, family affairs and so on that often break the discipline down. This week I got all sorts of shit to do, which didn't allow me to keep my exercise sleep schedule. So I end up saying fuck it, having a few extra beers and so on.

But I try to stick to the plan most the year, probably 75% of the year I'm able to sleep 8 hrs straight while doing light exercise.

@Blackhat Lifter would be disappointed that you’re preferring jogging over working out. Unfortunately for me, the only jogging I’ll be able to do is on a treadmill. There’s too much pollution around these parts.

I had the same problem with waking up 3-4 hours too fast, especially when was very tired and somehow I rush-sleeped too fast haha. Try to wear warm socks at night, not even joking, it's scientifically proven to decrease chances of waking up in the middle of the night by at least 30%. probably wont work in countries where its hot but here in north europe nights can be cold. Which btw is another thing to sleep better, try to get your room temperature down to 20-21c

I’m glad you’re posting on here haha. I have the exact same problem of waking too early. It gets cold af here especially with the AC on. Got any other tips on preventing early wake ups other than the socks?

 

[lucky.sparks]

Got any other tips on preventing early wake ups other than the socks?

No, and I tried a lot. Ive noted that a reaaaaaaaly well balanced day can end up with a good night sleep, like - wake up good time, no coffee after 1PM, a walk or jogging, not too much of stress or worries over the day, no work after 5-6PM, some other activities with wife, etc.

But everything must be balanced, if too much stress or disbalance in other things - 2AM and my brain just starts to work even if I still feel tired af.

Then one day I was so desperate that my wife gave me her warm and fluffy socks, you know - ones with raindeers on them and with soft and warm inside. Slept without interruptions and now I've claimed them as my sleeping socks. I'm a 90kg male, in my middle 30ties with looks that wouldn't tell that I have such a secret.

If it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.

 

[Salamouna]

As most of you don’t have a fixed # of hours to work everyday

That's why you are working from home
But when you will have an office it will be like a 9-5 jobs
no we work from 8 to 4
why it's nine five?

 

[Deleted member 731332]

My sleep schedule was very similar to yours for more than half of my life. I absolutely hate that sleep schedule of going to sleep in the late morning and waking up at night. I call that the antisocial schedule.

Somehow I’ve been able to change my sleep schedule recently. I get up at 6am everyday now. I find it much easier to go to sleep if I disconnect from my phone and computer at least an hour before I go to bed. Not even looking at it once. I think it’s because I get bored maybe..?

One thing I do struggle with now is waking up too early. Sometimes I wake up at 4am and can’t go back to sleep. That sucks too because you wind up wanting to go to sleep at 7-8pm. And that’s not ideal either.

Getting up in early the morning is one of the best things I’ve done for myself in a long time, and maintaining that sleep schedule has been critical to me getting my shit together and being productive again. I’ve been unproductive for a few years now on that antisocial/ up all night schedule.

I think it’s also important to note that I completely quit drinking alcohol. Alcohol really screws with my sleep schedule. No alcohol.

I stop drinking caffeine by 4pm.

And the rest I suppose is to stay consistent. It can be really hard to not stay up that extra hour at first. Or stay on the phone/computer just a little longer. Remember you aren’t going to be missing anything. All that stuff will still be there waiting for you in the morning.

 

[Deleted member 731332]

Also you’re not supposed to take melatonin for more than 14 days and you have to turn off ALL OF THE LIGHTS after you take it for melatonin to be effective. No lights especially blue light!