It's now 4:20 and I don't feel tired at all yet. Today I got out of bed at 5 PM. I really need to get out of this cycle... what do u usually do? Stay up and go to bed early the next day? Or go to bed when tired and force yourself to get up at a reasonable time?
4:20? You're obviously not in Houston. (I'm not as dumb as I look) Seriously, try this: No kidding, this stuff will knock you out and get you back on schedule. I always have a bottle for those Sunday nights when I can't fall asleep.
I have to agree with NyQuil as one way to jolt yourself back to reality. One thing that screws my sleep pattern is eating (especially something close to a full meal) in the few hours before you want to sleep. Other than NyQuil I will either pull an all-nighter where I will stay up for more than a day, or try to sleep for under 3 hours to get myself back on track. Unfortunately, I am a night owl at heart and whenever I have to pull the early morning shift it gets hard.
I think I will stay up, seeing I can't exactly find a shop open at this time of night (I'm in Britain, hardly any 24 hour shops here). Time goes quite slow at 5 in the morning...
I've been going to the gym loads these past weeks followed by football. It doesn't get me tired enough. I guess I will try by not going to bed AND playing sport the next day. That should kill me for 9 PM.
All-nighters are easy, just don't trick yourself into laying down and resting your eyes for the last 45 minutes before you have to get up. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep. Hypnocil helps.
Ace- When are you working out. I had problems when I exercised late int he day (especially cardio). Problem is if you work outr before bed it is very hard for you to relax. Again I don't knwo the facts but if you're working out before bed then you may want to adjust your schedule!
If you're trying to get on a "normal" sleep/awake schedule, here are a few tips... 1) Learn how much sleep your body needs. Some people need 10 hours. some people need 4 hours. Put yourself to bed at an appropriate hour for you to get that much sleep. Set a bedtime for yourself. It may sound childish, but it works. 2) Do not consume any stimulants after noon. No caffiene of any kind (no soda, coffee, or tea after noon). If you have to drink soda, drink a caffiene free root beer or 7up (I hate root beer, but it satisfies my thirst without caffiene). 3) Reduce your evening activity. Try not to do anything that will get your mind racing. Just veg out and watch TV. Do NOT get on the computer in the evening. You'll sit at the computer and, before you know it, it's 2 am (or later). 4) If you lie in bed wide awake, build a mental exercise that will help you fall asleep. Here's mine: I imagine that I'm playing a round of golf. I start with maybe a par 5. I think about what club to use. I imagine my shot. Then I imagine my next shot. Etc. I'm asleep by the 3rd hole. This may not work if you're not a golf fan, but you can apply the same pattern to something you like. 5) Eat healthier and at more "normal" times (i.e. breakfast in the morning, lunch in mid-day, dinner in the evening). Do not stray from this eating plan, and do not eat between meals (it throws off your body clock and may give you energy at times when you don't want it). 6) Exercise in the morning or mid-day. Exercising at night might get you worked up at a time when you should be settling down. It burns energy (energy that might be keeping you awake), and it's just a healthy thing to do. You don't have to be a fitness nut. Just do some kind of exercise regularly. It's better than none at all. 7) Stay awake during the day. Force yourself to wake at sunrise and force yourself to stay awake all day. Repeat this over and over. This part takes a lot of discipline. If you're not a morning person, here's a good way to get yourself out of bed in the morning: set your alarm to ring really loud in the morning. When it goes off, force yourself to sit up on the side of your bed. Don't stand up until you're ready, but don't lay back down either. Just sit there, try to open your eyes, and just wait til you feel like you can stand. Take it slow. 8) Be patient with the steps above. Your body doesn't just leave existing habits quickly and easily. If you follow the steps above, you will, at times, be hungry, tired, wired, energetic, acheing, and just plain miserable. It will take weeks or months for you to get your body into a different schedule. OR... Ignore all the steps above and just have a kid. -- droxford
I had this same problem during summer break. Awake till 4 or 5 and slept till 2-3pm. One day, I tried to reset my clock by staying up and despite me nearly falling asleep several times, I just ended up making up the sleep I missed by sleeping even later the next day. I guess the thing that "worked" for me was my parents told me go to sleep at like 10 or 11pm the day before school. I still didn't fall asleep till like 3 or 4 but the next day I was so tired after school that by 10pm I was happy to go to sleep. I remember sleeping at like 8:30 or 9pm last year. I usually get about 8 hrs of sleep a day, 10 till 6 am. Man, the night before school always sucks for me. I always stay up for like 3 or 4 hrs in bed. I need to get drunk on some Nyquil.
A buddy of mine got thrown out of the Air Force Academy from drinking Nyquil. Anyways...I usually have to slowly adjust myself back to normal sleeping patterns. In college I could get normal in a couple of days, now it takes me a week to get back into normal times after being on call.
