How do I fix my body clock?

[hairyfairy]

Iv`e always had a tendency to strange sleeping patterns, especially when not working. I tend to sleep till about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, then be awake all night. sometimes I seem to sleep too much, at other times too little, not being able to drop off, & ending up very tired & fed up. It`s a real pain if I have an appointment the next day & I`m exhausted from lack of sleep. Is there a way to take control of the sleep/ wake cycle?

[Hidden]

HI Hairy x You could try maybe going ot bed one hour earlier than you usually do, so if you go at 3am as the norm go at 2am and also make sure you get up at a set time so maybe start with say 11am so not deprive yourself of sleep to much, then after a few days go another hour early and get up an hour earlier again your body will soon adjust x If your stuck for sleeping I know Winter pinned a post to the side with some tips x Donver x

[jules2105]

Hi hairyfairy

I have problems with my asleep too but find a sleep routine really helps when my sleeping patterns get out of control. I find it helps to go to bed early at the same time with a chamomile tea and read for half an hour or so. After a few days I get into a pattern and get off to sleep better, I'm still really tied but at least I'm getting some sleep. My dreams are the thing that disturbs my sleep the most

Jules x

[WantToChange]

Hi,

Stop sleeping in the afternoon! It is not good and will fuel your depression. I watched my brother do that and now he is sleeping at more reasonable times. If he can do it then you can too because he was really bad.

Tips:

Don't watch TV before bed (the color and flickering stimulate the brain) so try reading instead,

Don't eat too close to bed time, eat 2-3 hours before bed (how can your body rest properly when it is digesting food?)

Don't drink for two hours before bed (so you don't need to get up, disrupting your pattern)

Don't drink caffeine in the evening (it's not recommended for those with anxiety anyway)

Don't drink alcohol (it stops you from falling into REM which is the deepest stage of sleep)

Don't nap during the day

Eat healthy foods because fatty foods can disrupt body hormones etc.

What is your usual falling asleep time? Go an hour earlier and leave it at that for a couple of days, and then an hour earlier and so on.... Or half an hour in order to take baby steps.

It helps if you have something to get up for so add something into your morning routine like shopping or exercise. And stick to that time because it is too easy to say "I'll get up in 5 mins".

This can be done, I've seen it. It takes will power though because you will feel tired during the day at first and may lack motivation to try (which is why a routine would help you get up at a specific time).

Good luck!

[hairyfairy]

I`m not depressed as such, but it does get me down not having more control over my life & habits. If I was working I`d have a more normal routine.

[TheHistoricalPresent]

There is totally a fix, it's a bit of an investment of time so I do it when I am on vacation from work. (I have a delayed sleep phase issue: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay....

Here's what I do:

Tonight, stay up three hours later than when you usually go to bed (you didn't mention when you go to bed so I can only do this with your wake up time you mentioned), sleep your normal amount (so sleep in 'til 5 or 6 pm),

Next day, stay up 3 hours more than the night before, and you'll be waking up at 8 or 9 pm.

Repeat next day waking up at 11 or 12 am

Next day 2 or 3 am wake up

Next day 5-6 am wake up which is an excellent wake up time for "normal" people, maybe you don;t need to be this early so you can do one more day to shift slightly later (ie: 7 or 8 or whatever works in your life!)

Becasue you are already so shifted it will only take you 5 days to get to a sensible wake up time. It's REALLY helpful to make a chart of your sleep and wake times for those 5 days, trust me!

Once you are normalized you HAVE to commit to not staying up late. there's nothing more annoying than spending the time to do this and then having to pull a late night or all nighter and sending the schedule off again, becasue remember, this isn't you body's optimal schedule so it takes a little more work. This is the ONLY way I have fixed my sleep in a way that made me feel honestly healthy, normal, and improved my mood and anxiety and insomnia BIG time.

OR....approach it from a totally different perspective (especially if you don't have the time to do the other method) This one focusses on your meal times, which has a huge impact on your hormone levels and thus, your sleep. Now, I have never done this method but I think I may try it in combo with the other one as I am due for a reset soon!

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