[AlfilRey]

Yeah, I have the same problem. I'm nocturnal by nature, so I will rarely find myself asleep before 1 or 2am, and although this in itself could be more or less ok (wake up at 10am the next day -- more or less civilised) the problem is some days you get distracted and it's 5am before you know it and you're still wide awake. The next day you're up at 2pm and the cycle continues and worsens.

It's an issue I haven't really "solved" yet for myself, so I won't give too much advice, but:

1. I find that usually when I stay up till really late, it's because I'm on the computer, even if I'm not playing poker. Perhaps consider doing activities that don't make you "hyper", such as reading. Personally I find that when I read at night, I quickly become drowsy and ready to go to sleep soon. You could also just force yourself, at a particular hour, to lie in bed with the lights off. It's boring as hell, but after 20-30 mins of this, you should fall asleep.

2. Going out at night presents a bigger problem, as you often won't have much of a choice but to arrive home at 3,4am or later. The next day is gonna be a mess. Unfortunately, you can't take the same approach as some 9-5 guys, and just put the alarm clock for 8am anyway and put in your hours, as more likely than not you will be putting in 6 or 7 hours of seriously -EV play if you're severely sleep deprived.

Suggestion for this problem:

You said you put in 900 hours last year. That's 17 hours every week. 9-5 = 8 hours a day. Of which you might say 6.5 hrs of actual play. Do this 5 days a week and you have 32.5 hours. That's almost twice as much as you put in last year. You can still go out friday evening with no concerns for a schedule, and saturday. If you wake up on Sunday at 3pm though, it's gonna be tough to be in bed at a reasonable hour for the Monday 9am start. Maybe delay the monday start by an hour, such that you "work" from 10am onwards. Consider that you need 8 hrs of sleep, and just realise that all you gotta do is be in bed for 2am. That's not so bad, even if you woke up very late. Just do things that day that tire you out a bit more. Go for a run, go for a swim, do some weights. A hardcore exercise session will make it easier to get to sleep the next day.

It's never gonna be easy to balance poker with a normal routine, and ultimately you're gonna need a heck of a lot of discipline. You just gotta consider what you prefer --- taking the convenient approach and remaining mediocre, or making sacrifices in order to achieve your potential and bring some structure into your life?

Your choice.