Messed up sleep pattern for extended period of time - how to fix?

[satya]

Don't take a nap. Exercise instead. Go to the gym. Whatever. Move. Do something else. Don't go on the Internet. Go out to eat. Change the routine. Mix it up.

Do you have an alarm clock? Try setting it [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] If you get up earlier you will be tired later on when you want to stay asleep.

I sometimes have this thing where I wake up every 20 freaking minutes and feel like total crap the next day. The Melatonin helps me stay asleep a bit better. I just wouldn't take it for too long. I'll only take it for 2 or 3 nights in a row.

[Python49]

im in college and almost everyone i know goes to sleep around 4-5am and wakes up at 1-2pm during the day... i thought this was normal for college students and people our age =/

[Simplistic]

your body has a natural clock and once you get into specific sleep habits they can be difficult to change. if you want to change your habits force yourself to stay awake during your normal nap time, you can also try going to bed one hour earlier for a few days, rinse and repeat until you achieve the desired effect.

as the the poster who said something about how western civilization has it wrong, actually your body goes through stages of sleep, I believe a complete cycle is approximately 3.5-4 hours long, hence the optimal time to sleep is 7-8 hours, allowing you to complete two cycles.

[TStoneMBD]

[ QUOTE ]
Just to inform about regular sleeping cycles, the regular sleeping cycle of individuals who do not live in an artificially lit environment is to sleep about 5-6 hours in a night, daily activities, eat around 5-6ish, nap for 2-3 hours, and stay up being active until around 1 A.M. That is the regular human sleep cycle. Sadly no one in western society seems to recognize that (Why do you think there are so many depression and fatigue syndromes in western civilization?)

I bet you never thought that you were the oddball who happened to be doing it nature's way, while the rest of us suckers abide to civilized standards of sleep instead of nature's standards.

[/ QUOTE ]


this sounds right to me although i of course dont know much about the subject. however, im curious, why is it that artificial light alters your body's natural sleep schedule?

[KnightEnder]

I have the exact same problem. So does my mom and youngest son. Some peoples clocks (cyrcadian rythims) are just different and the US world isn't made for us.

The only thing I've found that works in breaking the cycle is; staying up all night and the next day, and then going to sleep a couple of hours earlier than you want to be your regular time go to sleep time. Say go to bed at 9pm the day you stay up all day if you want to start going to bed at 11pm on a regular basis.

By not sleeping the whole day before, you will be sleepy enough and able to go to sleep and sleep through the night, and the extra two hours will help make up for the sleep you missed so you want be so dead tired the next morning when you wake up at your target time. (Having the sun shining in your room helps as does music or the smell of coffee brewing, if you have an automatic coffee maker.)

Also, don't think when you wake up, just automatically get out of bed and go get in the shower. Anything you can do for three weeks in a row becomes a habit. But instead of thinking of three weeks try telling yourself "I can do it today! One day at a time." "What one man can do another can do!" Good luck.

KE

[Aver-aging]

It's because your pineal gland, which secretes melatonin, the chemical that induces you to sleep/wake up, is influenced by the light in the environment. At times when you aren't exposed to light, it starts its release of melatonin, which makes you tired. When you are in light though, it disrupts the melatonin from being released in the right amount. The pineal gland adjusts to two things; light and pattern. That's why people still manage to fall asleep even in light, because they train themselves to do it. However, those people who do that never get a full rest like people who train themselves to sleep in a rhythm that moves with the length of sunlight in the days.

[Aver-aging]

Not quite. Siesta (not sure on the spelling there) is actually done in mid-day (1 P.M. to 3 P.M.) because that is the hottest time of day there, and its just plain hard to function when the heat is unbearable. The natural cycle is one where people usually fall asleep later in the day for a couple of hours (5-7).

[Aver-aging]

[ QUOTE ]

as the the poster who said something about how western civilization has it wrong, actually your body goes through stages of sleep, I believe a complete cycle is approximately 3.5-4 hours long, hence the optimal time to sleep is 7-8 hours, allowing you to complete two cycles.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, but as I was saying, the way people do it in societies where they abide by natural sunlight alone, is that they seperate each cycle, instead of mushing them together. Not to mention, studies have shown that people who live in those societies tend to get much better sleeps, and usually have more energy in the day than the average joe in our society.

[five4suited]

Michelangelo took two 3 hour naps per day, and he designed a helicopter! During the Renaissance.

[HubertCumberdale]

Related question:

I set my alarm for 8 am every morning and almost every morning I wake up at 7:59, just in time to hear my alarm go off about 30 seconds to a minute later.

Why is this?