Fixing Sleeping Patterns?

[Deleted]

Hi!

Just to give a ground premise ; I am terrible at sleeping scheduels. When i have a job, school or whatever, i can handle my sleeping just fine.

But when i am left to my own devices, i almost ALWAYS rotate towards having a nocturnal cycle, with sleeping during the day, and being up all night.

How does one combat this? :P

[WskyDK]

Have a set wake-up time
Don't ever change it.

[Nanaboostme]

Just gotta be persistent with your personal schedule and habit so it overcomes resistance.

[Pawstruck]

I have the same problem... ultimately, like many things, it's a question of self-discipline. If it becomes important to you to keep a set schedule, you will do so. For me, I don't mind letting myself slip into nocturnal-ish sleep schedules (my cut-off point is 3AM-ish, though). I'm willing to accept the consequential irritation of re-adjustment for school/work.

If you're not, though, I suggest first downloading f.lux - it's a program that changes the blue hues on your computer to more orange-ish ones at sunset. Blue-white light such as that emitted by electronic screens has been shown to trick the brain into thinking it's still daytime... F.lux is a free program that counteracts that. (Ever notice how some pro gamers wear those totally-not-gay-looking orange glasses? Skip that and just get f.lux.)

Regulating your eating patterns also helps. Eating late at night gives you energy, whereas denying those midnight cravings basically gives your body a "screw this, I guess I'll sleep then" feeling.

Finally, stop drinking soda/coffee. Ever. Really though. I gave up soda for Lent last year and never looked back. The amount of sugar, not to mention caffeine, is simply poisonous to a healthy body.

[belfpala]

I hate going to sleep and I hate waking up. But as said above, stick to your schedule. It's more important to wake up at a certain time than it is to fall asleep at a certain time.

Also, there is such a thing as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biphas...lyphasic_sleep . I caused myself unnecessary stress by freaking out that I wasn't sleeping through a night, until I studied my sleep patterns and realized that I sleep in about 2, 4, or 6 hour increments. If I wake up when I shouldn't, now I just get up an do something useful (like, prep my clothes for the day, set up the coffee maker, respond to some emails, read a chapter or two, whatever) then get back to sleep.

[Aggrophobic]

Yeah, I kinda have the same problem.
It's not as bad as it was when I was younger but still, coming back to work after my vacation is going to be harsh.

I have no good suggestions though.

[Arewn]

Are you certain that you rotate towards what is specifically a nocturnal cycle? or does it just rotate in general.
For example, you go to sleep progressively later each night, eventually getting to the point that you are awake all night and sleep during the day. But if you were to allow this to continue long enough, would you eventually find your schedule continues to rotate; staying up through the morning and sleeping in the afternoon, then staying up till the afternoon and sleeping in the evening, and eventually going full circle and staying up during the day and sleeping all night.

I've noticed this tends to happen to people without fixed schedules in their daily life (myself included at some point). The day only has 24 hours and you, for example, end up staying awake for 17 because you're driven by your hobby and a lack of responsibility to adhere to the next day, then sleeping for 8 hours (25 hours total). Which would progressively rotate your schedule by an hour each day.
But this doesn't go on long enough to rotate beyond the nocturnal phase. Some time sensitive responsibility pops up that you need to tend to, resetting the cycle and leaving you with the impression of "oh, I tend to be awake at night when left to my own devices". Or daybreak is a mental "line in the sand" for some people, where they think "Okay I HAVE to get to bed now, the next day is starting".

Assuming the above, you unfortunately just have to be stricter with yourself. Either set an alarm in the morning and make sure you don't ignore it. Or pick a "bed time", and then try to start winding down an hour or two before then so that you can get yourself to sleep.

This is just my personal observations and experience.

[Kokolums]

Watching a movie I've already seen and am only half interested in usually knocks me right out.

[Detritivores]

If you have no job or school, why are you trying to "combat" your sleep cycle? Some of my happiest memories are times I had no job, school, or significant other to report to and just operated on my own intermittently nocturnal schedule.

Human physiology, left unshackled by reality, functions on roughly a 25 hour day. Which is why most people deem themselves "nocturnal" when given a small period of time unconstrained by social norms of work days etc.

If you truly want to avoid it, just set schedules and alarms. But I keep going back to the question of why you even care.

[Deleted]

Are you certain that you rotate towards what is specifically a nocturnal cycle? or does it just rotate in general.
For example, you go to sleep progressively later each night, eventually getting to the point that you are awake all night and sleep during the day. But if you were to allow this to continue long enough, would you eventually find your schedule continues to rotate; staying up through the morning and sleeping in the afternoon, then staying up till the afternoon and sleeping in the evening, and eventually going full circle and staying up during the day and sleeping all night.

I've noticed this tends to happen to people without fixed schedules in their daily life (myself included at some point). The day only has 24 hours and you, for example, end up staying awake for 17 because you're driven by your hobby and a lack of responsibility to adhere to the next day, then sleeping for 8 hours (25 hours total). Which would progressively rotate your schedule by an hour each day.
But this doesn't go on long enough to rotate beyond the nocturnal phase. Some time sensitive responsibility pops up that you need to tend to, resetting the cycle and leaving you with the impression of "oh, I tend to be awake at night when left to my own devices". Or daybreak is a mental "line in the sand" for some people, where they think "Okay I HAVE to get to bed now, the next day is starting".

Assuming the above, you unfortunately just have to be stricter with yourself. Either set an alarm in the morning and make sure you don't ignore it. Or pick a "bed time", and then try to start winding down an hour or two before then so that you can get yourself to sleep.

This is just my personal observations and experience.

Usually, for my part, as far as i can tell, it has very much to do with work burden.

If i have a active work burden, i.e, i have something to do and i find purpose in that ; Then i usually can hold myself to the pattern, because there is a necessity of holding a standard.

But when i don't have that, i generally just don't have it - Because, much like you say, i feel like there is no reason to adhere to the coming day.

I still manage to do hard resets, when i have to adjust, of course, but outside of that, i am terrible at it - from the responses i read in this thread, i am assuming it's a combination of sitting by my computer a lot (I do a lot of Programming and Game/Youtube) - and just not having a necessity of pattern.

And it is sort of more along the line of "Pushing it a little every time", i suppose, seeing how i end up in the mire of watching youtubes to wind down, but end up watching too many or what not, cause, you know, fudge it.

There is also the accounting factor of that i tend to do TOO MUCH of things, i was given the chanse to see programming material that i am to work with and use in my line of work, but i ended up doing 5 months of total work, in the span of about 10-15 days.

You know, having written this post, i realize, the problem is kinda obvious, haha :P

- - - Updated - - -

If you have no job or school, why are you trying to "combat" your sleep cycle? Some of my happiest memories are times I had no job, school, or significant other to report to and just operated on my own intermittently nocturnal schedule.

Human physiology, left unshackled by reality, functions on roughly a 25 hour day. Which is why most people deem themselves "nocturnal" when given a small period of time unconstrained by social norms of work days etc.

If you truly want to avoid it, just set schedules and alarms. But I keep going back to the question of why you even care.

Cause i have upcoming work/school, amongst other RL duties.

[belfpala]

Cause i have upcoming work/school, amongst other RL duties.

Check up on jet lag.

[AeneasBK]

Have a set wake-up time
Don't ever change it.

Also, do more exercise if you can be arsed (depends how much yuo care about the sleep pattern). When I was ble to just sit infront of my computer for most of the day; I found it harder to get to sleep until I "felt tired". Now I am getting more exercise it is easier to "put myself to bed" and actually fall asleep

Insomnia sucks.

[Independent voter]

They observed primitive humans around the world and found that the majority had three periods of sleep, the evening sleep which was the deepest one, waking up around midnight, the after midnight sleep, and the noonday nap.

[belfpala]

They observed primitive humans around the world and found that the majority had three periods of sleep, the evening sleep which was the deepest one, waking up around midnight, the after midnight sleep, and the noonday nap.

Posted above. Bifurcated or segmented sleep. It was pretty normal up until the early Industrial era.

[Celista]

Choose one day when you don't have work/school/etc and stay up late/get up early and go to bed on time. You'll feel like shit but it will fix your sleep cycle...some people take melatonin to help them sleep, I like GABA (I sometimes wake up in between REM cycles; GABA helps keep me asleep).

[Detritivores]

Cause i have upcoming work/school, amongst other RL duties.

Well then you have to fight it with hard bedtimes and alarms in the AM. Just understand that your tendency toward being "nocturnal" is completely normal.

Normal sleep hygiene stuff helps. No electronics for an hour before bedtime, no TV in your bedroom, no stimulants, no booze, no naps, exercise more, etc. Just google "sleep hygiene" and do all of that. Should help.

- - - Updated - - -

They observed primitive humans around the world and found that the majority had three periods of sleep, the evening sleep which was the deepest one, waking up around midnight, the after midnight sleep, and the noonday nap.

My greatest frustration with modern civilization is that we non-Spaniards ignore the necessity of the siesta...

[Replica]

Just get up...?

Idk how people have nocturnal sleep cycles, even when I was doing nothing besides school I would stay up until 3-4am, and get up @ 9.


Stop being weak, its just a mindset.

[Detritivores]

Choose one day when you don't have work/school/etc and stay up late/get up early and go to bed on time. You'll feel like shit but it will fix your sleep cycle...some people take melatonin to help them sleep, I like GABA (I sometimes wake up in between REM cycles; GABA helps keep me asleep).

Would you care to elaborate on this GABA use? I'm not familiar with it. (I understand what it is. I just didn't know you could "take" it.)

- - - Updated - - -

Just get up...?

Idk how people have nocturnal sleep cycles, even when I was doing nothing besides school I would stay up until 3-4am, and get up @ 9.


Stop being weak, its just a mindset.

And then once a week you would collapse and sleep for like 18 hours. You aren't strong or different. You just beat your body down most days and paid for it later. I do that all the time. But I don't condescend at people who just want normal sleep patterns.

[Azadina]

Hi!

Just to give a ground premise ; I am terrible at sleeping scheduels. When i have a job, school or whatever, i can handle my sleeping just fine.

But when i am left to my own devices, i almost ALWAYS rotate towards having a nocturnal cycle, with sleeping during the day, and being up all night.

How does one combat this? :P

Let me know if you find out I could use it too. Went to bed at 3 and got up at 6....Probably sleeping more later in the day again D:

One problem I have is that it's summer, and I can't sleep well if it's infernally hot in the room, like it is.

[Dakara]

Become a Shift worker and just embrace it