[not a morning person-filter] how do you force yourself to go to bed when you're not tired and how do you get up when you are?

krautland — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:04:17 -0800

[not a morning person-filter] how do you force yourself to go to bed when you're not tired and how do you get up when you are? I am nocturnal and it's beginning to hurt me.

you know there is a problem when people at work smile and say you're just not a morning person. especially when they're right. I find it tough to fall asleep when I'm not really tired and nearly impossible to rise when I still am. the problem is that if I get tired tonight at midnight, it'll be three am tomorrow, perhaps five am the next night and to top it all off, I'm the kind of guy who can sleep twelve hours without waking up once. I need to force myself into a rhythm better suited for a professional life. even if I get a lot of work done at night (when the phones stop ringing), I need to make sure people see me as dependable for early morning meetings.

thus a threefold question:

(1) how do you get yourself to sleep when you have to but aren't tired? if you can recommend over-the-counter drugs for the occasional really important day, both to fall asleep and wake up, please let me know.

(2) how do you get yourself back onto a rise-and-shine-at-nine clock when you've been up to five in the morning that whole week? how do you get it done fast? forcing myself to rise when I am not awake seems to result in me going through the day on auto-pilot. I don't have many ideas in that state and that's a problem.

(3) what are your tricks for not oversleeping, forcing yourself out of bed when it's really hard?

caveat: I do not drink coffee and red bull, while effective, is tough on my stomach.

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[not a morning person-filter] how do you force yourself to go to bed when you're not tired and how do you get up when you are?