How do I change my sleep cycle?

August 26, 2010 3:36 AM

I need help feeling sleepy earlier in the evening and feeling awake earlier in the morning!

The special snowflake part of this question is that I have really busy evenings and it takes me a couple of hours to wind down afterwards so I'm not sleepy till about 1 or 2am. I have after-work commitments about 3 times a week and I also have a busy social life (which I love) so I'm often home late. Oh and the evening is also when I get my work-out in.

I like to have an hour or so to myself, regrouping, emailing, pottering around etc, after a busy night, before I go to bed. I just don't feel sleepy before that.

But it's this that is causing me to go to bed late. Certain changes in my work environment dictate that I must get to work about an hour earlier, and balancing out the late nights with earlier mornings is making me feel truly AWFUL.

tl;dr: Is there anyway I can just feel ready for bed earlier? Or feel like less of a zombie all day if I wake up a bit earlier?

Please don't recommend alcohol or sleeping medications, thanks!

posted by Ziggy500 to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

Response by poster: And, I've seen the other sleep questions on Askmefi, many of which seem to be from people who go to bed late because they're on the internet. The internet is not really my problem, hence the separate question; but I just thought I'd mention it before people got annoyed at another "can't sleep" question.
posted by Ziggy500 at 3:44 AM on August 26, 2010

It would help to know what your actual schedule is: what time you typically get home, when you eat, the hour you consume your last caffeinated or alcoholic beverage (or smoke), how intense the workout is and when you start/stop it, etc.

Until then the best I can say is you almost certainly have to shift some of this evening stuff to the weekend (or maybe the mornings.) As an interim measure, drink some water when you first get up and see if it helps with the feeling lousy, and make sure to eat some breakfast.
posted by SMPA at 3:53 AM on August 26, 2010

The brain learns that it's time to go to sleep by a lowering of the energy demand. If you're doing things that requite attention and focus and awareness, then your brain will try to provide you with those things. It won't suddenly switch off from that, because it needs time to "cool down". If you want to be sleepy earlier, do less.

As for getting up earlier, get up at the same time every day of the week. No sleeping in on the weekends, no napping. It might take a while, but eventually you'll adjust your sleep cycle to be awake in the mornings and sleepy at night. That will mean you have less energy at night, but that's the tradeoff.
posted by Solomon at 4:28 AM on August 26, 2010 [3 favorites]

well, first, it sounds like you're doing all kinds of activities that encourage you to stay awake late at night. for example, are you able to move your workout till the morning? this will help you feel alert early in the day, and you might have an easier time sleeping if you aren't working out at night.

also, it sounds like your circadian rhythm could be causing you to go to bed late and wake up late. you can change it, but it takes a bit of time. i use this blue light box in the mornings and i have found that it helps me feel more alert, and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

good luck!
posted by andreapandrea at 4:30 AM on August 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

Lots of fresh air. I typically go to bed at 11 or later and when I'm on a camping holiday I often fall asleep before 9, even without doing that much physically during the day.
posted by cronholio at 5:22 AM on August 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

This works for my husband, but not me- He takes a warm shower for at least 10 min, then falls into bed with just a sheet on. He swears that it is the temperature difference that tricks his body into thinking its sleep time. Good luck!
posted by Nickel Pickle at 6:30 AM on August 26, 2010 [3 favorites]

I found that the best way was to just force yourself to get up early and work out (it will take dragging yourself out of bed for probably 3 weeks - that second - fourth mornings will probably be the worst) and you'll be tired earlier. Key for me is the exercise, though, because exercising at night will give you a little boost of energy and delay your sleep (as it will give you a boost in the morning!).
posted by Pax at 6:42 AM on August 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

Lighting is key. lower the lights as evening progresses then get as much bright light (preferably natural) as possible in the morning. Also, you should do some basic stretching before bed, especially hamstrings and back, will loosen your muscles and signal to your body it's time for bed. Absolutely move your real workouts to the morning, or at least 3 hours before bed, it will keep you up otherwise.
posted by the foreground at 7:08 AM on August 26, 2010

Lower the lights, as mentioned above. Also, install this on your computers so that your screen isn't keeping you in 'day mode.' And set up a light, next to your bed on a timer to turn on 30-40 minutes before you want to wake up in the morning. I have one next to me that turns on and off on a timer every day and some plants under it. It simulates being woken up by the sunrise (which this time of year, depending on which part of the world you're in, can start to be later or just darker). I wouldn't suggest any prescription or over the counter sleeping medications, but I would suggest trying to increase your intake of the amino acid L-Tryptophan, you can do this through food sources or as a supplement.
posted by jardinier at 7:28 AM on August 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

Waking up to natural sunlight and fresh air will make a big difference. If your schedule can tolerate it, I've always enjoyed the routine of: wake up, brush teeth and wash face, go for a brisk walk, come home and shower (usually to rationalize the walk I pick up a cup of coffee or a piece of fruit). It takes about 15 minutes but by the time you get back you'll probably feel pretty alert (especially if you get that cup of coffee).

Exercising at night can work for some -- personally I like to exercise immediately after work. That leaves about four hours in which to "come down" from a workout, and leaves me feeling good and tired instead of wound up at bedtime.

However, the fact remains that you seem to be working one extra hour in the morning, and that time has to come from somewhere. You've decided that you can't sacrifice your leisure time so you've decided to sleep less, and few things will resolve the fact that sleeping less makes you more tired.
posted by telegraph at 8:06 AM on August 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you only have to wake up an hour earlier, can you adjust your nighttime activities so that you get home an hour earlier? I would guess that it's mostly your social life, not your commitments, that's keeping you out so late. You don't have to give up the social life you love to get more sleep, but bowing out a little early when you need to may make all the difference.
posted by spinto at 10:19 AM on August 26, 2010

I let my sleep pattern get totally out of whack for a while, and each time I tried to fix it, I only made matters worse. I was going to bed at 2 AM. Sometimes later.. GASP! I'd then force myself to go to bed at 11, but I'd just lie in bed, mad at myself for not being able to fall asleep.

Remember the movie What About Bob? "Baby step onto the elevator... baby step into the elevator... I'm *in* the elevator!" Baby steps are your friend. Baby steps and a calendar perhaps.

For now, just accept that you go to bed at 2 AM.
Starting Sunday night, go to bed at 1:45. It's just 15 minutes earlier, so it's not a big change.
Next Sunday, start going to bed at 1:30. It's just 15 minutes earlier...
The NEXT Sunday, start going to bed at 1:15. It's just.........
A week later, you'll be going to bed at 1 AM instead of 2 AM. Hey, that's an hour earlier!

Baby steps to a decent bedtime. Baby steps to a decent bedtime. You're IN BED at a decent bedtime!
posted by 2oh1 at 10:39 AM on August 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

I had some success gradually moving up my bedtime with a sleep doc's advice to take 3 mg of melatonin 5 hrs before bed (not the 30 minutes it said on the bottle). Every week, shift bedtime 15-30 minutes earlier, and track your sleep habits (time to bed, time to fall asleep, wakeup time, plus any time spent awake during the night). It helps to see progress over a course of weeks. It's not always apparent that your habits are changing. Good luck!
posted by sapere aude at 10:27 PM on August 26, 2010