Sage

Well, I suppose I don't have insomnia per se, but instead a really really wierd sleep pattern. This started about a month ago after I graduated from college- I've just been staying up later and sleeping later, and in the past week and a half this has translated into staying up all night four times, then napping in the day, then getting to sleep around 4am the next morning. I really really hate this- all I want is to be sleepy around 1 and wake up around 9 or 10.

So how do I get my sleep schedule back on track without being a zombie for a day (staying up however many hours in a row)?

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Ustwo

Set an alarm, and have a bad day.

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apeman

basically, yes. although some people do very well with a "power nap" in the middle of the day.

and bright lights and melanin might be of some use if you're trying to reset your clock.

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Siege

This happens because your sleep cycle is out of wack. If you regularly sleep at say... 11pm, your body will normally feel tired at around 11pm. However, if you constantly sleep at random times, you body has no idea when to feel tired, until it really cannot go on.

Like Ustwo said, you're going to have to tough it out for a little while by being in bed by a certain time (even though you'll probably be wide awake for the first few days)

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Pip

I like the zombie method. It works. Don't go to bed in the morning on day one but do something physical, like cleaning the house, and go to bed at 11 like a normal person. Get up at six or seven, stay active through the day, bed at 11. Eat proper regular meals, comb your hair and wear nice clothes even if you just stay at home. Rinse and repeat. The key is to be physically active to work those evil sluggy juices from your body and make you sleep like a baby by the end of the day.

absorbentishe

Eh, just start working 3rds, you'll feel just fine. I still sleep like shit, and I've been on days for about 8 years.

Seeker

I do this to myself all the time. Like Pip and Ustwo said, set your alarm and get up. It takes about 3 days to form a bad habit and the same again to rectify it. So if you do this for 3 or 4 days, you should start to feel back to normal and pretty good.

I find that when I get there, I usually feel so good I start the cycle again.. *sigh* but I can verify it has worked for me repeatedly

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ASU2003

I have this problem too. I don't get tired at night, but I am half asleep at work in the mornings and sometimes even the afternoon. Like today I put my alarm clock on the other side of the room, I didn't feel awake until after 3:45pm. It was my first day getting out of bed at 7am, usually I hit the snooze for an hour or so. It's after midnight now and I am wide awake. I get 4-5 hours of sleep Sun-Thursday (usually 2am or 3am - 7am), and then 11-12 hours of sleep on Fri & Sat. I have found that if I exercise after 9pm, it makes it worse, I would be able to stay awake until 6am or 7am on a non-workday Sat or Sun morning.

It is incredibly hard for me to set a bed time because I feel there is so much stuff to do, and I don't have time to do it all. The Internet is probably the main source of this problem. If I don't have my computer and there is no TV, the time I go to sleep is normal. TiVo fixed my TV problem, but I still use the Internet too much. If I go on vacation and leave all modern technology behind, I'm fine. And this started about the same time I got on the Internet many years ago. These message boards are addicting. So, I'm not sure if this is an Internet addiction problem, or a sleep problem(and I just spend the time I'm awake on the Internet)?

Or should I just move to Hawaii to get on their time zone? I'm not going to complain about that.

Rodney

Yeah, take the pain and get back on track. Though I've known several shift-workers, including my sister, who did well with a five-and-three regimen. They'd get to bed at about 1 or 2 in the morning, wake at six or seven, do stuff, crash in the afternoon for three hours, and then go until 1 or 2 again.

Basically, you've got no schedule right now, no place to be, and you've let your sleep pattern drift into a bad place. Worst case I ever saw was a guy who went to bed later and later until he was crashing at 6 am and waking up at 3 or 4. Lived at home with his parents for years with no job, into his late 30s. He looked more like a vampire than anyone I ever knew.

txd

There was an interesting article recently (which of course I can't find at the moment) which basically said that the majority of people who think they suffer from insomnia in reality don't. If they actually bothered to go to bed (lying down eyes closed, no other distractions) rather than stay up, the majority of the time they'd be sound asleep in no time.

Perhaps something to consider. Although getting the sleeping pattern back in line might take a little bit

cadre

The solution here has already been said, tough it out and your body will adjust. I was diagnosed with insomnia a few years ago and recently it's been getting better but I have my nights. The key is to be active, if you sit around all day you're going to have a hard time sleeping early. One of the bigest things that helps me is working out and running before I sleep (though it's not usually advised right before you sleep). I would suggest trying to wear yourself out one day and go to bed at a normal time, make sure your lights are off and you're comfortable and you should sleep fine. Wake up relatively early and don't take naps. (I am very guilty of the nap thing but it only makes things worse)

G5_Todd

my sleep pattern is fuxx0red do to my job...i work all hours

the only way to get back onto normal hours is to stay up as long as u can

thats what i do.....say if im used to going to bed at 5am....i will stay up till atleast 8-9pm and wake up 6am....

i dont usually fight it thou.....

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thingstodo

Have you tried keeping the same schedule? That, exercise and not eating late helps me. Plus, reading a novel before bed slows my mind better that the activity of TV.

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