Body Clock

[Krazychic 3,311]

Over the past few years I've disrupted my sleeping habits to becoming quite nocturnal, infact averaging anywhere from 3 - 5 hours of sleep per night. In the past week i saw 10 hours over 4 days. While I function well with lack of sleep I'm wanting to revert back to getting a full nights sleep but am failing to do so. I find myself retiring early only to wake up early and not being able to return to sleep.

I know I've suggested melatonin here before but I don't have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep for the hours I get.

Any suggestions welcome?

[Nobsi 54]

One thing i always hear is that you should try to go camping for 1 or 2 weeks.  

The reasoning behind this is that your body will go to sleep and wake up around the time the sun goes down and comes back up again.

Kind of like a "body clock hard reset".

But i dont get why you would want to go back to sleeping too much.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Nobsi

[Pra3tor1an 1,234]

As a person who's suffered from insomnia, I found getting my circadian rhythm back was quite difficult. The way I did it was by Having a soak in the bath with herbal bath salts, then going to bed I would listening to classical music and making sure the room was dark ( even used a mask over my eyes.)

 

Although now I work shifts, I can still get quite a good amount of sleep still.

[Skeezix the Cat 3,089]

I'm in a similar boat, but perform *terribly* if I don't sleep enough.  In fact, I usually need 9 to 10 hours.  It's KINDA pissing me off because I hate wasting time sleeping.  If I only get 7 or 8 hours, I'll usually be fine mentally for the most part but still yawn constantly.  6 hours of good sleep and I'll be coherent but in a permanent state of inhaling/exhaling from my gaping mouth, and 5 hours or less don't even bother trying to talk to me because I won't be able to hold a conversation with you.  I would be happy if I could actually sleep before 5 AM, and need only 6-7 hours instead of 9-10.  Honestly I don't mind staying up late.  I love staying up late.  It's the getting up late I can't stand.

[Calypso 320]

I have the same problem as all of you. I'm burdened with incontinent insomnia when I'm working, and when I'm not I stay up all night being the party (browsing maymays). It means I always look like a zombie.

Whenever it gets too bad I take doxylamine, which works wonders. Out like a light. I'm normally out for about 7 - 9 hours if no one wakes me. That's honestly the only solution I can say works for me, and I've tried melatonin and other sleeping supplements. I'm not sure if you can get it in the US, though.

[TCK 2,164]

Well your body isn't going to let you sleep if you haven't spent any energy. I'd say you should do something extremely physical for a few hours a day, at least until you're used to falling asleep and staying asleep; anything outdoors that makes you sore is good enough.

 

I have the same thing as Skeez, I usually prefer 10 hours of sleep; I've been known to take 14 hours when I can get it, but less than 10 feels like death. Though I've actually never had any trouble sleeping. I've always had trouble with going back to bed in the middle of the day, on my days off work I just can't resist it.

[Krazychic 3,311]

Interesting so many have sleep issues.

 

I could catch an hour or 2 during the day which sets me up for an all nighter or a shit nights sleep if I do go early.  I am active enough during the day so that's not an issue.

My problem is more that I know I need the sleep, I want the sleep and I go but only sleep short periods.

 

 

One thing i always hear is that you should try to go camping for 1 or 2 weeks.  

The reasoning behind this is that your body will go to sleep and wake up around the time the sun goes down and comes back up again.

Kind of like a "body clock hard reset".

But i dont get why you would want to go back to sleeping too much.

 

Two weeks camping sounds great but to get away is impossible for me now.  I want to go back to sleeping more because I now can, without feeling guilt, and I need the energy to keep up with my kids.

[Weps 1,378]

Many people make the mistake of assuming that insomnia is only having trouble getting to sleep, when in fact there are multiple types of insomnia and an individual can suffer from more than one. 

 

http://sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/content/what-are-different-types-insomnia

 

http://sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/content/diagnosis

[Kavawuvi 7,026]

I can sleep for 7-8 hours normally. My main issue is just getting to bed at a reasonable time. I often go to bed at 3 AM to 4 AM. Last summer, it was much worse, as I would often stay up until 6 AM, when the sun would start rising. 

 

 

Sometimes I'll even stay up the whole night if I'm working on something and just go to bed at 7:30 AM and get up at 12 PM. I'm functional even with 4.5 hours of sleep and having stayed up all night, but I'll end up getting very tired quickly after 10pm.

Edited April 17, 2015 by 002

[Krazychic 3,311]

Last summer, it was much worse, as I would often stay up until 6 AM, when the sun would start rising.

 

 

That's coz you stayed up playing War Thunder with Tucker