Sleep Advice -

[Watcher]

I need some advice with regard to sleep.

I knocked my sleep schedule out of whack a few months back when I did graveyard shifts for a gas station. Since then my sleep schedule has ranged but I haven't been able to consistently wake up in the morning without running on maybe 4 hours of sleep. It's really started to affect all aspects of my life.

I want to shift it properly but I don't really know how to. I'm tempted to go to a clinic and get prescribed something but I'd rather do it naturally.

 

[Surtur]

You need a sweetheart to fix your biological clock.

 

[Foulmouth]

I had this problem many years back due to working rotating shifts (2 weeks days,2 weeks evenings,2 weeks nights) and my trick was to force myself to stay awake till I was lined up with the next sleep pattern.Basically I'd knock off work 7am Saturday morning (with a 7am start Monday) so I'd stay up till 9pm Saturday (meaning I'd been up for 21 hours) and I'd be so zonked I'd get a great sleep and be in the next pattern. This probably reads like gibberish but It worked for me for 4 years.

 

[Watcher]

I had this problem many years back due to working rotating shifts (2 weeks days,2 weeks evenings,2 weeks nights) and my trick was to force myself to stay awake till I was lined up with the next sleep pattern.Basically I'd knock off work 7am Saturday morning (with a 7am start Monday) so I'd stay up till 9pm Saturday (meaning I'd been up for 21 hours) and I'd be so zonked I'd get a great sleep and be in the next pattern. This probably reads like gibberish but It worked for me for 4 years.

I'm tempted to do that but I really don't feel very good when I stay up for too long. When I tried doing it a few years back and I'd get extremely fatigued and couldn't think properly. It'd also take me like a week to do and I don't have the time.

 

[Fibonacci]

[youtube]EgA3vX_VwoQ[/youtube]

 

[champthom]

I'm tempted to do that but I really don't feel very good when I stay up for too long. When I tried doing it a few years back and I'd get extremely fatigued and couldn't think properly. It'd also take me like a week to do and I don't have the time.

Try exercising.

I work the night shift and I try to have a regular sleep pattern, which I'm fortunately able to do because I work the same times when I work. Sometimes though I need to stay awake for some reason, so what I do I'll usually exercise a bit before I'd go to bed and it'll give me energy to stay up quite a bit longer than I normally would. Then when I go to bed, I'll cut my sleep and then I can go back to my usual schedule. Exercising is good in any case, though in your case it can be good to regulate sleep in general.

I also take melatonin and Benadryl to help me fall asleep, both are over the counter so you don't need a prescription or anything. I used to have major problem falling asleep, like I'd lay awake in bed for hours and still be awake but now I manage to fall asleep pretty quickly.

I think that might help your problem.

 

[Judge Holden]

I empathise with ya cuddlebug. last year due to the fact me and my roomates spent every other night in some form of depraved drink orgy I regularly needed to fuck with my sleep schedule

Personally I tried several methods, which had inconsistant success

- over the counter medication didnt really work for me
- pulling an "all nighter" and staying awake through the night working, playing etc was somewhat successful
- exercise well (but not immidiately before sleep) had more success than the others, as did eating right (or in my case not chowing down a cheap kebab before sleep) and this is probably what I would recommend. a few good walks, an afternoon workout (i do mine with a kettlebell), or just physical chores for an extended period of time can work wonders

Honestly though, the main reason I got any sleep a lot of the time was that I drank so much I was rendered unconcious and had to be literally carried into bed by friends/roomates/pervy burglars mutliple times. This, while fun is not advisable. Seriously, I know a lot of people who tried reseting their sleep patterns with booze and it never works and always makes one feel exponentially worse

 

[CatParty]

Take a whole day in bed. Nap an entire day.

 

[Watcher]

Take a whole day in bed. Nap an entire day.

I've tried that. Eventually I get too restless and wide awake.

The last time I tried napping for a lengthy period of time I awoke 5 hours later and had lost a large portion of daylight, and was awake all throughout the early morning.

 

[Some JERK]

Listen to the Zombie Survival Guide audiobook. I have no idea why, but that narrators voice is like auditory horse-tranquillizers.

 

[hellbound]

Melatonin can be helpful. It's a hormone naturally produced by your body to cause sleep, but production can be disrupted by artificial light. Try smaller doses (1-3mg) first - it's very effective and taking too much can have a paradoxical effect where it actually keeps you awake. I don't know if it's regulated in any way in Canada but in the US it's widely available over the counter in groceries, drug stores, and natural food stores, usually in the same area as vitamin supplements.

Before resorting to supplements try "sanitizing" your sleep habits if you can, however. Use your bedroom for basically just sleep (and sex if applicable). Keep your computer, books, etc. out of there. Reduce your indoor lighting as it gets dark outside. Turn your computer and TV off well before you want to get to bed. Try and aim to wake up at roughly the same time every day of the week - don't get up at 5 on weekdays and 10 or 12 on weekends, that basically makes you constantly jetlagged.