I think I have insomnia seasonally, i.e., only when I come home from school.
Every time I have a college break, my sleeping habits always take a turn for the worst and I wind up going to bed at around 4am every night (well, morning I guess) and waking up at around 2pm. I don’t want to sleep my entire day away, but I have a lot of issues trying to fall asleep.
It’s strange, because when I am at school my sleeping habits aren’t usually this out of whack. I am pretty sure it is because I have schoolwork, jobs and other various collegiate things to worry about, and I tire myself out. I just find it odd that somehow during summer and winter breaks, my sleeping habits completely change and I have serious issues trying to retire for the night.
I’ve tried going to bed earlier, but I wind up tossing and turning until 4 a.m. and then falling into a deep slumber until the early afternoon. This has to change, friends. Sometimes I even get tired again during the later portion of the afternoon and take a short nap from about 5 p.m.-6 p.m. When this happens I usually try and whip myself up a cup of coffee to keep me from sleeping, but I think my system has decided that caffeine is no longer suitable to keep me awake for long periods of time.
From what I understand, this happens to quite a few college students when they come home from breaks, so I am happy to report that I am not the only one who is suffering from this nighttime plague. A forthcoming problem with my sleeping habit (or possibly the solution) is that I am starting my summer job next week and I don’t want to be tired from my weird sleeping hours (OR it could encourage me to try and get to bed earlier. Hopefully.)
What should I do? Does this happen to you sometimes?
daisy / 617 posts
If you like hot tea, try drinking some just before you go to bed. Sometimes that helps me. Or go work out for an hour just before bed. That always works for me.
guest
Relax. It’s normal. Expressing this verbally may help. By constantly focusing on the “need to sleep” instead of just relaxing so one can eventually “go to sleep” only increases the chance of not “falling asleep.”
It may take some time for your body to readjust. We all have circadian rhythms that allows one to feel sleepy around the same time every night (or day). This is why people experience jet lag. The good thing is that the rhythm can be broken.
In the mean time, one may take the advantage of being awake more hours than others. Do you have a favorite book? Read it again during the quiet hours of the night. You may try some relaxing techniques like warm tea, classical music, or a warn bath.
Whatever you do, please know that it is normal. Sometimes knowing this brings peace to the mind. Good luck!
daffodil / 1615 posts
Hahaha story of my life ever since my semester ended. However, I have a job and sometimes I have to open in the morning, so I have to force myself to go to bed early. Nyquil works wonders!
guest
Dude, it’s 11:14 AM and I haven’t been to bed. Can’t fuckin help ya, sorry. Lol.
daffodil / 1525 posts
If you spend most of your day in bed, like, on your laptop or reading or whatever, it can mess with your sleeping abilities.
guest
I have the same problem but i didn’t go away to school. In fact I didn’t even sleep last night because I could never fall asleep.
guest
Oh yeah, it happens to a lot of us college kids. Just start setting an alarm (you can move it an hour earlier every day) and actually wake up when it goes off, and you’ll adjust.
dahlia / 2012 posts
I have the same problem all year round. I’ve tried fixing it for years, and nothing works for more than a couple of months. I’ve given up and accepted it as my body’s natural sleep schedule.
guest
This only happens to me during late summer… so around August. It’s because in the beginning of the summer I’m trying to compensate for all the sleep that I lost during the school eyar that I sleep early (12AMish?) and wake up at around 10AMish. And pretty much after 30 days of that, I just cant sleep at 12 anymore. I have to go to sleep at 3 or 4 maybe even 5 in the morning, which sucks cuz then I dont wake up until 3 or 4PM the next day and then I feel like I wasted my day. Haha.
guest
Naturally in the summer you want to sleep less because the days are longer. Most of the time I have trouble sleeping throughout the year but it’s mostly in the summertime. I guess all you can do is gradually get yourself used to a different schedule. It sucks that this is happening around the time you’re starting your summer job but even if you get little sleep in the first week it’ll start to change and you’ll get used to it. And make sure to keep busy so that once you get home and wind down you’ll actually want to go to sleep earlier.
guest
This always happens to me if I don’t keep relatively busy during breaks. When I’m not working, I go to pilates every morning at 9. Getting up for the first class was hard but after that, I was sleepy by 12ish and got a good nights sleep and was ready to wake up at 9 the next day! Check out your local YMCA and what kinds of classes they offer.
guest
I read a study that said staring at your computer late into the night contributes to insomnia. The bright light in your eyes fools your brain into thinking it’s daytime. If a go-to when you can’t sleep is xanga or facebook or something, you might want to think about shutting off your computer instead.
guest
this reminds me of days between school days lol… two thinsg that worked for me before:
(1.) get real busy during the day to make yourself tired and time sleep at the right time in the evening…
(2.) give yourself a reason to wake up in the morning for…