Wednesday, 24 August 2011
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6 Ways to Get Your Sleep Schedule Back on Track
I know I can't have been the only person abusing summer as a time to stay up later than any normal person should, and waking up when it is practically the afternoon. But being that I go back to school tomorrow (yikes!), I have been trying to get myself back to a normal sleeping schedule for the past week. Here are six tricks I have been using to overcome my night owl behavior.1. Make a strict bedtime, and stick to it. This is the first crucial step in order to get back to a normal sleeping pattern. Set a specific time that you must be in bed by and stick with it. Not having a plan will only be setting yourself up for fail and lots of 3 a.m. Internet surfing.
2. Force yourself to wake up early. This is probably the hardest part. The first day of adjusting to a new sleep cycle requires you to wake yourself up early, no matter how late you went to bed the previous night.3. Don't abuse your alarm clock. I know how tempting it can be to hit that snooze bottom on your alarm clock. Heck, I think I actually know how to find the snooze button better with my eyes closed than the actual off button. But during this process, you must refrain from using it. Set your alarm clock on the side of your room opposite from where your bed is, and force yourself to get up when it goes off.
4. Try melatonin as a natural sleep aid. Melatonin is a supplement that helps your body fall asleep and stay asleep. It is just like Tylenol PM, except it's all natural and has no nasty side effects. Your body actually produces the hormone melatonin naturally, but this pill just gives your body an extra boost of it. Just don't drive after you take it!
5. Avoid electronics during bed time. As tempting as it is to catch up on the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars before bed, refrain from it. Electronics will only keep you up longer as they keep your mind stimulated. That TV show will still be there in the morning.6. Cut down on the caffeine and sugar. I am a big advocate of dessert, but eating sugary foods and drinking caffeinated drinks a few hours for bed time can pump lots of artificial energy into your system. Avoid them!
What are your tips and tricks for getting back to a normal sleep schedule, Lovelies?
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About the Author
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- From: Rebecka
- About Me: My name is Rebecka Schumann and I am a senior in college majoring in Mass Communication with a concentration in journalism. I currently write for a local news website. I also maintain my own movie news blog. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/closedsetmovies.
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Comments (24)
get your tv out of the bedroom.
that does wonders.
also, be outside the house during the "tea time" hours, that way you won't have a place to nap. That way you'll sleep better at night.
Bedtimes don't help me at all, but forcing myself to get up at a certain time does. If you wake up at say, 9am regardless of what day of the week it is, your body clock will sort itself out eventually.
I wish someone could tell me HOW to force myself to get up early. I sleep right through my alarm clock. I even get up to turn it off - REPEATEDLY! - without ever waking up...!
@SuburbanSweetheart - Same! Apparently my alarm has been going off for the past four days and I've been shutting it off with no recollection of even hearing it.
I can't fall asleep before 12:30 at the earliest. If I do, I wake back up again around 3 or 4 and the whole process starts again! :P
Don't use your bed for anything other than sleeping. That's what the doctor told me. That way your body knows that when you get into bed it's to sleep, not just lounge around.
I love melatonin. It does give me crazy dreams, though.
You have to force yourself at first, plain and simple. There are things out there that can give a little boost, but in the end, you just have to do it and stick with it.
I set my radio alarm clock to a loud volume and have it wake me up with some classical music. I tried this with my favorite alt rock station and it wasn't pleasant. Being woken up by some Bach or Mahler is waaay better than being jarred from sleep by an obnoxiously loud radio commercial at five in the morning.
Of course, I tend to hit the snooze button several times in the morning. -_-
Whenever I try to get my sleeping schedule back on schedule, I always don't sleep the day before so that I will be tired and sleep early the next day. It sorta works.
These are great tips, unfortunately I know 'em already but have a hard time following it LOL
I take benadryl or nyquil pm the night before, problem solved.
Ah i needed this.
This is so helpful, my sleep schedule has been awful lately! I'm definitely going to look into a natural sleep aid!
@Ashley Nicole Anders@facebook - No, I know about napping but for me it's completely impossible to nap like a normal person. Everytime I take a nap, it ends up in me waking at 6 or 7 pm!
Haha #5... I was tempted to stay up a bit late yesterday in order to watch that episode of PLL online once it'd been uploaded since I don't have ABC Family, but I went to bed instead :)
my sleep cycle is so messed up right now, so this post was useful.
I guess it's mostly just about self control.
Sometimes I'll make myself a really nice breakfast as an incentive to get up and start my day on the right foot.
@SuburbanSweetheart - I thought I was the only one! I hate when that happens!!!
Yup, waking up early really helps, but I once read that people can only adjust their sleep schedules by 20 minutes at a time. Also, getting exposure to bright sunlight in the morning works.
I find a routine and low stimulation usually works.
I'm bipolar and so my sleeping is severely affected to the point of almost nonexistent. It depends on if my body will calm down or my mind will shut up. Eventually I do sleep but usually not at the times I want. It happens and I can't do much about it sadly.
this is very useful information thanks 8)
HAHAHA I am soooooooooo guilty of watching pretty little liars before bed! I have noticed keeping caffeine out (all times of day) lets my sleep come naturally... I'll def try melatonin though! I have got to get a better sleep schedule since college just started :/
Great, great, great post! Seriously. If I were famous, I'd tell all my fans to go to this post.
The trick to sleeping early is determination, basically lol. The only thing that sets me apart from this post is that before I sleep, I have to watch a League of Legends tournament game on my itouch. Without watching a game, I can't sleep.
apparently turning off electronics is good
I've been on midnights shifts the last two years, seriously don't even remember the last time I went to bed before 5 am. :/