My sleeping schedule is all messed up! please help!?!
Question: I'm in college and on winter break right now, but my sleep schedule is completely messed up. I have a really hard time falling asleep and cannot seem to fall asleep before 5 am, and then I can't seem to wake up before 2 pm...it's like my body won't function if I get less than 9 hours. I can't try to stay up because I can't take any caffeine or anything like that because I have a heart issue where it beats too fast easily (tachycardia). School starts in a week and I really need help!
Answers: I'm in college and on winter break right now, but my sleep schedule is completely messed up. I have a really hard time falling asleep and cannot seem to fall asleep before 5 am, and then I can't seem to wake up before 2 pm...it's like my body won't function if I get less than 9 hours. I can't try to stay up because I can't take any caffeine or anything like that because I have a heart issue where it beats too fast easily (tachycardia). School starts in a week and I really need help!
Start working yourself backwards, one hour at a time. You're in a fixed pattern now of 0500 - 1400...so tonight (whenever that is in your time...see if for a start, you can try to sleep at 4am instead. If you can't...no problems - but set an alarm for 1pm. When it goes, get up - even if it's just 8 hours sleep.
You'll probably feel a bit sluggish - which can obviously suck - but you'll have to cope with that for the day...and then next night...see if you can go to sleep by 3am. You probably won't, but you might be surprised - that lack of one hour might come back and catch you and you'll be asleep by 4am instead.
This time, set your alarm for midday. And force yourself up. As you can see, you'll be building a slight sleep debt compared to your normal schedule....this is good, it'll work to your advantage.
That night, hit the sack with a view to being asleep by 2am. You'll find with that 2hr sleep debt from your normal 9 hour demands, that even if you're not out by 2am...you most likely will be by 2:30...and again, set your alarm - this time, 11am.
You won't have lost an hours sleep tonight, but you'll still have lost 30 minutes - bringing your total to about 2.5 hours. By this point, its at a point where you can redeem it (don't get overtired, though or you won't.)
Go to bed by 1am this time. This time, set your alarm for 10:30am - I know that's only half an hour back, but what that does is hopefully give you the 9 hours sleep you need (1:30 - 10:30) so it'll stop your sleep debt getting worse (if it gets too much, you can't redeem it and start to get overtired).
By now, I'm hoping you've picked up my pattern! Keep bringing both your bedtime and alarm time back one hour per night - but each second night from now on, bring the alarm back half an hour instead - just so your sleep debt doesn't grow too much. Although hopefully after this time, your body will be endeavouring to catch up and so as a result, you'll be getting to sleep at the time you aim for - if that happens, keep the alarm and sleep time in sync so you get 9 hours. Keep this happening and you'll bring it back this week - even if you're just back to 11pm or something, keep up the pattern for as far back as you want to bring it (whether that be 11pm, 10pm, 9pm...whatever you choose).
Your body's patterns are controlled by what's called the circadian rhythm. This rhythm is a pattern of sleep-wake cycle and less noticeable, a performance peak and droop (in a normal, day-functioning human, the performance peak is around 11am, the droop around 3am, which happens to con-incide with your core temperature's highest (11am) and lowest (3am) times. Your body is "set" so as when you hit your droop, you'll be normally asleep while when you hit your peak, you'll be awake - this is partly why a) nightshift workers can't get as high quality of sleep by day and b) the most mistakes are made at 3am...but my point is, that's the pattern, basically.
If you've ever been jetlagged, you might know that the circadian rhythm can be altered usually only one hour per 24. This means that to catch up fully and properly on a 10-hour change in pattern (say, timezone) will take 10 full days. With practice your body does learn to adjust quicker if need be (eg for shiftworkers and long-haul flight crews...)
So, what I've done is designed this pattern for you to gradually work your way back to full functionality - by adjusting you backwards, one hour at a time. Unfortunately coming backwards is harder (for instance, if you wanted to adjust to working 11pm - 7am, you'd move your sleep patterns forward and probably fall asleep faster from being more tired each day). But if you work at it one hour per 24, it will come back to you. Just don't rush - that won't work. :-) for example, if you start hopping back into bed at 10pm, you'll just lie awake rolling around until 5am - by which time you'll be hot, frustrated and probably even more sleepless.
Bring your pattern back one hour at a time. If you're tired, it might be hard to resist, but avoid daytime naps - they'll sabotage you by "teaching" your body that day sleep is "ok" to make up for a lack of night sleep. You have to teach it that night sleep is the sleep you want.
Some other things to help the process are a routine and preparation for bed - warning your brain that it's nearing shutdown time (and as that time will be coming backwards each night, it makes it easier for your brain/body to recognise bedtime with the same routine each night). Shut off technology (TV, computer, phone, etc, at least one hour before bed. Avoid eating or drinking excessively. Have a nice, long bath or shower - whichever you prefer...and try to make it a bit warmer than usual (steam and heat will cause you body to slow down so it doesn't produce extra heat itself!)
Get into a set pattern...even if its just silly little things like shutting your curtains, then reading a book for a certain (regular) amount of time - make sure it's not long though or you'll get engrossed...maybe a light weight short story or magazine. Shut off ALL lights (unless you always have one on, in which case leave it) but if light distracts you - block it out. :-) Make sure your room is a nice temperature - and your bed is too. Wear earplugs to keep out noise if you need to.
If you follow the same routine each night, your body will "learn" that its nearly bedtime, and will start the sequence of shutting off...making it easier to fall asleep! Then it just becomes a simple matter of following your pattern, one hour back a day - and before you know it, you'll be right to function again!
As a shift worker and pilot who works strange, irregular hours and sometimes in different time zones, I've gotten very used to adjusting sleep patterns for my job...as part of my study, too, I did a lot of study in sleep, circadian rhythms and body patterns... :-) I hope I helped and want you to know you can email me if you'd like any further advice!
You really only have two options;
-All nighter or,
-Get up early and go through your day with less sleep.
I suggest option two as you would be getting some sleep versus none.
If you have a hard time getting up, have someone help you out.
Set an alarm & good luck!