Sleeping around the problem
Jan. 15th, 2011 08:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quarridorsI have long term problems with insomnia. Regardless of what I try I end up falling asleep between 1am and 2am. Later if I get inspired to start thinking about one of my interests or something I'm working on, which tends to happen if I'm lying in bed for an hour unable to sleep. I have no problems staying asleep, in fact I struggle to get up in the morning and have a tendency to get 'jet lag' by sleeping in until after lunch on weekends. When I'm not working, my sleep patterns shift so I sleep from between 2 and 3am to between 10 and 11am, I don't tend to have the perception of insomnia unless I read something that inspires creativity before sleep (I am generally getting better at not doing this).
Quite some time ago I came to the conclusion that I likely have delayed sleep phase syndrome. I should probably be on Eastern Standard Time rather than GMT. However I've tended to try to get to work as early as possible so I could finish work as early as possible and have maximum free time in the evening. This is because I tend to be my most tired after lunch and so psychologically feel like I've worked a shorter day the earlier I finish work. Of course this effort to get up earlier than I strictly need to corresponding with getting inadequate amounts of sleep due to insomnia means that the effects of feeling tired in the afternoon are exaggerated, so I end up using my flexible hours to take lots of breaks and naps, and so feel tempted to stay up late. This is clearly a repeating cycle and not working.
Having done a life laundry, got on top of my chores and my flat in order, I felt sure that going to bed at the same time every day and getting up at the same time every day (getting exposed to sunlight as early as possible) would sort out my sleep patterns. The fact that I have still been lying in bed for hours and then getting to sleep between 2:30 and 3:30am and then been so tired from getting up on time (or sleeping through my alarms) that I've procrastinated my way into the evening, proves to me (after a shove from my friends) that I should embrace the delayed sleep phase and use my flexible hours to work around it.
So for the last few days I've been planning to be awake until 2am, I've been logging off the computer at my normal time, then doing the washing up and any other outstanding chores for half an hour, then reading in bed (nothing that's likely to send my mind racing) until I fall asleep. I'd set my alarms for 90 minutes later than before and got up without a rush. After a couple of days of doing this, I was finding I actually started falling asleep without doing the reading and getting up at the start of the alarm, not after an hour of snoozing.
The big test was this morning where I woke up the same time as the last three days, got up and read the sort of material I can't read at night because it'll cause insomnia and was up and being productive two hours earlier than I even woke up last weekend.
So I'm probably completely jinxing things by writing this all down, but currently this seems like it's working :) (Oh and I'm still easily keeping on top of my life laundry routine and keeping the flat in good order, which is nice).
Quite some time ago I came to the conclusion that I likely have delayed sleep phase syndrome. I should probably be on Eastern Standard Time rather than GMT. However I've tended to try to get to work as early as possible so I could finish work as early as possible and have maximum free time in the evening. This is because I tend to be my most tired after lunch and so psychologically feel like I've worked a shorter day the earlier I finish work. Of course this effort to get up earlier than I strictly need to corresponding with getting inadequate amounts of sleep due to insomnia means that the effects of feeling tired in the afternoon are exaggerated, so I end up using my flexible hours to take lots of breaks and naps, and so feel tempted to stay up late. This is clearly a repeating cycle and not working.
Having done a life laundry, got on top of my chores and my flat in order, I felt sure that going to bed at the same time every day and getting up at the same time every day (getting exposed to sunlight as early as possible) would sort out my sleep patterns. The fact that I have still been lying in bed for hours and then getting to sleep between 2:30 and 3:30am and then been so tired from getting up on time (or sleeping through my alarms) that I've procrastinated my way into the evening, proves to me (after a shove from my friends) that I should embrace the delayed sleep phase and use my flexible hours to work around it.
So for the last few days I've been planning to be awake until 2am, I've been logging off the computer at my normal time, then doing the washing up and any other outstanding chores for half an hour, then reading in bed (nothing that's likely to send my mind racing) until I fall asleep. I'd set my alarms for 90 minutes later than before and got up without a rush. After a couple of days of doing this, I was finding I actually started falling asleep without doing the reading and getting up at the start of the alarm, not after an hour of snoozing.
The big test was this morning where I woke up the same time as the last three days, got up and read the sort of material I can't read at night because it'll cause insomnia and was up and being productive two hours earlier than I even woke up last weekend.
So I'm probably completely jinxing things by writing this all down, but currently this seems like it's working :) (Oh and I'm still easily keeping on top of my life laundry routine and keeping the flat in good order, which is nice).
no subject
Date: 2011-01-16 01:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-16 11:22 pm (UTC)I'm in such a good position, working from home with flexible hours, no commute time etc. I really should appreciate what I have and make the most of it...